CANNIBAL CORPSE AND BEHEMOTH AT THE ORPHEUM A longtime dream of mine finally was granted in seeing Cannibal Corpse at the Orpheum. To me, CC had always been that one mythical death metal band that was so over the top that they almost seemed other-worldly. The extremely graphic lyrical content and artwork along with intense guttural vocals took me aback upon first hearing CC. If you are not familiar with the bands’ work, it is music that you wouldn’t dare let your parents find out you had been listening to. I had watched many interviews and videos of their live performances, but never thought I would be able to see the death metal titans in a live setting. For someone not into the metal scene, the music may seem extreme, but the concert atmosphere was welcoming like that of a metal family. George, “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, long-time CC vocalist, engaged in humorous dialogue with the audience by challenging anyone to out head-bang him (spoiler alert: no one could). The set opened with one of my new favorite CC tracks, “Scourge of Iron” off the 2012 album Torture. The slow, chugging riff caught me off guard as all members of the band synchronously head-banged to a song atypical of what one would expect from CC. The rest of the show was filled with CC classics such as “The Wretched Spawn,” “Hammer Smashed Face,” and “Devoured by Vermin,” these being some of the less gruesome titles that were performed. The band also played some material off the most recent albums including the 2014 release A Skeletal Domain. I was highly in awe of the extreme technical ability of Pat O’Brien on lead guitar as well as Alex Webster’s virtuosic bass shredding. Overall, CC put on a very good show for a band that has been in the death metal game for over twenty years. Following CC, Behemoth was the closing act for the night. Doused in much more symbolism, pyrotechnics, and theatrical aspects, Behemoth provided for a much different atmosphere. The set began with Nergal entering the stage carrying a large burning torch with the members dressed in full corpse-paint. Filled with tasty harmonic minor riffs, The Polish blackened death metal group put on a solid set that I thoroughly enjoyed. james STRELOW
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