MAY 7th, 2022
CHAOS AND CARNAGE 2022 TOUR
Review by Cindy Rae
Photos by Jeffrey Donavan http://www.metaltitans.com/concertpics/chaos-and-carnage-tour-2022/
Bands playing include: Distant, Signs of the Swarm, Angel Maker, Upon a Burning Body, Lorna Shore, Carnifex, & Suicide Silence.
Doors for the venue opened at 4:30PM and there was a line around the corner with eager metal legions waiting to let loose. This being one of the largest metal tours to hit the area in the last couple of years, especially after Covid restrictions have loosened nationwide.
This was only the second date of the tour and the second to sell completely out after Neighboring Seattle,Portland did not disappoint.
Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania’s Signs fo the Swarm in the words of Lead Singer David Simonich, brought the show and low. Grinding through roughly five songs with the precision you would expect from a much more tenured act. Technically punshining and all together a tight live act, this is for sure an act worth showing up early for with one fan having driven close to 700 miles just to see their set.
Angel maker definitely took command of the room with their seven members. They kept the crowed engaged the whole time and had great stage interaction with the crowd, along with bringing a light hearted brevity to the set. The interlay of the set hardened back to days of seeing Cephalic Carnage in the mid tier slots of Summer Slaughters gone by.
Upon A Burning Body: The Texas bad Boys have definitely been around long enough to know what they are doing. They left the stage a couple of times between songs, leaving the crowd in suspense. Every bit of the venue was moving by their fourth song. The now Tik-Tok popular “extermination” With a well seasoned stage presence and ultra tight live show, lead singer Danny Leal, was as sharp as ever commanding the room with ease. . Ending the set with fan favorite “Texas Blood Money”. The entire crowd was going off the wall and clearly wanting more from the young guns. Make sure you check out the brand new album Fury out now on Seek & Strike Records.
With one of the most unsuspecting lead vocalists, Lorna Shore took the stage. They came out with an aesthetically strong unified front, having shirts that had member specific sigils on them a detail that just elevated the entire image of the band. You could feel the tension in the room that this was a long awaited set by many. The set started with their song “Immortal” that was released in early 2020. The building was shaking with circle pits and crowd surfers. With only a five song setlist, the crowd stayed with them the entire time. Lead Singer, Will Ramos, had the crowd in his grip the whole set, vacillating between screeches and some of the lowest gutturals we’ve ever heard. He’s a force to be reckoned with. They mixed in a brand new track called: Sun Eater that showed off the mesmerizing technical precision they are quickly becoming known for. As they finished the set with their song “To the Hellfire” you could see that this would be a hard performance to follow. Expect incredible things from this bloodthirsty young band in the very near future.
Carnifex came out and showed the venue that they did not come to play, Being the modern torchbearer of Deathcore. Portland showed up for them by brining a constant circle pit that never stopped. They opened with “Slit Wrist Savior” diving deep into the long catalog of solid releases. They kept the crowd going by dropping in the Slipknot Cover of Heretic Anthem, as was heavily requested by the crowd. If there was a person in the building that hadn’t moved yet, they definitely achieved getting them to wake up. Near the end of their set, a reaper appeared, sauntering across the stage. The figure then played spellcaster, cursing everyone in attendance. Their thirteen song set reaffirmed just how relevant the band still is to the genre as a whole. Ending with “Lie to my Face” and “Hell chose me” the band left the stage after elating Portland Straight through hell.
Headliners Suicide Silence, started with some technical issues with the mic but their singer kept the crowd engaged and sang happy birthday to a fan. While the mic was off, the band bantered back and fourth with the crowd and continued to do so through the set. Having the crowd sing their second song “Unanswered” and Eddie screaming as loud as he could without the mic and the band made the best of the situation. The Bossanova Ballroom staff were quick to get them up and running again. With the mic back, the band ripped through the rest of their set. The performance went on as if there were never any issues. Also playing a mix of their full catalog, the fans knew every word to every song. They made mention of their late singer, Mitch Lucker , and thanked the crowd saying “The are so impressed this genre won’t die after 20 years “ and that “They are so inspired by this new wave resurgence of American Death core” As night came to an end, they played “No Pity for a Coward” which left the building in ruins with Portland definitely pulling the trigger.