MAY 24th, 2024
CHAOS & CARNAGE 2024
Review by: Yolanda Cota

When I saw the show started at 4:00 pm, I thought that it was going to be an early show. This was my first Chaos & Carnage experience. Little did I know I was going to be in a whirlwind of the most soul crushing metal shows I’ve been to with a grand total of seven bands that lasted seven hours! It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time and one of the longest shows I’ve been to since Ozzfest 2008. I got a headache from all the headbanging I did, that is for sure.

The first band was Face Yourself. I got in a bit late in their set, but from what I heard, I liked it a lot. I mean, when I said I was headbanging, I mean right at the beginning. “The Betrayer” was the best song, and it’s off their latest EP entitled “Tales of Death”. They only have four EPs so I wished they had a full album. They give off a bit of a Cradle Of Filth vibe, but I liked Face Yourself a lot better. I got to meet them in the patio area later in the evening and they are some funny and awesome guys. Shout out to their merch girl for letting me sit with her for a bit.

Next up was Vitrol. They started off with a haunting intro with their song “Shame and its' Afterbirth”. The double-bass drums set me off. Next thing you hear is just the pounding void of nothing but absolute carnage. The guitars, the drums, the vocals, everything! They went straight into their second song, ‘The Flowers of Sadism”. I really appreciated the drummer and his skills behind the kit. The fill-ins were magnificent; subtle, but effective. They played most of their songs off their latest third album "Suffer & Become."

After that came The Zenith Passage. One of the most unique songs I heard from them was “Algorithmic Salvation”. The guitar riff throughout the song kind of made me think of a rat running through a human-sized maze and falling into brutal traps along the way,a more extreme version of the mouse hunt game. As I heard all the rest of the songs, that same guitar twinge made its way into most of them. There was one song called “Deletion Cult” that had a prominent bass that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end and they incorporated song synths into it. Most of the songs played were from their second full-length album "Datalysium." Very ethereal, yet hard.

Then there was Humanity’s Last Breath up next. They started off with “Lifeless, Breathless” and the guitars almost reminded me of something Korn would do. The song as a whole, however, was nothing like that. I was mind-blown because it was slow at the chorus, but that slowness was complete brutality. As I listened on, I noticed all their songs were slow, but brutal. That was their running theme. “Labyrinthiuan” had a certain part that completely threw me for a loop, but in the best way possible. I highly recommend picking up their latest album, "Ashen", and you’ll know what I’m talking about. What’s interesting enough though, some of their albums have an instrumental album accompanying them.

Rivers of Nihil came after and although I liked them, after what I heard before, they didn’t hit the same. Don’t get me wrong. I loved every second of the music, but there was more harmonization in the singing parts that I didn’t particularly care for. The aforementioned vocals are from their latest single “Criminals”. After a few songs in I realized that there was a lot more singing than I first anticipated. They sounded a bit like a confused Fear Factory, but kind of pulling it off in a bit of an unsatisfying way.

Now we’re really getting into the highlights of the show with Carnifex and their intro with “Necromanteum”. They are one of my favorite bands of all time. I don’t know what else to say about them other than they are completely insane with their music. Symphonic? Yes. Creepy? Yes. When they slow down, can’t help myself but be dizzy from the mess that is Carnifex. They played “Crowned I Everblack” which is one of my favorite songs off their latest album "Necromanteum." They also played some of their old stuff like “Lie to My Face” and “In Coalesce With Filth And Faith”. Another favorite of mine they played was “Seven Souls”. I know some bands who are better live than the album, and some are better on the album than live. Carnifex is double trouble with both. I thoroughly enjoyed their set to the fullest extent.

Last, but not least, came Cattle Decapitation. My first experience with that band was a while back in the very late 90’s when I saw a video compilation that had some nails being hammered into a very unsavory place for a man. Of course back then I was shocked, but also transfixed at the same time. Right then and there I knew I was in for a wild ride. They started off their set with “We Eat Our Young” and went right into “One Day Closer to the End of the World”. The last one being a song with singing I can undoubtedly accept because Travis Ryan is so nasty with his vocals. Later in the night after so much of something I can’t even describe, they played “Bring Back the Plague” and that is one of my favorite songs of theirs. They ended the night with “To Serve Man” and yes, they did serve, but not only to man, but to the entire audience.

I had so much fun at this show that I can’t put it into words. Thank you to The Belasco for hosting such an amazing night of music and brutality, chaos, and carnage. Thank also to Carnifex for giving me the opportunity to be at this show. If this tour ever comes back again, I will certainly be their to enjoy myself again.