Bloodsoaked death metal giants Cannibal Corpse make their triumphant return to Manchester with Swedish black metal frost giants Dark Funeral, Slamchester local legends Ingested and American black metal up-and-comers, Stormruler.
Stormruler were first up and the most surprising part was that they aren’t Scandinavia. Black metal is a genre that prides itself on authenticity and Stormruler prove themselves to be the genuine article despite being an American band. ‘Reign of the Winged Duke’ displayed a great sense of melody, almost all of these melodic guitar riffs were stuck in my head after doing research for this article.
Stormruler are inspired by classic black metal from a visual perspective, the corpse paint, anti-religious imagery and spikes were all present but it feels much more modern than a lot of the bigger acts and that may help them gain some edge over other acts that simply want to sing about Satan and record music in an underpass. Their second album, Sacred Rights and Black Magick, would have been on my Best of 2022 list had I heard it earlier. ‘Internal Fulmination of the Grand Decievers’ gave me a rare appetite for modern black metal that I haven’t experienced in a very long time. Luckily there was more to come soon.
Ingested returned to Slamchester for a triumphant hometown show which rivalled some of the bigger bands on the bill in terms of energy and connection to the audience. Ingested opened with ‘Rebirth’, a track that varied in tempo but always kept the crowd moving in time with some insane blast beats and grinding guitar riffs. Some of the pits that broke out across the venue were impossible to traverse safely as angry metalheads slammed into each other like a storm battered sea, it was highly encouraged to take cover if you weren’t in the pit because it was every man for himself.
The sludgy chugging on tracks like ‘Shadows in Time’ were immensely impactful and contrasted really well with the dissonant higher register guitar work. Ingested demonstrated that Manchester had something to offer in terms of disgusting riffing and pure unhinged death metal chaos. They are well worth your time, especially if you’re a Manchester local wanting to support the scene.
Dark Funeral opened with ‘Nosferatu’ and that’s indicative of what they represent, an interpretation of something you’ve always known but twisted into something born of pure evil. Once you get past how silly the genre in general is, it becomes really easy to get lost in it as it invokes this feeling of being lost in a dark frozen tundra. ‘Lord Ahriman’ was a very stoic frontman but that helped provide a more menacing presence and it’s clear why this type of music was so unnerving back when it first appeared on the scene.
The grim atmosphere in songs like ‘When I’m Gone’ are inimitable outside of black metal, there’s this sense of dread about the actual event of death yet a sense of bitter glory in returning to the soil and being sustenance for a dying ‘Earth’. No black metal show would be complete without blasphemy and the quota was filled by ‘Nail them to the Cross’ and ‘Vobsicum Satanas’ both of which feature strong antichristian perspectives and if that bothers you then you will find no joy in black metal.
Dark Funeral’s set contained some of the best extreme metal drumming I have ever heard. Tracks like ‘Let the Devil In‘ and ‘We are the Apocalypse’ were an awe-inspiring blend of speed, power and aggression that still complimented this dark atmospheric sound that permeated through the set. If you can get past the goofy imagery and get lost in the atmosphere then Dark Funeral is something very special and not to be missed.
Cannibal Corpse started their set with ‘Scourge of Iron’, an absolute masterclass of classic death metal. Its grinding intro leads into a slow doomy chugging riff that comes with one of the most incredible guitar tones you could find in modern live music. It’s so sloppy, rich it could be used as foley for an incredibly violent horror movie. ‘Violence Unimagined’ made up a significant chunk of the set and this could be where their strongest material lies, the grotesque breakdown of ‘Inhumane Harvest’ is a glorious experience of raw brutality and the mid-pace swing of ‘Condemnation Contagion’ is a surprisingly fun song to just wildly flail to.
Cannibal Corpse has some sing-along moments in between moments of flesh-rending ferocity, it’s always a heartwarming moment that could bring a tear to your eye as you survey the brotherhood of all these wonderful, lovely people losing themselves to the music and singing at the top of their lungs “TIME TO KILL IS NOW” and “WE’LL END YOUR F*****G LIFE”. Ironically enough, Cannibal Corpse are a life-affirming band that preaches positivity through horrific acts of graphic violence and horrendous brutality.
Like a true ally and advocate for gender equality, vocalist George Corpsegrinder Fisher dedicated a song to the ladies at the show, ‘F****d With a Knife’, despite having a very edgy title this song has some fantastic musicianship and catchy guitar riffs that the average death metal fan could sing along to. The bass work of Alex Webster is still impressive to this day and his fills become all the more impressive when you see him do it live without a pick. One of the most beloved songs in the Cannibal Corpse abattoir is about a particularly harrowing doctor’s appointment, ‘I C*m Blood’ was next and it featured the now iconic introduction from Corpsegrinder before leading onto the grinding guitar work before the slower, skull-crushing riff kicks in.
Cannibal Corpse’s best songs are the slower groove-based tracks, a musician knows that you typically have to favour speed or power during a song and when Cannibal Corpse favour power, you’re getting absolutely pulverised. ‘Evisceration Plague’ is a more doom-inspired song showing off some intense guitar work from long-time producer and death metal legend Erik Rutan who fills the gigantic shoes of Pat O’brien. ‘Death Walking Terror’ is a song about zombies and it’s highly infectious. The groove is simple, effective and easy to follow and get lost in before the unhinged guitar solos kick in and the tempo goes wild. It very much invokes the feeling of being swarmed by a legion of the undead in that respect.
Like murder, death metal is sometimes very simple and to the point and ‘Hammer Smashed Face’ is exactly that. It’s a blunt few minutes that ultimately leaves you with your head caved in and the entire room coated with gore. There’s a reason ‘Hammer Smashed Face’ is most people’s introduction to death metal, it’s the most effective version of it. It shifts and changes but never sacrifices brutality. Corpsegrinder dedicated ‘Stripped Raped and Strangled’ to Trevor Strnad from The Black Dahlia Murder who toured with Cannibal Corpse many times over the years. Death metal meant a lot to Trevor, just like Trevor meant a lot to death metal and to hear his name being honoured and praised by one of its biggest acts is beautiful. Having heard him perform this track personally, it’s wonderful to see him still being talked about and knowing that he’ll live on in death metal.
If all of this sounds ridiculous or grotesque to you, then you’re right. Death metal is a profoundly silly genre designed to scratch the same itch you would from horror and over-the-top gore films, if that’s not for you then go about your day. For everyone else, Cannibal Corpse is the perfect show for lovers of the macabre, those with a jet-black sense of humour and for those who like their music heavy as possible and drenched in bloody gore.
