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The Black Dahlia Murder: Pittsburgh Show Review

George Archibald

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Spectators packed into the Roxian this evening to witness the return of The Black Dahlia Murder to Pittsburgh. It’s been a few years since the band has visited the three rivers area. This is the first outing the band has planned since the unfortunate passing of former beloved front man Trevor Strnad. Also joining TBDMthis night is Terror, Frozen Soul, and Phobophilic. 

North Dakota’s Phobophilic took the stage first. This band really reminded me of old school Carcass with the buzz saw guitar tones and growl styled vocals. During their set a small circle pit broke out, which was a great warm up to get the crowd into the action. 

Dallas TX death metal band Frozen Soul was up next. This band had me reminiscing of Dying Fetus, and Morbid Angel. Slow churning metal with half tempo breakdowns that just hit you like a sonic sledgehammer. A pushup pit formed early in their set as the crowd was really matching the energy of the bands stage performance. A stand out moment during their set was Arsenal of War, vocalist Chad Green announced this was the 2nd time live this song has been performed, and the song was in honor of his brother who had passed recently. 

Terror took the stage with a fury, high energy from start to finish. This Los Angeles hard-core troupe announce security was falling asleep at the show and needed a waking up, so everyone needs to get moving. Vocalist Scott Vogel would frantically pace the stage while ripping through song after song. During the set Vogel could be seen throwing his microphone to audience members to even ramp up the crowd. 

The Black Dahlia Murder closed out this night, under a shade of green the band kicked off with Verminous. This was the first time for me seeing Ryan Knight with the band, he was apart of BDM during the Ritual and Deflorate albums. Ryan has returned to guitar duties so that long term guitarist Brian Eschbach could pick up the microphone. Pittsburgh also got to see the return of The Ape. As Statatory Ape began dressed in a tank top and shorts the BDM Ape came out throwing bananas to the crowd. It was nonstop chaos from this point on as the crowd ramped up, to Nightbringers and Miasma. 

This was a great show to take in. Some may take this as a toe in the water approach to see what lies next for The Black Dahlia Murder. I for one would love to see the band continue to March forward and am excited to see where they go from here. Supporting acts Terror, Frozen Soul and Phobophilic were interesting and entertaining to watch. If you are looking for a death metal show with high energy, count this show in for a good time. 

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Concert Reviews

The Nothing That Is Tour

George Archibald

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Another fall evening in the Burgh, the air was crisp and cool, setting the mood for a great night for metal. The Roxian in McKees Rock, PA, hosted The Nothing That Is Tour tonight, featuring Fit For An Autopsy. Bodysnatcher, Distant, Sylosisand, and Judiciary. Fit For An Autopsy brought some of the heaviest and nastiest together to throw down for all of you. An eclectic banding of hardcore and deathcore acts that are making waves in the metal community. 

Judiciary kicked things off, their music a blend of hardcore, thrash, and punk. Their songs had thrash riffs with hardcore rhythms and breakdowns, with an occasional solo thrown in. With horns raised in the air, the crowd gave these Texas natives a well-received welcome. This band was a great start to the night, bringing the energy in the room up quickly. 

Sylosis came out to a fury. Their vocalist ripped at the crowd from the start, asking for a circle pit as they kicked off. This band had moshers and crowd surfers amped up as waves of bodies started coming over the front barricade. Throughout the set, the energy never let up, as this band kept pushing the crowd. This energy came to a high when their newest single, “The Path,” was performed. High-paced hardcore mayhem throughout the set, this band had a vast amount of tricks in their bag, from solos to even groove to bring to the party.

At the midpoint of the show, Distant took the stage. This band is over-the-top heavy, riding low-tuned grooves into devastating breakdowns. The vocalist has a wide range, from high-pitched screams and growls to bottom-of-the-barrel gutturals. Distant announced their newest album, Tsukuyomi: The Origin, is a week away from coming out. Which kicked off the single “Torturous Symphony.” At this point, no one was standing still on the floor as moshers were on the move. Bodies colliding into each other until the band finally stopped, at this point the crowd was completely warmed up.

Deathcore veterans Bodysnatcher took the stage next to show Pittsburgh how to throw down. This band rides a low groove while keeping the energy high, accompanied by the unrelenting low growls of vocalist Kyle Medina. The band kicked off with “King of Rats” and went right into “Dead Rabbit.” The floor was swimming with bodies as the band raged on. Other standout songs were “Take Me to Hell” and “Black of My Eyes” before closing out on “Murder8.”

Headliners Fit For An Autopsy took the stage with a fury, kicking off with “Lower Purpose” into “A Higher Level of Hate” for a nasty one-two punch out of the gate. Seasoned veterans now in their careers, the band looked very polished and primed. FFAA just released their newest album, The Nothing That Is. The band played through several hits, “Black Mammoth”, “The Sea of Tragic Beasts”, and “Hellions”, before diving back into their latest album with “Hostage”. The crowd stayed up and moving through the set as Fit For an Autopsy is a Pittsburgh favorite, having visited the city several times during their tenure. 

The Nothing That Is tour showcases some of the heaviest bands touring right now. Fit For An Autopsy have updated their live show and look ready to take the world fresh off the new album. If you are looking to release some steam or to hear some new music, The Nothing That Is tour will not disappoint.

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Concert Reviews

STRYPER ON A SUNDAY. YES PLEASE

Ron

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STRYPER was just in Baltimore the other day on the 40 years of Stryper tour. Playing 2 sets spanning those 40 years. I’ve only ever seen Stryper play at M3 so it was amazing to get to see a full on set then another full on set right after. 

For the 1st set we got the 1984-1990 set which included songs like “Loud N Clear”, “Soldiers under Command” and “To Hell with the Devil”. 

The second set we got 1986, 2004-2024 with songs like “No More Hell to Pay”, “This i Pray” and ending the night with “Sing along Song”. 

It was a great night for Music and sadly more then likely the last show at RamsHead Live I’ll be ever to attend as the are closing their doors (hopefully will be open again with a new venture) but the show was amazing to see Stryper play on the stage. Such great guys and a great band. I love that Stryper is fully engaged with the fans and the show is always amazing. I love that they put their religious beliefs 100% on display but the show never feels preachy or judgmental. If you get a chance to see Stryper play in your city I fully recommend it such a great time and a great band to see play live.    

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Concert Reviews

King Diamond brought the Halloween party to Silver Spring MD

Ron

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King Diamond who’s on tour now with Overkill and Night Demon.

Overkill always puts on a great show and shows that face pace thrash metal is still kick ass. Led by NJ’s Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth Overkill has that distinctive sound with Bobby’s high pitched and raspy vocals. With songs like “Scorched”, “ Rotten to the Core” and “Hello From the Gutter”, Overkill got the crowd into a frenzy and warmed up the stage before the king. 

You know it’s gonna be a good night when it’s 3 days before Halloween and you get to see a kick ass set from King Diamond. King Diamond who’s 68 right now still commands that stage and sounds amazing with his insanely falsettos. The stage show at a King Diamond show is always such a great sight to see. With a multilayer setup of stairs and little pieces of elaborate set all over it’s such a great view and perfect setting to watch a King Diamond set. 

The set list was amazing too we got to hear songs from such a great career like “A Mansion in the Darkness”, “Halloween “, “Spider Lilly”, “Welcome Home”, and “Eye of the Witch” and of course ending the night with “Abagail”. 

If you’re a fan of King Diamond or just a fan of great music that adds that Halloween haunted asylum themed stage performances then you need to go out and check this tour now. King Diamond never disappoints and always puts on one hell of a show. 

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