Obituary
Special Guests: Pallbearer, Skeletonwitch, and Dust Bolt
May 2nd, 2018
Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
On Wednesday May 2, Obituary kicked off their North American tour right here in Atlanta at the Masquerade with support from Dust Bolt, Skeletonwitch, and Pallbearer. I could not wait to see what one of the legends of death metal had in store for us, and I was not disappointed.
Dust Bolt returned to the United States for only the second time to kick off the night with a thrash metal attack. This German band was absolutely amazing!! They embodied everything that was great about the 80’s thrash metal scene. The white sneakers, black jeans, and cool ass band tee shirts. They ripped through their 30-minute set with so much energy and excitement. These guys get it. You can tell that they have a true love for thrash metal and respect it’s great history. Not really being familiar with their body of work, I could hear elements of all of my favorite bands like Exodus, the Big 4, and Suicidal Tendencies; which was awesome. For me, the coolest thing about this set was seeing the drummer from Obituary air drumming to every song from the side stage. That’s validation. I really hope these guys come back around soon, they were that great. “Toxic Attack” was a highlight for me as well. It’s destined to become a mosh pit classic, with a Maiden ending, and a Slayer-esque solo (but with an actual melody). It was so much fun watching these guys have fun on stage and I recommend checking out Lenny and the boys.
One of my favorite bands, Skeletonwitch, was up next and I was really stoked to see what these guys had to offer with front man Adam Clemans and a new drummer – Jon Rice (ex-Job For a Cowboy and Scorpion Child). I saw Adam perform very soon after he replaced fan favorite Chance Garnett on the Decibel Tour in 2016 and was impressed with his range and stage presence. The guys did not disappoint in their seven song set. They hit a couple of fan favorites – “I am of Death”, “Beyond the Permafrost”, and “Beneath Dead Leaves”. They also treated us to one of the first tracks off the new album, “Fen of Shadows”. I have to say hearing the new track in person made me really look forward to hearing more of the forthcoming release in July, which I had previously been indifferent to. Great band to see live; they always bring it with their genre bending Black Death thrash metal sound.
Doom/Stoner/Shoegazer metal legends Pallbearer were up next. Now faithful reader, hear me out, I am not into this genre at ALL!!! It’s laborious, boring and makes minutes seem like an eternity. I was less than excited to have to stand through this slow burn of a set. But here is the truth, Pallbearer is made up of a group of super talented musicians that are at the top of their game. They sounded great and the fans loved them, and truthfully I didn’t mind them. By no means did they convert me, but I appreciate great musicians and that is what I heard and watched on the stage before me. They slogged through a 5 song set which I guess is normal for thrash albums played on the wrong speed (I kid, I kid!!). I can’t say enough how tight these guys were and how great of musicians they were; just not my cup of tea.
Florida Death metal icons Obituary took the stage to rip through a set list that showcased all of their legendary songs. The crowd was taking its time in waking up and really getting into the band that helped put death metal on the map, but when the band hit the opening riff of “Chopped in Half” the crowd erupted and we were off to the races. We were treated to “By the Light”, which according to my sources has not been played live since 2008. The fan favorite “Slowly We Rot” closed out the 3 song encore and brought a great night of metal to a close. The Tardy boys have not lost a step since their humble beginnings 34 years ago, and are a great band to see live.
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