{"id":12333,"date":"2016-08-13T19:02:17","date_gmt":"2016-08-14T02:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/?p=12333"},"modified":"2016-08-13T19:06:27","modified_gmt":"2016-08-14T02:06:27","slug":"extreme-metal-meltdown-tenth-summer-slaughter-tour-blazes-through-los-angeles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/2016\/08\/13\/extreme-metal-meltdown-tenth-summer-slaughter-tour-blazes-through-los-angeles\/","title":{"rendered":"Extreme Metal Meltdown: Tenth Summer Slaughter Tour Blazes Through Los Angeles"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Andrew Bansal<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"summerslaughter-HEF-6-9-16\"<\/a><\/p>\n

August 12th 2016, The Novo, Los Angeles CA: <\/strong>The tenth edition of the annual North American extreme metal touring festival Summer Slaughter started off on July 23rd 2016, promising to turn up the heat in already searing temperatures, as always. This time boasting a package headlined by Cannibal Corpse with Nile, After The Burial, Suffocation, Carnifex, Revocation, Krisiun, Slaughter To Prevail, Ingested and Enterprise Earth in support, Summer Slaughter strived to outdo its own previous efforts with what was potentially their most brutal lineup ever on paper. As per the tradition every year, the announcement of the lineup was accompanied by metalheads across the States complaining about their favorite band being too low on the bill, some of them also extremely upset that the tour was not going to visit a venue less than one mile from their house on a weekend. The tour arrived in downtown Los Angeles for a gig at the Novo in the L.A. Live entertainment square, and despite the internet outrage, death metal fanatics turned up early and in good numbers to enjoy this endurance-testing 12-band marathon.<\/p>\n

Doors were scheduled to open at 2 PM and a sizable crowd of ticket holders was already in line waiting to enter. There was a delay in opening the doors, and the box office staff were still printing tickets, clearly not ready for this show. In addition to the 10 bands on the Summer Slaughter package, the show also had two winners of ‘Headbang For The Highway’, a battle-of-the-bands event conducted throughout the country to pick local openers for each show on this tour. It is a great opportunity for local unsigned bands, except that their names are never advertised on online event flyers, or on any schedules posted anywhere around the venue, and they enjoy the dignity of being called ‘Local 1’ and ‘Local 2’.<\/p>\n

The first of these bands, Hounds Of Tindalos<\/a><\/strong> took the stage as soon as the doors opened, and their already short 20-minute set was cut further short to make up for\u00a0the delay in proceedings. They played a solid set of extreme metal with particularly impressive guitar work. But as it turns out, they’re based out of Mesa, Arizona and are not in fact a local LA band, which begs the question as to why an LA area band wasn’t picked instead. But that’s not to take anything away from Hounds Of Tindalos, and playing the biggest show of their lives, they did everything right.<\/p>\n

\"Hounds<\/a>
Hounds Of Tindalos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next up, Pomona, California Throne Of Tyranny<\/a><\/strong> a.k.a. ‘Local 2’ played a set that must have lasted less than 15 minutes, but got the early birds moving with their mix of melodic death metal and deathcore, their tunes mainly filled with fretboard-sweeping guitar parts intertwined with breakdowns. In the middle of the set, the vocalist asked how many in the crowd had seen them before and the answer was absolutely zero, which motivated the band further to put on their best show in front of an entirely new audience. Throne Of Tyranny’s efforts did not go to waste, and quite a few of the attendees would most likely remember the band as one of the early instigators of a day of brutal heavy music.<\/p>\n

\"Throne<\/a>
Throne Of Tyranny<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The deathcore vibes continued, with Spokane, Washington six-piece unit Enterprise Earth<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>hitting the stage as the first of the touring bands under the spotlight, and as the breakdowns flowed unstoppably from the stage, the circle pits intensified, while more and more ticket holders were arriving by the minute and grabbing the first-come-first-serve wristbands to get into the general admission pit area closest to the stage. This band is heavy on breakdowns and not much else, but that’s their thing and they do it well enough for fans of that style to take notice.<\/p>\n

\"Enterprise<\/a>
Enterprise Earth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next were\u00a0Manchester, England quintet\u00a0Ingested<\/a><\/strong>, and they clearly drew\u00a0some people to this show that were already fans of the band, as evident from some scattered chants of ‘Ingested!’ before they began their set. Their vocalist showcased good strength in vocal delivery as well as stage presence and crowd interaction while his band mates hammered away non-stop for the 20-minute set, and amongst the first five bands to play this show, they were undoubtedly the most impressive.<\/p>\n

\"Ingested\"<\/a>
Ingested<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All the way from Russia, Slaughter To Prevail<\/a><\/strong> took the stage next, as the vocalist came out in a mask and performed the first two songs in it,\u00a0which definitely got the crowd interested. One thing this entire show lacked was the visual aspect, and Slaughter To Prevail, although musically slightly lost in this 12-band shuffle by the time the show ended, undeniably stood out for this visual element, thanks to the mask. Other than that, it was mostly breakdown-laden heavy music, which fans of Ingested and the like were able to appreciate, as told by the long queue alongside their merch table after the set.<\/p>\n

\"Slaughter<\/a>
Slaughter To Prevail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the first half of the show, there wasn’t much to cater to fans of old-school extreme music, except for the one band these people had arrived here early enough to see, Brazilian trio Krisiun<\/a><\/strong>. This was by far the first band to take this stage with any kind of classic death metal attack, and they did so with great conviction as they put their best foot forward to encapsulate 26 years and 10 albums of masterful brutality into this 30-minute set. Whilst the previous five bands had support from only some sections of this crowd, Krisiun succeeded in garnering a unified roar from nearly everyone present inside the venue, after every song. Aside from his musicianship, bassist\/vocalist Alex Camargo also instilled violence in the crowd with his words, as he repeatedly urged them to make noise and mosh. His bandmates Max and Moyses Kolesne combined excellently with the frontman, and despite being the only three-piece band of this lineup, Krisiun were as powerful as anyone else. This band of brothers is keeping the old-school alive on this otherwise mostly modern extreme metal festival.<\/p>\n

\"Krisiun\"<\/a>
Krisiun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In terms of number of bands, the show had reached its halfway point, and through this three-hour duration, some aspects were clearly noticeable. Firstly, chicks were moshing harder than dudes. Secondly, the strobe lighting at the Novo is amongst the most powerful you’d experience at any Los Angeles area venue and they greatly enhanced the impact of the music on offer here. Thirdly, the upstairs balcony was open and seats were available on a general admission basis, even as a large section of it was curtained off and the show only sold enough tickets to fill out all sections of the floor downstairs. The balcony was nothing short of a luxury at a long metal show of this nature, and in case you were winded by hard-hitting moshpits, or finding the strobes too much to handle, or simply bored of the band on stage, you could go upstairs, find a seat and take a comfortable nap. While most people migrated to the bars, merch tables or smoking patio between sets, watching the stage in these intermissions was interesting in itself and the way the roadies pulled off the 10-minute set changes was a work of art. But the most striking negative of the first half of the show was nearly every band’s usage of intro tapes. With set lengths ranging from 20-30 minutes, it was hard to understand why a band would waste precious time standing on stage\u00a0and waiting for the intro to end.\u00a0The show had already presented a lot of music, but through Krisiun’s set the fun had only begun, and things were about to get better quick.<\/p>\n

Read more on Page 2<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Boston, Massachusetts technical death\/thrash quartet Revocation<\/a><\/strong> were the seventh band to take the stage here at the Novo, and through their scintillating 30-minute set, they proved to be the only one in the 12-band lineup worth taking the earplugs out for. Death metal is far more interesting when a band can masterfully mix other influences with it, and Revocation demonstrated as much, and even within such a short duration, presented a much more diverse set of tunes than anyone else that played before or after them. Blending elements of thrash, prog and even a touch of jazz fusion, Revocation’s brand of technical death metal came across as incredibly impressive, as the song ‘Dismantle The Dictator’ turned out to be the best thing played on stage at this show and selections from their brand new Metal Blade Records full-length release ‘Great Is Our Sin’ were equally compelling. They got an above-average response from the crowd as some stared on with blank faces and were confused by the jazzy segments. The band clearly deserved better, but completely undeterred, played an absolutely brilliant set. Revocation have been in existence for a decade and will be around for a whole lot longer. This band has the musical background, the songwriting skills and the on-stage insanity to take themselves to great heights of popularity and success, and one can bet they would return on a future edition of Summer Slaughter but much, much higher on the bill. The best band of the show by quite a distance.<\/p>\n

\"Revocation\"<\/a>
Revocation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

San Diego deathcore unit Carnifex<\/a><\/strong> took the stage next and presented more of a visual element than any of the other bands, with scrims displaying their logo and artwork on either side of the drum kit, and short pillars with extinguished candles placed all over the stage. This band gets categorized as deathcore and they themselves wouldn’t deny it, but they have enough of a death metal-hardcore blend to cross over to both sides of the spectrum. Yes, they have the breakdowns, but in addition they also bring forth distinctly notable musical skills on their instruments, in the guitar play and drumming in particular, as witnessed in this performance. Meanwhile, frontman Scott Lewis’ vocal delivery was also on par with the prowess of his band mates, and he was among the best frontmen this show had to offer, perhaps next only to the Corpsegrinder himself. Lewis certainly got the crowd on the band’s side, and the response Carnifex got was indicative of the level of fan base they enjoy, and justified their placement on this bill. If at all there is\u00a0a deathcore band worth recommending to people that aren’t fans of the sub-genre, it has to be Carnifex.<\/p>\n

\"Carnifex\"<\/a>
Carnifex<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A lot of “real death metal” fanboys were stoked beyond control and in eager anticipation of Long Island, New York extreme metal veterans Suffocation<\/a><\/strong> hitting the stage here, and the pre-show talk seemed to suggest that this was one of the main draws for this event. But as the story goes, the band’s legendary frontman Frank Mullen is no longer keen on extensive touring, and switches out vocal duties with Disgorge drummer Ricky Myers for long tours. So, Myers is handling vocals on the Summer Slaughter run, and for folks complaining about Suffocation’s low placing on the bill, this clearly explains why this is the case, even for a band that co-headlined the same festival in 2009. It was my first time seeing this incarnation of Suffocation, and with absolutely no disrespect to Ricky Myers, I would best describe this experience as similar to what it would be like seeing Iron Maiden with Blaze Bayley or Judas Priest with Tim Ripper Owens. Frank Mullen is one of the most iconic figures in extreme metal, not only for his brutal vocal pyrotechnics but equally so for his classic hand-chop gestures to the crowd, and he is quite simply irreplaceable. Some bands can play with fill-in singers but Suffocation is not one of them, and Mullen was hugely missed, as the band’s collective on-stage personality was very much inferior than what it is with him at the helm. It is understandable for the remaining members to continue without him and earn their bread by playing shows, but from the fan’s perspective there is little to no point in seeing this version of Suffocation. The biggest disappointment of the show by far, and in fact, one or two spots too high on the bill.<\/p>\n

\"Suffocation\"<\/a>
Suffocation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next were Minneapolis, Minnesota progressive metal\/hardcore\/deathcore quartet After The Burial<\/a><\/strong>, who gave it an honest, wholehearted effort to play a 40-minute in front of an audience which they already knew wasn’t right for them. Following the departure and death of their guitarist Justin Lowe, After The Burial bowed out of last year’s Summer Slaughter and were rightly given another shot on the festival this year. They coped with this major lineup change and tragedy very strongly, converted to a four-piece\/one-guitar lineup, and released an excellent album called ‘Dig Deep’ earlier this year. After losing his partner, guitarist Trent Hafdahl has stepped up his game and shone under the lights here as he put forth a performance as good as any guitar player at this show. The rhythm section was also equally competent and vocalist Anthony Notarmaso tried his best to get the crowd on his side, but to no avail, as shouts of “get off the stage” were heard between songs. If you want to hear brutally honest opinions and get a general idea of what the crowd thought of the band that just played, visit the men’s restroom, as dudes who can’t shut up while peeing would tell you what they felt even if you’re not interested. After The Burial were described in the restroom as “not real death metal”, “horeshit” and “white boy music” among other things, but one has to commend them for even agreeing to do this tour and attempt to break into an alien demographic, and for a change it was refreshing to see them with bands other than Veil Of Maya and Born Of Osiris. Even though After The Burial put on a genuinely good show here in every sense, they will at least know never to play to old-school death metal fans ever again.<\/p>\n

\"After<\/a>
After The Burial<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the main support act in this lineup, Greenville, South Carolina technical death metal quartet Nile<\/a><\/strong> played a 40-minute set and received quite the ovation from this audience which was undoubtedly very excited to see this band. Nile have been around since ’93, have put out eight full-length studio albums and played countless shows that have rightly garnered them a large fan base, and there is no denying that they’re masters at the art, specially with the lyrical themes of Egyptian mythology and the manner in which they write music that sonically portrays these themes with accuracy, at least in an extreme metal sense. But, as a live band they come across as very repetitive and best served in very small doses, and even this 40-minute set proved to be a bit much. This is where the balcony seats came in handy. Nile’s set was among the most uninteresting performances of the entire show, and only heightened the anxious anticipation for the headline act.<\/p>\n

\"Nile\"<\/a>
Nile<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the show progressed, the stacked layers of drumkits and amplification placed on stage for all the bands were taken out one by one, and after Nile ended, finally all that was left was the stage setup for Tampa, Florida death metal giants Cannibal Corpse<\/a><\/strong>, the rightful headliners of this festival. Vocalist George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher is one of the most instantly recognizable personalities in metal, not just extreme metal, and his on-stage exploits were on full display here as much as always, because just like the rest of the band, consistency is one of his major strengths. People often lament that Cannibal Corpse are always the same and don’t do anything new, but they established their sound early on, stuck to it and did it better than most other bands of their era, which explains their longevity, and the same goes for their live show, which doesn’t change much but invariably instigates the most brutal mosh pits and gives death metal fans their money’s worth. They’re all expert musicians who know what to do, how to do it, and will continue to do so. You know what to expect from Cannibal Corpse, and that will probably never change, which is what makes them great in their own way. They could have played this show with only 2 or 3 of the other bands and not all 11, and still would have sold the same number of tickets, so for attendees to be able to see all the openers as well as a full Cannibal Corpse headline set was indeed a bargain-and-a-half. With classics like ‘Hammer Smashed Face’, ‘Devoured By Vermin’, ‘Make Them Suffer’, ‘I Cum Blood’ and ‘Stripped, Raped And Strangled’ plus a lot more, Cannibal Corpse leveled the Novo and extracted every ounce of energy that was left in this crowd.<\/p>\n

All in all, a heavy music marathon that had its moments of greatness and disappointment, but well worth the ticket price for fans of extreme metal.<\/p>\n

If you like what you’ve read, subscribe to our newsletter, and support Metal Assault and buy a shirt<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Cannibal<\/a>
Cannibal Corpse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Summer Slaughter remaining tour dates:<\/strong>
\n08\/13\/2016 -\u0096 Tempe, AZ @\u00a0The Marquee
\n08\/15\/2016 -\u0096 Dallas, TX @\u00a0Gas Monkey Live
\n08\/16\/2016 -\u0096 Austin, TX @\u00a0Empire Garage
\n08\/17\/2016 -\u0096 Houston, TX @\u00a0Warehouse Live
\n08\/19\/2016 -\u0096 Richmond, VA @\u00a0The National
\n08\/20\/2016 -\u0096 Wilmington, NC @\u00a0Ziggy\u0092s By The Sea
\n08\/21\/2016 -\u0096 Atlanta, GA @\u00a0The Masquerade<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Andrew Bansal August 12th 2016, The Novo, Los Angeles CA: The tenth edition of the annual North American extreme metal touring festival Summer Slaughter started off on July 23rd 2016, promising to turn up the heat in already searing temperatures, as always. This time boasting a package headlined by Cannibal Corpse with Nile, After … <\/p>\n

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