The Chasm in Omaha: July 9, 2019

On Tuesday night, I had the opportunity to see The Chasm in concert, along with a few other bands.  The show was at The Slowdown, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues.  The show included a couple of Nebraska local bands and a couple of other groups.  I will get to all of them.

ORPHEUS

The first group out of the gate was the Nebraska native group Orpheus.  This was not my first time seeing them as they were one of the groups that was opening for Goatwhore awhile back, so I knew what to expect.  I liked them quite a bit, they were loud, fast and aggressive, and it appears they have been improving with time.  Nothing really stood out, but they did a great job setting the tone for the evening.

EZRA

Ezra is still kicking after all these years.  The band has been around since the early 1990's and have undergone a number of sound changes over the years.  The Ezra that appeared last night seemed different than the Ezra I have seen on previous occasions.  The music was more raw and primal, and heavier.  Also, I don't recall but it seems like the last couple times I saw Ezra there were only three members.  They may have added a guitarist.  They sounded terrific last night, probably their best performance of the times I have seen them.

INFERNAL CONJURATION

Now we get into the primary bands, not to infer anything bad about the Nebraska groups.  I had not previously heard of either Infernal Conjuration or the next band and I have seen both of the Nebraska groups before.  Infernal Conjuration is a death metal band from Mexico and they blew me away.  They were fantastic.  Obviously influenced by The Chasm, Infernal Conjuration uses progressive structures and riffs upon riffs upon riffs.  They were extremely impressive.  I picked up a record, so look out for a review on that at some point.

CRUCIAMENTUM

Despite the name, Cruciamentum is the only of the three touring bands that is not from Mexico.  Cruciamentum is a UK death metal band.  They were the most straight-forward death metal band of the night, but they were crushingly loud and extremely intense.  They played a long set, but had great riffs and were also very impressive.  I ordered an album when I got home that night, since the band did not have anything in my preferred format.

THE CHASM

Finally, we get to the headliners.  I have always been more of a fan of Daniel Corchado's previous band Cenotaph a little more, but I do definitely enjoy The Chasm as well.  I thought I knew what to expect from The Chasm, but they absolutely blew me away.  They were amazing.  They played some of their more straightforward stuff without a lot of the real progressive structures.  Daniel Corchado sounded great and the riffs were crushing.  They played one or two instrumentals and The Chasm is a band that can really do instrumental music well.  I met Corchado briefly after the show and thanked him for the terrific concert.  He seems like a genuinely nice guy and was just happy that people turned out for the show.

Underrated Death Metal Albums Pt. 2 of 2

Picking up where I left off yesterday, here are the remaining underrated death metal albums.

PANZERCHRIST: BATTALION BEAST
Really, any Panzerchrist album is capable of being listed here. The Danish death metal band has virtually no exposure in the U.S. and their albums are incredibly tough to find and often expensive when you do. The U.S. is missing out on one of the most aggressive, rabid, and powerful death metal bands ever. The band incorporates some black metal influences (mostly vocal style but some music) into their death metal sound, but this is more of the blast beat-driven black metal style. If you're looking for subtlety, look somewhere else, this band is raw and brutal as fuck.

DEMILICH: NESPITHE
The Finnish death metal band is really weird. Featuring unconventional song structures and absolutely bizarre vocal styles (think croaking bullfrog), Demilich was truly and unusual band. Coming around at a time when there was not much experimentation in death metal, Demilich pushed the boundaries of the genre to places it had never seen before. If it were not for Demilich's 1993 album, we would not have groups like Portal. Unfortunately, this album remains buried deep within the metal underground. Those who have heard it though, sing its praises.

THE CHASM: THE SPELL OF RETRIBUTION
Yesterday I mentioned Cenotaph, well The Chasm is a band that features the absolutely insane Cenotaph vocalist Daniel Corchado as well as other members from the group. The band originated in Mexico and then relocated to Chicago. They play a much more progressive style of death metal with some remnants of the Cenotaph sound, but taking it in a myriad of directions. The band also has influences from other metal styles, including heavy doom influences. Their albums are all spell-binding, but this is my personal favorite.

DECEASED...: FEARLESS UNDEAD MACHINES
It would be possible to get Deceased... in both the death metal and thrash metal lists, but I will cut that back and only list them here. Deceased... started out as an early death metal band, incorporating death metal vocal styles and down-tuned, heavy riffs into their more traditional metal and thrash backgrounds. This is the band's masterpiece album, a concept album to the George Romero zombie movies. This band is criminally underrated, despite being clearly one of the most original bands in American death metal. They have in recent years gotten rid of most of their death metal influences, but on this album, they shined through.

XENOMORPH: EMPYREAL REGIMES
I just got this album recently and reviewed it in depth. I have to mention it again here, because this is just incredible. Progressive death metal that is still punishing and brutal is not always easy to find, but this isolated band from Nebraska did it in the early 1990's. Xenomorph is an extremely twisted death metal band, but their album was not widely released and they are just now beginning to get discovered. The label Blood Harvest has plans to re-release this. I can't wait. Hopefully they will get the attention they deserve.