Empire Extreme

A review of A Matrimony Made … In Sickness and Hell Tour

Carcass, Deafheaven, and Inter Arma

The Rex Theater – Pittsburgh, Pa 11/22/2016

By George Archibald
Photos by Josh Drespling

It was a chilly evening as people lined up outside the Rex Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to see legendary death metal band Carcass. Carcass who has been around since the 1990s, are known for being one of the forefathers of using medical terminology in their lyrics. This also sparked a movement of gore metal which is heavily faceted on medical procedures and torture; where its victims are brutally torn apart, along with other visceral descriptions of death. The band’s line up has changed drastically since its inception, so for myself it was going to be interesting seeing these new members preform the old songs.

The night started off with Richmond, Virginia’s Inter Arma setting the mood for the night. The band played heavy riff riffs with a sonic assault of feedback and resonance throughout their set. The drummer would constantly continue the beat right into the next song, as well as dropping the hammer on the downbeats. Inter Arma’s vocalist, sang in a black metal style while cutting through the mix with a commanding power to his voice. This band came to make a statement this night.

Up next was Deafheaven, which turned out to be a crowd favorite this night. The music at times would go from dissonant noise with droning sounds, to these crescendos of swelling guitars that were almost whimsical at times. DeafHeaven’s drummer sounded huge with his playing style filling those riffs with powerful beats. DeafHeaven’s vocalist tended to saunter around the stage and do sporadic arm movements throughout the set as if he was a conductor to the band’s chaotic symphony. This band kind of left me wanting more however, as the drone music would play on with very little crowd interaction between songs.

To close off the night, the much-anticipated Carcass took the stage, with a video monitor set up above each member’s amplifiers. Clips of surgical tools and classic artwork from the band flashed across the screens, as the band ripped through their thunderous set. I felt a bit of nostalgia watching them play through some of the older songs from the band’s history. The band saw the liveliness of a pit open as they ripped through ‘Incarnate Solvent Abuse’, and ‘Corporal Jigsore Quandary’. Vocalist Jeff Walker, sounded like he has never aged in the bands 20 plus years. Carcass was what this crowd wanted, and the band delivered in solid glory.

I was surprised to see such a diverse crowd in attendance at the old converted Rex Theater on a weekday night. Yes, there were a lot of the classic metal heads there to pay tribute to one of the icons of the genre. Guys (and girls) that I’m sure had cut their teeth on the early works of bands such as Venom, Death, and even Slayer, but there was also an element of a new generation of metal-heads. I was confident that some of these new fans were not even of legal drinking age, clad in Avenge Sevenfold and Issues t-shirts. However this was a unified group, here to enjoy the music and mayhem that only a band as well aged as Carcass could deliver

Carcass line up was rounded out by original guitarist Bill Steer who has also been part of Napalm Death and Angel Witch. Sharing guitar duties was Ben Ash who joined Carcass in 2013 along with drummer Daniel Wilding (Heaven Shall Burn, Trigger the Bloodshed, The Order of Apollyon , Aborted).

The “A Matrimony Made … In Sickness and Hell Tour” will continue in the States until the end of November and then Carcass has a few sporadic dates in Europe during the new year.

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