By the time the show started, the Vic Theater in Chicago probably had the highest number of mohawks in all of Illinois. Leather jackets, tattoos, beards, and facial piercings were prevalent among the men and women who lined up outside the theater, waiting to see the legendary band Cannibal Corpse. From the time I entered the building to the time I left, the line for Cannibal Corpse merchandise stretched across the inside of the building and seemed to never end. Surrounded by truly dedicated fans, I was out of my element as the lights dimmed and the night of death metal began.

The first band to play was Shadow of Intent, based out of Connecticut. The subwoofers began pounding the walls of The Vic as the entire crowd began the iconic ritual of head-banging. With the double kick blasting my eardrums, the band slammed into an epic set that riled up the crowd, which felt rare for the first of four bands on a lineup. The heavily backlit band set an ominous tone for the night which was well suited for their deathcore music. At first, the music was so loud that I had to put in earplugs, but as the show continued, I found myself slowly easing them out so I could hear the nuances in their music, instead of simply feeling the powerful kick of the subwoofers.

Lights began flashing as Revocation started their incredible performance. Straying from the deathcore genre, Revocation absolutely shredded on their seven string guitars with their technical thrash metal sound. Guitarists synced up and shredded side by side as the crowd started a few mosh pits. Being up close to witness frontman Dave Davidson’s fingers shred on the guitar was a sight to behold. At times it felt like his right hand should have snapped off from his speed and his left hand should have burst into flames. But he continued on shredding without any issues. Near the end of their set, I finally noticed the bass player had a beard which was covered by his incessant head-banging. Revocation played with more groove and guitar solos than the other bands that night which was a nice change of pace. 

I’ve slowly been dipping my toes into the bucket of blood that is the Deathcore scene. The first bucket began with Whitechapel who came on next. Seeing them in person for the first time was mind-blowing. The performance was flawless and I couldn’t stop staring at Ben Savage’s Custom PRS SVN Floyd Rose seven-string guitar. Their set consisted of their heaviest songs off of their recent albums The Valley and Kin, along with tunes off a few of their older records. Whitechapel left their clean guitar tones and vocals out of the set which was a new addition to their ever-changing sound. Brief glimpses of this new sound were shown during the beginning of “A Bloodsoaked Symphony,” and the middle of “Lost Boy” from their most recent album Kin. Naturally, Whitechapel concluded the set with their epic song "The Saw Is The Law” which made me want to toss my camera equipment and jump in the mosh pit. 

As Cannibal Corpse began their set, I immediately noticed there were not enough security guards in the pit to catch the waves of crowd surfers. To my knowledge, no one was hurt as they were tossed over the barricade and raced back into the crowd to repeat the process. The wall of sound and intense head-banging was one of a kind. At one point, the lead singer Corpsegrinder told the crowd that the amount of headbanging has decreased over time and that they should try and keep up with him. Their efforts were futile. People’s necks would snap if they attempted to head-bang as hard and as long as Corpsegrinder. The crowd moshed and surged as much as they could in the sold-out venue, but the floor was tightly packed. The technicality and musicianship were out of this world. The flawless guitar shredding and drumming were incredible to witness in person. My biggest gripe about the show was that the lights remained fairly static for Cannibal Corpse’s intense performance. I am pleased to announce that the Cannibal Corpse concert was the heaviest concert I have experienced thus far. To quote Dethklok, it was "blacker than the blackest black times infinity." 

Shadow of Intent

Revocation

Whitechapel

Cannibal Corpse