The first band of the night was Lecherous Nocturne. I got to the venue late, so I missed some of their set, although I’m not sure how much. Lecherous Nocturne is a technical death metal act from Greenville, South Carolina. Despite being around since 1997, they’ve only released two albums. Their studio albums never really interested me, but their live performance was decent. The dudes in Lecherous Nocturne obviously possess talent, they just don’t know how to channel it correctly or write memorable songs. Regardless, their set wasn’t completely unbearable and they sounded pretty much the same as they do in the studio.
Next up was Abigail Williams. I’ve recently come to enjoy Abigail Williams quite a bit, but the crowd didn’t share my sentiments. This three-piece black metal band from Los Angeles was the only black metal band on the bill, so they were the odd band out. Despite sticking out like a sore thumb and not getting a very good response from they crowd, they sounded very good. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, they didn’t play any material from the first two Abigail Williams albums, In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns and In the Absence of Light. They played three tracks from their latest effort, Becoming: Ascension Sickness, Radiance, and Beyond the Veil. Everything sounded very good, but the guitars could have been a little louder. Abigail Williams was probably my favorite band of the night.
Jungle Rot was up next. Jungle Rot attempts to pay homage to the death metal lords of old by playing a style of music similar to that slow American death metal that was popular in the 1990s. While I don’t necessarily love that style of music, Jungle Rot’s live performance was pretty intense and they got a hell of a reaction from the crowd. Like Lecherous Nocturne, Jungle Rot’s live performance was quite a bit more interesting than their studio albums. Lots of energy and an incredibly heavy set made Jungle Rot one of the better bands of the night.
The band that everyone had been waiting for, Deicide, was next. I had heard rumors that they were playing a completely instrumental set, so I wasn’t exactly excited for that. Glen Benton, however, did deliver the vocals and they were absolutely monstrous. At first, the sound guy had the vocals almost completely buried, but it was fixed after a couple of songs. While the music itself was very good, Deicide’s performance was not perfect. Glen Benton was quite obviously drunk and came off as an ass on stage. He’d usually repeat the same thing between songs. Deicide’s set also consisted of 20 songs. That’s a pretty hefty list and I feel like it was a little too long. Deicide was on stage for about an hour and a half. They played quite a few of my favorite Deicide tracks, but I’m not sure if they played anything from Deicide or Legion, two of the highest-selling death metal albums of all time. Their set, overall, was a success.
Facebook Links: Deicide, Abigail Williams
