TOUR: Vader + Decrepit Birth, more

Polish death metal legends Vader are fully prepared to unleash their torment on the North American continent in a tour billed as Monsters of Death. Starting early November, they'll be embarking on an intense 38-date trek across the United States and Canada, along with five other bands you can't miss. Offering their support are Decrepit Birth, a straightforward and exceedingly sharp Californian death metal band; Warbringer, one of neo-thrash's most well-known acts, due to their relentless touring; The Amenta, an industrial/experimental band from Australia; Augury, a progressive/death metal group that invokes elements of Cynic, Atheist, and The Faceless; and Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky, a newly formed death metal band that manages to kick a severe amount of ass, despite their mouthful of a name.

Tickets are a bargain at just $19 (or $14 each in a 4-pack). If you're not a Vader fan yet, you can get up to speed by checking out their superb compilation album XXV. Vader's new album Necropolis drops September 22. Everything these guys put out is pure gold, so it's not a risky purchase. Shows this essential don't come along very often; this one should have some sort of mandatory attendance policy for metalheads. The dates are here:

11/04/09 Sonar – Baltimore, MD
11/05/09 The Palladium – Worcester, MA
11/06/09 Webster Underground – Hartford, CT
11/07/09 The Blender Theater @ Gramercy – New York, NY
11/08/09 Fou Founes Electriques – Montreal, QC – Canada
11/09/09 Imperial de Quebec – Quebec City, QC – Canada
11/10/09 Mod Club – Toronto, ON – Canada
11/11/09 Penny Arcade – Rochester, NY
11/12/09 Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH
11/13/09 The Pearl Room – Mokena, IL
11/14/09 Rave – Milwaukee, WI
11/15/09 Station 4 – St. Paul, MN
11/16/09 Royal Albert Arms – Winnipeg, MB – Canada
11/17/09 The Exchange – Regina, SK – Canada
11/18/09 The Underground – Calgary, AB – Canada
11/19/09 Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB – Canada
11/20/09 Roll-A-Dome – Prince George, BC – Canada
11/21/09 Bourbon – Vancouver, BC – Canada
11/22/09 Sugar – Victoria, BC – Canada
11/23/09 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
11/24/09 Satyricon – Portland, OR
11/25/09 Regency Grand Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
11/27/09 Jumping Turtle – San Marcos, CA
11/28/09 Chain Reaction – Anaheim, CA
11/29/09 The Key Club – Hollywood, CA
11/30/09 U.B’s – Mesa, AZ
12/01/09 The Rock – Tucson, AZ
12/02/09 Gator’s – Farmington, NM
12/03/09 Club Vegas – Salt Lake City, UT
12/04/09 Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO
12/05/09 Marquee – Tulsa, OK
12/06/09 Scout Bar – San Antonio, TX
12/07/09 Scout Bar – Houston, TX
12/09/09 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
12/10/09 Peppermint Beach Club – Virginia Beach, VA
12/11/09 Volume 11 – Raleigh, NC
12/12/09 Rex Theater – Pittsburgh, PA
12/13/09 The Trocadero – Philadelphia, PA

-Psychotic Pulse

Summer Slaughter Diary: The Death, The Brutality, The Glory

The story starts as I sit with my friends in a NYC pizzeria talking about which bands we're going to mosh for. Doors open to Summer Slaughter in an hour; Karina's holding our place in line, as we flag down a taxi to take us to Irving Plaza. We have half an hour to wait, far longer than it seemed, as we had a killer time talking bands with hundreds of kids sporting death metal t-shirts. I had never seen a death metal band live before, and I was very excited to make that a thing of the past.

I got inside and was unpleasantly informed that the lineup would be split over the 2 NYC dates, and only seven bands would go on that night. This sounded like bad news until I found out that all the shitty bands were going on the next day. Looks like I picked the right time to come! My only regret is that I came on the wrong day to see Born of Osiris (check out my review of their latest; I'm a huge fan), but all seven of the bands that performed for me that night owned me.

1. Blackguard was first up. Like most opening bands I've witnessed, they kicked way too much ass to be first. They played folk metal with an awesome pirate theme, to great acclamation. I love seeing a young band with serious chops, and apparently, so did everyone else, because the crowd ate up their performance. Everyone in the band banged their head in unison, while their vocalist (whose shriek greatly resembled Alexi Laiho's) delivered each line of the song with great power and feeling. Overall, this band's performance was a win; their 25 minute set was all too short.

2. Decrepit Birth had a lot to offer. They play straight up brutal death metal. No frills, all quality. Their music is simple, but very good, so I had high hopes for them. Sadly, they are a lot better studio, but I was happy to see them live, if only because I was a big fan of them already. I bought one of their awesome-looking shirts, and proudly displayed my love for the band by knocking out some people in the pit. I'm seeing Decrepit Birth again this November, and I'll be hoping for a performance on par with my high expectations for what these guys can do.

3. Origin WAS GODLY. Their latest album Antithesis is one of the greatest technical death achievements ever. The band played their best songs, and played them spot-on, no mistakes. The drum sound was spectacular, the driving force behind it all, and John Longstreth consistently proves himself to be one of the finest drummers out there. Some asshole in the crowd picked a fight with me, but I don't have the time for that bullshit, so I spat on him and walked away. How can you think about anything else when Origin is playing right in front of you? Everyone on the stage kicked a gratuitous amount of ass. I love Origin, end of story.

4. Darkest Hour... meh... good performance, I'm just not that into these guys. I respect them for being in the top quartile of metalcore and bringing in a lot of melodic elements, no doubt. They played a good set, while I sat in the lobby and hung out with my bros. It was about this time that I realized that I was going to be in major pain the next day. And there were still three more amazing bands to come.

5. Ensiferum had the craziest and fastest circle pits I've ever seen. Whoever says circle pits are lame clearly hasn't been in one that intense. Excellent song choices by the band, including "Deathbringer from the Sky", "One More Magic Potion", and "Iron". These guys rock with their chants and their keyboards. They all performed shirtless and with face paint, which is slightly odd, but Ensiferum puts on a cool presentation. They're coming back to North America for a headlining tour soon, and I highly recommend them to everyone.

6. Suffocation sounded awesome... when they were playing. I didn't enjoy hearing Frank Mullen go on a bunch of rants and make a dozen speeches and, at times, talk about nothing at all. Let's play a drinking game: every time Suffocation says they've been around 20 years, take a shot. You'll pass out by the end of their set. Having a Brooklyn accent and lacking the ability to stop talking must be prerequisites to joining Suffocation. I gotta give these guys credit though. When they got down to it, they demolished with a huge, heavy sound that threatened to wreck the venue. The pits weren't very good, which disappointed me. I guess people get tired from rocking out to six straight hours of death metal. Suffocation are legends though, and well worth seeing.

7. Necrophagist: the holy headliners. The sound system can make or break a live band, and sad to say, it broke Necropagist. The vocals and drums sounded superb, but the guitars were a drowned out. The crowd gave Necrophagist mad respect anyway, deservedly so. Necrophagist is one amazing band, and despite the relative poor sound quality, I loved them, especially as their sound improved as the set went on. They even snuck in a song from their upcoming album (set for release this year), and it was beyond awesome. They ended the night spectacularly.

I emerged from the venue reeking of smoke and sweat, out onto the night streets of New York City, along with a bunch of other satisfied metalheads. Per tradition, everyone chills in front of the venue for a while before making their way home. Summer Slaughter was a lot of fun. I regret missing it the first two years, but there's always next year to make up for it. The lineup is consistently killer year after year, so I'm almost positive that if you go to the Slaughter next year, you'll see me there. Here's my quick analysis of the bands, by the way:

Best to worst:

Origin

Ensiferum

Blackguard

Suffocation

Necrophagist

Decrepit Birth

Darkest Hour

This has been your Summer Slaughter review, which I hope you enjoyed almost as much as I enjoyed the concert. More album reviews coming this week, and Mayhem Festival two weeks from today!

-Psychotic Pulse