Cannibal Corpse, Macabre, Cephalic Carnage and Deeds of Flesh
November 30th, 2002 at Graceland, Seattle WA

This show marked a couple of firsts for Seattle metalheads. It was the first time Deeds of Flesh had played here and the first time Macabre had played here. If I'm not mistaken it was also the earliest metal show I have ever seen short of a festival. It started at 5 PM and was over at around 9. If you ask me that's too damned early for a show but as long as the venues continue to book two shows for the same evening this early show business will continue.

Deeds of Flesh started promptly at 5 PM. The venue seemed to fill up in a hurry with excited fans that raised the temperature of the venue dramatically. The 3 piece played a very tight 30 minute set and received a great response from the rabid crowd. Deeds got over with the crowd big time which is no easy feat in Seattle for an opening act, especially nonce that had never played here. Even though they played their songs perfectly and were brutal as hell I found myself getting bored rather quickly because the guys simply don't move while they are performing. If I see a band live I want to see movement and energy, not three statues sounding exactly like their CD as I could hear that at home. Deeds really needs to get a second guitarist for touring, it would thicken up their sound considerably and possibly make them a more interesting live act.

Next up was Cephalic Carnage for the second time in less than two months. Even though I'm not a big fan of their music I'm starting to appreciate these guys more for their musical abilities and the sheer amount of energy they put into their live set. I can't completely get into their music but can be thoroughly entertained by watching the individual musicians play and flail around all over the stage. I find it amazing that they can get stoned as hell before their show and still pull off some of the stuff they do, the musical interaction between the guitars and bass is something that has to be seen to be believed. My only explanation is that the members of the band have some sort of telepathic communication going on when they do their live show. Bassist Jawsh is going to hurt someone one of these days by swinging his bass wildly and catching someone up front in the side of the head. My advice to people in the front row watching Cephalic play live is to pay attention to Jawsh, he's a madman!

The audience was definitely ready for Macabre when they started their set with "Zodiac". To everyone's delight the Zodiac Killer came on stage pointing his gun at the crowd and himself through most of the song. Guitarist/vocalist isn't just a musician when Macabre plays he's an educator as well, teaching the uninitiated the gruesome real-life inspirations for songs like "Albert Worse Than Any Fish In The Sea", "Doctor Holmes", "Hitch Hiker", "Vampire of Dusseldorf" and many more. Bassist/vocalist Nefarious contributed greatly to the sickness as well via harsh vocals and strong bass lines. Dennis the Menace is a solid drummer and pretty darn fast as well. Albert Fish even made an appearance for his song to promote his Chef Boyardee fish product which made up for them not playing my favorite Macabre song, "Fish Tales". I understand though, a band that has been around as long as Macabre can't play everything. Killer set, I just wish they could have played longer.

After a short changeover the mighty Cannibal Corpse hit the Graceland stage. They played for shortly over an hour and got everyone's blood pumping with favorites like "Stripped, Raped, and Strangled" and "Addicted to Vaginal Skin". As would be expected from a band that tours so much (I've seen them three times since April) they are as professional as any other major touring band, never missing a beat and giving the audience what they want. The usual awesome performances were seen from all the musicians and this time I had a fan to keep me nice and cool up front in the form of George and his incessant windmill headbanging! Although the crowd was nowhere nearly as brutal as the last time the Corpse came to town (probably due to the early hour and resulting lack of alcohol consumption) they were still highly responsive to the bands music and performance. Death metal bands come and go but as long as Cannibal Corpse continues to release solid albums and tour as frequently as they do it will be hard for anyone to top their position at the top of the heap.

Partial Cannibal Corpse set list:
Devoured By Vermin
Stripped, Raped and Strangled
Disposal of the Body
Pounded Into Dust
Addicted to Vaginal Skin
Meathook Sodomy
Compelled to Lacerate
Gutted
Pit of Zombies
I Cum Blood

Photos from this show can be found in our Photo Gallery ()

Rating: 9 /10