Lineup: The Black Dahlia Murder/Whitechapel/Fleshgod Apocalypse/Aversions Crown/Shadow of Intent
Venue: Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
Shadow of Intent: Once I got past the tragic fact they were a Halo-themed band that didn't do Master Chief cosplay on stage, I ended up enjoying Shadow of Intent's set quite a bit. Their vocalist has some wild high screams, every guitar solo was a winding ripper that delighted my wank metal sensibilities and the symphonic elements are a nice touch that helps them standout in a crowded field of up-and-coming deathcore bands that have solely dedicated their time to attempting to replicate the brutal yet atmospheric sound of Thy Art is Murder. Definitely intrigued to see where these guys go from here.
Aversions Crown: Aversions Crown is a band that has never been anything more than decent to me. To be frank, they're one of the bands that I alluded to in the last paragraph that seems like they want to ride the Thy Art is Murder wave to genre stardom. Whether that's true or not, the power of their live performance is undeniable. Their energy, intensity and crowd engagement helps elevate them from middle-of-the-road band with no true standout elements to a pretty damn enjoyable one with well-timed breakdowns, fierce vocals and the occasional effective burst of melody. I urge anyone that's attending this tour to see Whitechapel that isn't familiar with Aversions Crown to show up early to check out their set.
Fleshgod Apocalypse: Even with a pretty substantial recent lineup shift that included longtime drummer Francesco Paoli returning to the vocalist/guitarist post he vacated following their 2009 debut Oracles, Fleshgod Apocalypse is still pretty much the same band they were during the Tommasso Riccardi years. In terms of the live setting, this means that Italy's resident evil operatic enthusiasts haven't stopped being a soundboard operator's worst nightmare. I figured that the great acoustics of the Paradise Rock Club would help make their mix much clearer than it was the previous times I'd seen them at the Worcester Palladium, which is known for its shaky sound, but as soon Paoli came in on set opener"The Violation", it became clear that he and both of the band's clean vocalists (bassist Paolo Rossi and resident opera singer Veronica Bordacchini) would be drowned out by the guitars, piano and booming orchestral sections. Their massive slam riffs and distinctly odd stage presence kept things engaging, but the full scope of their classical/death metal hybrid will always be better captured on record.
Whitechapel: For a band that isn't notorious for partying, Whitechapel's live shows are rather erratic. The previous four times I've seen have ranged from excellent (Summer Slaughter 2011) to pretty fucking awful (Warped Tour 2010). On this tour honoring the 10th anniversary of their breakout sophomore LP This is Exile, the Whitechapel dice roll yielded some pretty favorable results. Phil Bozeman's vocals were sharp, their trio of guitarists, who I've seen blow many a solo in the admirably handled all of the deep cuts (which is essentially all but three songs on this record) and the crowd unsurprisingly lost their shit as they ripped their way through an album that played a pivotal role in the growth of the most polarizing metal subgenre to emerge in the past decade. I'm not going to go out of my way to see Whitechapel again anytime soon, but this show was an enjoyable nostalgia trip that brought back warm memories of my high school years when watching breakdown compilations on YouTube and getting dirty looks from strangers when you blared shit like this in public were life-affirming pastimes.
The Black Dahlia Murder: It's incredibly difficult for me to discuss a Black Dahlia Murder performance without going full fanboy. I'd seen them eight times prior to this show and every single one of those performances rendered me speechless upon conclusion. Their 14-song set, which consisted of their ferocious new record Nightbringers in its entirety alongside a handful of fan favorites from their first three albums, here was no exception. Even as the founding members (vocalist Trevor Strnad and rhythm guitarist/primary songwriter Brian Eschbach) approach 40, the band has not lost an ounce of their musical proficiency or general zest for performing that they had when they first broke out on the scene in the mid-2000's. This kind of prolonged consistency in quality of live performances is pretty infrequent and as they continue to chug along through another extensive touring cycle, that reign of destruction doesn't look its going to slow down anytime soon. All hail and long live the Immortals.
Grades:
Shadow of Intent: B+
Aversions Crown: B+
Fleshgod Apocalypse: B
Whitechapel: B
The Black Dahlia Murder: A+
Setlists:
Shadow of Intent included:
The Heretic Prevails (opener)
The Battle of the Maginot Sphere (closer)
Averisons Crown included:
Prismatic Abyss
Hollow Planet
Fleshgod Apocalypse included:
The Violation (opener)
The Fool
Cold as Perfection
The Egoism
Whitechapel:
Father of Lies
This is Exile
Possession
To All That Are Dead
Exalt
Somatically Incorrect
Death Becomes Him
Daemon (The Procreated)
Eternal Refuge
Of Legions
Messiahbolical
Encore:
Vicer Exciser
Prostatic Fluid Asphyxiation
The Black Dahlia Murder:
Widowmaker
Of God and Serpent, Of Spectre and Snake
Matriarch
Contagion
Nightbringers
Jars
Kings of the Nightworld
What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse
Catacomb Hecatomb
As Good as Dead
The Lonely Deceased
Everything Went Black
Statutory Ape
Deathmask Divine
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