Suffocation/ Strong Intention/ Visceral Disgorge/ Metanium/ March to Victory @ Metro Gallery 2/22/2014

I went to see Suffocation ($20) at the Metro Gallery last night + a bunch of locals.  The venue is a small space, so I wasn't too surprised to hear that it had sold out. It really didn't fill up until later, tho. There were a number of people there- Miss Lindesy, Shelly, Sean, Jason, Gori y Omar, metal henry, Metal Chris, Zach, Jacinda, Heather, and maybe someone else.

I got there after Demiz played (or rather, I think I arrived there in time to see Demiz but I needed something to eat). There was the small table in the back where Suffocation had shirts and maybe their latest CD. Visceral Disgorge had a lot of shirts and merch (maybe I should have gotten a CD), and I believe I saw some Demiz CD/shirt combo.

This venue, an actual art gallery, I'm a bit on the fence about. I don't like the location, tho the area seemed nicer this time (more parking, diner, well lit). The restroom situation there was 2 rooms- so there was constantly a line to gain access to one of them. The bar was just that, no kitchen- it did have items on draft and some local Baltimore brews, so that was cool.

March to Victory was on first, they have a different singer from last I saw them ( I think their last one was a bit...more powerful).  Their sound sounded a bit muddy vocal wise. The guitars were pretty good tho. I was interested in seeing this slightly changed lineup, but I think I'd have to agree with a friend about how their set was a bit... lacking. It wasn't a great performance, but it wasn't horrible by any means. It just lacked some punch of uniqueness. They did throw in a Sepultura cover, which was new and pretty awesome. A pretty solid set, just not that attention holding.

Local Spanish- language metal band Metanium was up next- I enjoy their brand of true metal, but as I thought about it, I was wondering how they would go over at this set up. I think Metanium was also thinking about it too, judging from their setlist, comprised mostly of covers and nearly all in English.  Their sound started out a bit rough with the vocals way too low. They quickly corrected that and then the wailing vocals, along with the keys were maybe a little too loud at times. Regardless, they got me excited with their Dio, Sabbath, and Manowar cover songs (the Manowar one had the best/loudest reaction I think). They also did the English version of "Alma de Guerrero"- "Soul of the Warrior." I think this set of familiar and perhaps more importantly English-language tunes were selected to try to draw in fans who may not understand Spanish. Not a bad idea, but I would have preferred to hear more originals!  I am not sure how well they were received, due to the genre difference and possible language barrier, but I enjoyed their performance. I am wondering if they will continue to make some English -language songs or just Spanish or a mix...

Visceral Disgorge was on next and they sounded way heavier (I think the volume got turned up) and made it seem more like a death metal show \m/, compared to the serviceable MtV set, and the true metal set of Metanium. Now don't get me wrong, I like me some variety, but only now it truly felt like a very heavy show.  I am not a huge fan of these guys, having seen them a couple times before- but I will say that this was the best sounding time I've heard them. The intensity of the breakdowns was much appreciated and made me forget about the prerequisite rubbish deathcore vox. Also of note: the crowd seemed to wake up for them and started moshing (finally). Chicken suit man got on the stage at a couple points on the last 2 songs and signaled for a pit. The floor quickly provided one and all the energy in the place seemed to spill out of that pit! This intensity added to their set and made it rather enjoyable for me.

Strong Intention- jumped on the stage and I was a bit sleepy. Thankfully Zach and the boys cranked things up a notch. I think I identified on song ("Kill your Boss"), other than that it's a big question mark on a ton of short and furious songs.  Not one of their best performance, but certainly attention keeping and full of energy!  I believe the crowd was pretty active for them as well. Their whirlwind selection's energy high was kind of diminished by the long delay before Suffocation :(

Suffocation- finally took the stage around half past midnight. I was pretty wiped from the weekend and figured I would leave early (like the last show, something I don't want to be a pattern!), by 1 (which I did). I hate that some of these shows with predicted times invariably always run late. Check out the table below:

Times Discrepancies

Band	Anticipated Time |	Actual Time
March to Victory	8:45- 9:10	8:49- 9:10
Metanium	9:25- 9:50	9:37-10:08
Visceral Disgorge	10:05- 10:35	10:30-11:00
Strong Intention	10:50- 11:15	11:20-11:49
Suffocation	11:35-?	12:25- (1:30ish, according to a buddy)

I did stay for about half their set, which was fine (I would have liked to hear more, tho). They sounded better than the first time I saw them- I think being more familiar helped as well as where I was standing.  The frontman's straightforward and "working man's" feel to his addressing of the crowd was rather disarming and made me get into it a bit more. He's just some 'normal' guy, who has problems just like you and me.  The vocals were a bit unintelligible (as expected), but delivered rather energetically- rest of the band sounded fine, I didn't have any complaints other than I think the leads could have been a bit clearer.  This is the band most people came to see and you could tell it by their enthusiasm in the pit and general movement as well.  Now I regret not staying to hear the last half of their set as well as getting 0 photos (somehow). I think I would have passed out, tho :/

Overall it was a good show, with most of the bands sounding better than other times that I had seen them. The running late and my lack of sleep the night before were not a good combination for me. I hope next time that Suffocation will come to a different venue- I really am not a fan of the Metro Gallery :/


next show: Lacuna Coil and the "Hottest chicks in hard rock"

photos:
Metanium

Setlists:

March to Victory ( 8:49- 9:10)

• Deadly Venoms
• ?
• ?
• The Philosopher (Death cover)
• Consumption
• Chaos A.D. (Sepultura cover)

Metanium (9:37- 10:08)

• Holy Diver (Dio cover)
• La Marcha Vikinga
• Warriors of the World (Manowar cover)
• Soul of the Warrior
• Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath cover)

Visceral Disgorge ( 10:30- 11:00)

• Maggot Infested Fuck Hole
• ?
• ?
• Necrocoprophagia
• ?
• Chokeslamming criminal Children (new song)
• Skull Fucking Neonatal Necrosis

Strong Intention (11:20 -11:49)

• ?
• ?
• Kill Your Boss
• ?
• ?
• ?
• ? (new)
• ?
• ?
• ?
• ?
• ?

Suffocation (12:25- ?)

• Thrones of Blood
• As Grace Descends
• Catatonia
• Liege of Inveracity
• Purgatorial Punishment
• (MORE)