Decibel Magazine Tour 2023 Show Review

The Decibel Magazine Tour in 2023 was one of the shows I was most looking forward to. I’ve seen Dark Funeral and Cattle Decapitation before, and they always play a great set. I was also looking forward to seeing 200 Stab Wounds live. They’re a band I discovered a few months ago, and I love their crushing old-school death metal sound.

But I was honestly most blown away by Blackbraid. I remember I was talking to a friend, my back facing the stage, when she said, “Check out those spikes!” I turn around and see one of the coolest stage appearances I ever saw. Immediately, I ran up with my camera to start taking pictures of the band.

Blackbraid merges the lines between the atmospheric and war-like atmosphere of black metal. I’m a bigger fan of the melodic black metal style, but this band introduces more progression with the aggressive parts.

As far as their live performance goes, they stole the show. Every member acted like they’d been playing on stage their entire lives. Each member played every note, sang every word, and hit every drum with so much force. I can definitely see this band going somewhere.

In case you’re not familiar with the band, Blackbraid is an indigenous black metal band formed by Jon Krieger. He’s a Native American musician whose pseudonym is Sgah’gahsowáh, a Mohawk name that means “the witch hawk.”

The next band up was one I’ve been wanting to see for a while—200 Stab Wounds! I love the re-emergence of old-school death metal among newer bands, and 200 Stab Wounds embodies everything that’s brutal about Cannibal Corpse. They have chuggy riffs and fast drums, and their sound annihilates.

Their live show was everything I imagined it to be. They sounded brutal and hit harder than any band that played that night. The crowd went absolutely wild, and I saw plenty of moshing from the crowd.

What I found interesting about this band’s performance is they didn’t have stage banter or even hyped up the fans. They kept their between-song interaction minimal and focused on the music. Sometimes, I feel stage banter is cheesy and gimmicky, so I appreciate how this band just lets the music speak for itself.

Up next is a band I’ve been listening to for years, Cattle Decapitation. Travis Ryan is one of my favorite vocalists of all time if not my favorite. I have no idea how he can make the noises he makes. And every time I saw them live, he sounds incredible.

Cattle Decapitation’s live show stands out because, individually, every member brings something to the table. Bassist Oli Pinard has one of the best stage presences of any musician I’ve ever seen. He looks like such a badass on stage and compels an energy that I’ve never felt before. By watching him on stage, you would think he’s some crazy monster. But in real life, he’s such a sweetheart!

Of course, there are the guitar players. Josh Elmore and Belisario Dimuzio both riffed hard, and Dimuzio headbanged enough for the entire band. Dave McGraw was hiding behind like 100 cymbals, but I could tell he played faster than any other drummer.

Cattle Decapitation also has one of the craziest crowds of the night. There were plenty of crowd surfers and a ton of moshing. It’s safe to say that Cattle Decapitation killed it that night.

Finally, one of my favorite bands went on stage. When I saw Dark Funeral in 2019, I loved their theatrical performance and all the crazy stuff they had on stage. This performance was more minimalist this time, but they were still incredible. Even in the Florida heat, they froze over the Sunshine State with the darkest and evilest black metal known to man.

Lord Ahriman is, of course, a classic. Watching him live never gets old. I interviewed him in 2019, and he was extremely cool. Their vocalist, Heljarmadr, is so charismatic on stage, it’s like it puts me in a trance. Drummer Jalomaah gave one of the best drum performances of the night. I also met him after the show, and he’s super nice.

I have to say, their sound was perfect volume-wise. I forgot to wear my earplugs during the first couple of songs, and my ears weren’t hurting—even though I was in the photo pit. So props to whoever is their sound guy!

They played some of my favorite songs, such as “My Funeral” and “Unchain My Soul.” I wish they played more off of Angelus Exuro Pro Eternus, which is my favorite album from them, but they still played a great mix of songs from their entire discography.

Decibel Magazine Tour 2023 was a success. I can’t wait until next year!