Carnival of Death Tour 2023 Show Review
The Carnival of Death Tour is back, and this lineup was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Cryptopsy, Abysmal Dawn, Hate, and so many more killer bands. It’s more like a festival than a typical tour package.
Unfortunately, I didn’t arrive at the show until late. There was a massive accident on my way to the show, and I was stuck in traffic for an extra hour! So I didn’t show up until the end of Hate’s set.
Still, Hate performed well. I saw this band in 2019 and was extremely impressed by them. I’ve been listening to their material often, so I’m bummed I didn’t catch their entire set. There was also a slight mishap; the guitars cut out, and all you could hear were drums and bass. Fortunately, the band handled it well, still performing while vocalist/guitarist Adam The First Sinner walked off to fix the problem.
Next up was Abysmal Dawn, a band I’ve been listening to for years and have seen live numerous times. As always, the band sounded great. Every member played extremely well, and each song sounded perfect.
I do wish there was more energy from all the players, but vocalist/guitarist Charles Elliott and bassist Eliseo Garcia made up for it with their excellent stage presence.
Leveling the Plane of Existence is my favorite album from them, and I’m happy they played some tracks off that album, such as “In Service of Time.”
Finally, we get to the headliners—the almighty Cryptopsy! This is a band I try to see live as often as I can, not only because I’ve been a fan for years but because this is one of the best bands I’ve seen live. They played several classics from my favorite album, None So Vile, such as “Crown of Horns” and “Graves of the Fathers.” They also played material off their new album, As Gomorrah Burns, such as “In Abeyance.”
Bassist Oli Pinard was on tour with Cattle Decapitation at the time, so Cryptopsy had bassist Dom Grimard (Ion Dissonance) join them for this run. He did a killer job, playing with a ton of force and he had excellent stage presence.
How this band can play the most technical material and be so animated on stage is beyond me. Every single player was vigorous, running around and headbanging throughout the entire set. Even drummer Flo Mounier unleashed some pretty great facial expressions.
And since we’re on the topic of headbanging, can we nominate vocalist Matt McGachy for the “Best Hair in Death Metal” award?
My only complaint was there was quite a bit of feedback. I was wearing earplugs so it wasn’t noticeable until I took one out. I don’t blame the band; after all, guitarist Christian Donaldson is also an audio engineer. I’m sure it was something with the equipment or venue or something. But this is one of the many reasons why I always wear earplugs.
Even though I got to the venue late, the show was killer. Definitely check out this show if it hits your city!
Follow Carnival of Death Tour:
Follow Infernal TV:
www.infernaltv.com
www.youtube.com/c/infernaltv
Facebook.com/infernaltv
Instagram: @infernal_tv
Twitter: @infernal__tv
