This past Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017, I was on hand at
Gramercy Theatre to cover a real ass kicker of a show, headlined by the legendary
Venom Inc. They were accompanied on the tour by three truly fucking amazing bands. For those not in the know, Venom Inc, are actually speed metal/ proto-black metal pioneers Venom, themselves, in the form of original band members Mantas and Abbaddon. But, with the awesome Demolition Man on vocals and bass and original singer not Cronos.
Before the concert started the friends, and fellow journalists, that I was hanging with, got to run into Demolition Man (below, at my right) and Mantas (at my left, I am the dude in the
Star Wars hat, in case you are wondering). Both of them are such nice guys! My friend Ken Pierce of
PiercingMetal.com took the pic as well as any others where you see me with posing with band members.
The opening acting are deathcore act
The Convalescence. Though, I have heard before of this band, this was my first time actually hearing their music. And, I can honestly say that I totally dug it! They play an adrenaline and breakdown filled take on the sub-genre, but with added benefit of keyboards. This adds a very melodic sound to the aggressive and energetic groove. They also have a very cool stage presence with corpse paint styled makeup, as well as a cool and evil looking keyboard.
The next band up are thrashers Toxic Holocaust. Though, the band is mostly a one man act by way of
Joel Grind (right), they tour as an actual band. And, man do they ever kill! I been a long time fan, but seeing them live is a completely different experience. They are so heavy and bring such energy to their music that I was an even bigger fan, once their set was over! The sound of thrash metal that Toxic Holocaust plays definitely mixes crossover elements with German thrash influences as well as taking some elements from extreme metal, too. The result had the mosh pit fired up!
Set List:
War Is Hell
Wild Dogs
In the Name of Science
Reaper's Grave
Death Brings Death
Gravelord
Acid Fuzz
The Lord of the Wasteland
Silence
Nuke the Cross
Bitch
It was then time for
Goatwhore to take the stage. I been a fan of these guys since their classic
A Haunting Curse and have been following their career from on. But, I never got to experience their music live, either. Their current album
Vengeance Ascension is a masterpiece that might just be the best in their career, thus far. It is most certainly one of the very best albums of this year!
They played a lot of songs off of that album, like the blistering ''Under the Flesh, Into the Bone'', ''Forsaken'', the title track ''Vengeful Ascension'' (all of which are some of my favorite tracks of the year!), and more. They also played some classics from their catalogue such as ''When Steel and Bone Meet'' and ''Baring Teeth for Revlot''. They closed their set with the killer fan favorite and modern classic ''FBS'', AKA ''Fucked by Satan''!
Their performance is filled with powerful energy and ferocity, as well as amazing musicianship. It's a battering musical experience that had the crowd, and, especially the pit, energized. I know that I, myself, was headbanging and really got into it, while taking these pics in the photo pit. They are without question one of the best live acts in extreme metal!
During the course of the night, I also got to meet members from the rest of the acts. They were all so friendly, cool, and down to earth and were happy to meet fans. It made an awesome night that much more fucking cool!.
With Keith Wampler and Katie McCrimmon of The Convalescence
With Joel Grind of Toxic Holocaust
With three of the members of Goatwhore and Liz
Like many a metalhead, I have been a fan of Venom for ages. But, I had never seen them live. As such, my anticipation to see them play was off the charts. The fans were also feeling the excitement for these legends to come out and kick everyone's ass. And, they more than delivered on that! They bought the house down like the influential masters of metal that they are.
They just recently put out their first album under the Venom Inc moniker. Called
Avé, it is a ripping and ass kicking album of old school speed/ thrash/ proto-black metal. They played a couple of songs, of that. And, of course, they also played many of their classic tracks.
Set List:
Ave Satanas
Welcome to Hell
Metal We Bleed
Die Hard
Live Like an Angel (Die Like a Devil)
Warhead
Blackened Are the Priests
Carnivorous
Dein Fleisch
Don’t Burn the Witch
Leave Me in Hell
War
Black Metal
Countess BathoryEncore:
Sons of Satan
Witching Hour
Throughout their set the fans were going crazy! They sang along, cheered, and chanted (Venom! Venom! Venom!). And, of course, the mosh pit was on fucking fire!
If you are a fan of Venom, then you must see them Venom Inc live! In all, this was an absolutely killer concert, from start too finish. One that kicked all of fucking asses straight to the very pits of motherfucking hell, itself!
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