The Black Dahlia Murder U.S. Headline Tour – REVIEW

The Black Dahlia Murder’s headline U.S. headline tour came through Chicago like a storm on March 27th at The Bottom Lounge! The tour also featured Nile, Skeletonwitch and Hour of Penance. You can check out our review of the tour…

The Black Dahlia Murder U.S. Headline Tour – REVIEW

The Black Dahlia Murder’s headline U.S. headline tour came through Chicago like a storm on March 27th at The Bottom Lounge! The tour also featured Nile, Skeletonwitch and Hour of Penance. You can check out our review of the tour after the break.

It was Tuesday night at the Bottom Lounge in Chicago, IL but this crowd came down to throw down like it was Saturday night. This type of raging going down at the Lounge was one that would make the king of partying himself, Andrew W.K. proud. Only thing is, it was 4 extreme metal bands who got the party going, who would’ve thought?!

Hailing all the way from Italy, Hour Of Penance got things off to a deafening roar of a start opening with “Sedition Through Scorn” fresh off their new release Sedition which came out this exact day. Their first ever tour of the US, and these Italian stallions were out for blood with their punishing brand of Behemoth meets Fleshgod Apocalypse style tunage. Like their brethren Behemoth, their lyrical content was nothing short of blasphemous and full of song titles like “Decimate The Ancestry Of The Only God”. You could definitely tell many if not almost everyone were unaware of these guys before their set but once they sliced and diced their set till the end, people wanted to know more and already asking “when are they coming back to the states?!”

Ohio’s Skeletonwitch were up next and the crowd no wasted time getting a pit frenzy going. Short, sweet, fast and simple these guys were squeezing 9 songs in a half hour punk rock style. Another way of describing their fun filled half hour would be beards, windmill headbangs, and spikes galore as these members looked and sounded like the definition of a full on metal act. Relying on several songs from their newest effort, 2011’s Forever Abomination, Witch blazed thru with “Erased And Forgotten”, “Shredding Sacred Flesh” and also a fair number of older tunes as well. The set felt so fast it felt like they ended as soon as they started. But that can also explain how enjoyable they really are live!

Nile was on now and people were pushing their way to the front for a headlining type band in a support slot. Though based out of South Carolina, you would’ve thought with the sounds and lyrical content they were based straight out of Egypt with their brand of death metal. An Honorable mention to their powerhouse drummer George Kollias who had one of the largest cymbal set for his drums that would even rival Neil Peart’s or Terry Bozzio. The guy is a monster player and as you see him play can see why he is looked up to and has been a source of inspiration for many drummers. Now back to Nile’s blistering set, whether it was the fast 3 min songs, or the epic 8 min ones, this crowd was worshipping them as if they were performing a nightly ritual with them. As Nile announced their last song of the night, the title track off 2000’s “Black Seeds Of Vengeance” the place exploded as if they were playing to the actual headliner of the night. It’s not often a support band gets this type of reaction similar to the headliner. But they showed different! Cheers to that!

The main reason why all were there were finally up, The Black Dahlia Murder! Vocalist Trevor Strnad and crew were in mighty fine form and were VERY crowd participatory. BDM may not be as ferocious as Hour Of Penance or have been in the game as long as Nile but they had no problems showing why they were the headliners and DESERVEDLY so. From the insane amount of crowd surfing and stage diving, to the tasteful guitar solos of lead guitarist Ryan Knight, these guys owned the stage as if they’ve been around as long as Iron Maiden. The death metal gods would’ve approved! Half of the set was heavy off 2011’s “Ritual” from Moonlight Equilibrium” to “Blood In The Ink”. The new songs translated as well as the old classics of theirs did. However it was the 2007 classic “Deathmask Divine” where the crowd exploded as if they were engaging in a battle of Mortal Kombat. Dahlia went for the final fatality with their closer “Funeral Thirst” and the crowd went out in style with even a guy on a wheel chair crowd surfing! If this show didn’t come off like a metal party to you I don’t know what will as this is definitely one of those “you had to be there” type of shows. Cheers to The Black Dahlia Murder also for putting together a package of all extreme bands but still making sure none sounded alike. Not often any more do we get that and believe me when I say it, diversity is a good thing! If you want extreme metal that’ll provide a rager as well, this tour is the way to go!

Information about the review…
Tour: The Black Dahlia Murder US Headline Tour
Bands: The Black Dahlia Murder, Nile, Skeletonwitch, and Hour Of Penance
Reviewer: Nicholas Wier
Date: March 27, 2012
Venue: The Bottom Lounge in Chicago, IL