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Witnessed
Nile, Ex Deo, Psycroptic, Keep Of Kalessin, Pathology: 2010-11-02
26/11/10 || InquisitorGeneralis
Who: Nile, Ex Deo, Psycroptic, Keep Of Kalessin, and Pathology.
When: 2010-11-02.
Where: Club Sonar; Baltimore, Maryland.
Holy Isis, mother of Osiris, have I been waiting for this one! Nile’s fall tour was announced like seven months ago so I have pretty much been jerking-off to “Annihilation of the Wicked” alone in my basement since the springtime, waiting for this epic, technical metal beat down to come and wash my heretic ass down the bloody Nile river. Toss in Tasmanian tech masters Psycroptic and this was one concert not to be missed. As for the rest of the bands, fuck ‘em.
Mr. Saunders was red-faced with glee at seeing a large group of Nile-loving Baltimorons. Hail Set!
I missed Pathology. But, seeing as they seem closer to grindcore than anything else I was not upset in the least. One of the dudes in Pathology is from Cattle Decapitation, a band I care little for except for their album art. Maybe one day I will care about this band. Probably not.
I got there as Krap of Kopulation was just finishing up. It seemed like there is a major difference in style from their newer, more melodic material and older, blastier stuff. Guess what? I don’t really like either. This is the second time I have these fellas and, again, nothing special in the least. This is black metal for thirteen year olds. Here’s the set list… like you care. Also, I did not take any pictures of this shitty band. They all look like pale, unhappy, unfed Norwegians. It is no surprise that former staffer Smalley likes this crap. Peep of Robotussin sounds like In Flames trying to play black metal. Next…
Keep of Kalessin Set list
Kolossus
The Awakening
Judgment
Dragontower
Ascendant
Psycroptic was when business really picked up, and the Technical Tasmanians certainly delivered. Their set was heavy on the “(Ob)servant” material which is understandable seeing as they don’t tour the states often and I am sure most people here are unfamiliar with their earlier records. I, however, am not most fucking people and was hoping to hear more from “The Scepter of the Ancients” and “Symbols of Failure”. Also (I did not realize this until after the show) the band had a temporary replacement lead singer for this tour. Regular front man Jason Peppiatt was back down under waiting for his kid to be born. Hopefully that kid came right out of the womb growling out some crazy lyrics about going batshit crazy or wielding earth-controlling scepters. I am sure Mrs. Peppiatt’s EKG scans sounded like gravity blasts. Either way, Zdeněk “GTboy” Šimeček did a solid job on vocals. To be honest, I did not even know he was a replacement!
Teh thunder from way down under!
Psycroptic was pretty solid and opened with my favorite track “Horde of devolution’ which features less blasting and more groove. They also busted out a new song which was a nice treat. The new shit sounded much more like “(Ob)servant” than “The Isle of Disenchantment” or “Scepter of the Ancients”. That’s good news to me, I don’t give a fuck about you. Another plus was the inclusion of “A calculated effort” which I have not seen on any other set lists after this. I attribute that to this being the opening night of the tour. Anyway, Psycroptic fucking rocked and I was extremely happy, and most importantly not disappointed, to finally see them live. The next record should be fucken money. Plus, Dave Haley is a tight fucken drummer and only on a night with Nile on the bill is he not the best skinsman in the house!
Psycroptic kicked ass, ‘nuff said?
Psycroptic Set list
Horde in Devolution
Lacertine Forest
A calculated effort
Ob(servant)
New Song (I did not catch the title)
Initiate
Next up was Ex Deo, a Roman Empire themed death metal act led by Kataklysm front man Mario Iacomo. I like some old Kataklysm but nothing the band has done recently has caused my little obelisk to rise. Joining Super Mario in Ex Deo is the drummer from Kataklysm, Max Duhamel. How did I know this? I recognized the motherfucker seeing as I have seen him in concert like six fucking times. Kataklysm plays Baltimore a lot. Any who, I like Duhamel’s playing so that gave me some hope for Ex Deo. However, when the band came out wearing Roman Legionnaire outfits with “XIII” inscribed on them my fears resurfaced. Was I going to see a good concert or witness Mario’s teenage wet-dreams of fighting barbarians in Germania wearing a crotch-less pair of chainmail leggings?
Friends, Romans, countrymen… can anyone give me a ride home?
Well, Ex Deo surprisingly did not suck. However, they owe Amon Amarth some royalty cash because their sound and style is ripping off the Vikings big-time. Ex Deo’s mid-paced, melodic death metal is not bad but I certainly was not rushing to their merch table afterwards. My buddy Chris, a full-blooded Italian who bathes in marinara sauce, was a huge fan of the band. Nuts to you Ex Deo, you made a new friend. I could not point out any specific song that dominated because they all sounded the same. Not really bad, but the set definitely ran together. This is better than recent Kataklysm…but that is not saying much.
Dress up time was almost over…
Ex Deo Set list (Missing one extra song)
Cruor Nostri Abass
Legio XIII
The Final War (Battle of Actium)
Storm the Gates of Alesia
Blood, Courage, and the Gods That Walk the Earth
Romulus
As soon as the community theater finished their performance of “Julius Caesar”, it was time to take a trip right down the fucking Nile. Psycroptic was my appetizer, and this would be the main goddamn course. Having recently offered my soul to Osiris and embraced my love for Nile, I was super-excited to see Karl and the boys in concert. They fucking delivered a technical, brutal beating that left my ass bruised, bleeding, and ready for more.
Big, hairy, and ready to blast!
Nile came out of the gate at full speed with the expected, epic opener “Kafir” and the blistering “Sacrifice unto Sebek”. “Hittite dung incantation” is not my favorite track from the newest cd though. I would much rather have heard “Utterances of the crawling dead”. Still, this is minor, nerdy nitpicking. “Serpent headed mask” satisfied the crowd’s desire for something old school before the band powered into a four-song pack of newer material. I would much rather have heard “That which can safely be written” instead of “Ithyphallic” but, again, I am sure I am against popular demand there. Karl really gets up on the mic’s dick when he growls which is pretty funny I must admit. Overall, Nile hits you with a three-way assault on vocals that works well with the tunes. The newly cemented fourth member, vocalist, and bassist whose name escapes me right now was energetic and got the crowd going on several occasions. Nile are definitely polished showmen.
Does it get more metal than Dallas fucking Wade? Nope!
Seeing George Kolias rape the kit was one of the highlights of the show for me. Obviously, he does not sound as insane live as on the studio records but his dominance is still clear…and global. I did not notice any major mistakes or slip-ups. Maybe I was just amazed that the dude could actually play shit like “Kafir” and “Cast down the heretic” live. Time to get Kolias’ dick out of my mouth though. The dude fucken killed it, that’s for sure. I would love to have heard “User maat re” or “Annihilation of the wicked” instead of “Cast down the heretic”. But, I understand that the latter is chant-tastic and a crowd favorite. “Lashed to the slave stick” ruled. And speaking of those crazy chants, Nile finished up with maybe their best which comes at the end of “Black seeds of vengeance”.
Nile Set list
Kafir!
Sacrifice Unto Sebek
Hittite Dung Incantation
Serpent Headed Mask
Ithyphallic
Those Whom the Gods Detest
4th Arra of Dagon
Permitting the Noble Dead to Descend into the Underworld
Sarcophagus
Lashed to the Slave Stick
Cast down the heretic
Black Seeds of Vengeance
The only negative thing about Nile was the four slow songs back-to-back near the end of the set. I would have liked to have seen “Utterances of the crawling dead” somewhere in there instead of “4th Arra of Dagon”. Everything else ruled. Also, I finally now realize how awesome of a song “Sarcophagus” really is. Nile and Psycroptic together generated some serious expectations in me and the bands delivered with gusto. I will not hesitate to take another blast beating like this should these guys come back around. This was a fucking killer show. Set, Ra, Horus, and the Tasmanian Devil are all very, very pleased.
