The fourth band is Zyklon, a blackened death metal band formed by two members of the black metal act Emperor. These guys decimate the stage with three songs. They are fast, heavy, and devoid of the theatrics employed by the previous bands. Not my favorite of what is sampled here, but the members' straight forward, ground and pound approach is refreshing and quite effective.
Following Zyklon is Vital Remains, an American death metal act hailing from Providence Rhode Island. These guys more than hold their own next to their European counterparts. Vital Remains certainly brings a different style of stage presence than the European acts. They kick off their set with the appropriately titled "Let the Killing Begin," as they proceed to pound out three tracks of brutal death.
I became acquainted with the next act back in the early 1990s following the release of Wolverine Blues. Entombed, originating from Sweden, play a style of hardcore inflected death metal. Three songs from their set are included here, and they put on a strong show, standing out from the prior bands with their stripped down approach.
Destruction, a thrash band out of Germany, has delivered punishing metal for more than a quarter century. Despite their long presence on the scene, I had not heard them prior to this. I like what I hear. They have a distinct old school quality to them that shines through their music. They song contingent is highlighted by "Nailed to the Cross."
Following old school thrash is old school metal with Blaze Bayley, one time frontman for Iron Maiden. This guy knows his way around a stage (but he is no Bruce Dickinson), and he concludes his set with the Iron Maiden cut "Sign of the Cross."
As we draw closer to the headlining act, the bands become more and more recognizable, although this next act is considerably different from when I was first introduced to them. Brazilian metal act Sepultura arrived with neither Cavalera brother. I had lost track of them back around the time that Max (vocals) left and formed Soulfly. They put on a good show, but it is not the same without Max and Igor. Fortunately Andreas Kisser is still a killer axeman, delivering the trademark Sepultura sound. They have three songs here, anchored by the classic "Dead Embryonic Cells."
Article comments