The Black Dahlia Murder Show Review (11/27/2024)
The Black Dahlia Murder’s co-headliner with Dying Fetus was an insane show and one I had been looking forward to for a while. The tour was packed with amazing bands, and it was by far one of the craziest shows I’ve seen here.
The first band up was the one I was most excited to see: Vomit Forth. I’ve been listening to this band for a while and have never seen them live. Trust me, they exceeded my expectations. For an opening band, they had serious energy. There was already a massive crowd when they started playing, and everyone in the pit was going nuts. No one stood still, and they had a deadly wall of death. They were the best band to start the tour, and I’m so glad they’re getting their name out there and are joining these big tours.
Next up was Angelmaker. I’m shocked I’ve never listened to this band before; they formed in 2011 and have three albums under their belt. I also saw familiar faces on stage: Ian Bearer (ex-Rings of Saturn) and Matt Perrin (ex-Threat Signal). Angelmaker was the most unique band that played. They injected a lot of melody into the typical deathcore sound and always left me guessing. The musicianship is impressive, especially the guitar playing; all three guitar players unleashed blood-curdling riffs and solos.
I said I’m shocked I’ve never heard of this band because my friends all knew them and the crowd response was unbelievable. The crowd was chanting the lyrics, moshing like crazy, and people were headbanging in the back. I just wish the sound was better; specifically, the vocals were a bit quiet. After watching past live performances, I noticed that the vocals usually sound perfect.
Spite was up next. I was thrilled to hear the Cannibal Holocaust score as their intro music, which led to the song “IED.” I’ve seen Spite a few times, and they’re always a fun band to watch live. Their sound is crushing. They also had crazy energy; the crowd moved the entire time, and they kept up the momentum throughout the whole performance. But I’ll be honest—in the back of my mind, I knew Dying Fetus was up next. They’re one of my favorite live bands, and I was anticipating their set so much it took my focus away from Spite.
Dying Fetus is an absolute classic for me. They’re always killer live, and I try to make it out to see them every time they tour through my area. They played a combination of old and new stuff, from “Intentional Manslaughter” to “Unbridled Fury” from the latest album Make Them Beg for Death. The only problem for me was the guitars; I didn’t hear John Gallagher’s riffs as clearly as I would have liked. Their beastial growling vocals and Trey Williams’ drumming sounded perfect.
While the other bands were killer, we were all there to see one band. With the Jurassic Park theme as their opening music, The Black Dahlia Murder ascended the stage and started playing “Evening Ephemeral.” I have to say, Brian Eschbach’s vocals sound more like Trevor Strnad’s; I could especially hear the similarity on older songs like “What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse.” Because of this, they sounded way better this time than when I saw them last year.
Black Dahlia Murder has an extensive discography and played material from all their best albums. While they played plenty of new songs, like “Panic Hysteria,” I was happy to hear classics like “Statutory Ape” and “Funeral Thirst.”
My only complaint is that they didn’t play as long as they should have. They usually close with “Deathmask Divine, ” and while that’s one of my favorite TBDM songs, it always makes me sad that they’re about to end their set.
TBDM’s co-headliner with Dying Fetus was everything I expected and more. I’m happy I had the opportunity to review the show, and I can’t wait for the next one!
