Report

Summer Festival Slaughters New York City

Band Photo: Decapitated (?)

On July 8th 2007 I went to see the Summer Slaughter Festival at BBkings in New York City. Of the venues in my area that book metal bands, BBkings has been one of my favorites for its amazing sound and size. It is never too loud that I feel like I’m going deaf, but still loud enough that I feel the music and rock out. The venue definitely has great tech guys running the soundboards and lights. With this in mind, I knew that I would get proper enjoyment of the bands and not focus on how much I can't hear a certain instrument or the vocals. I entered without knowing what to expect because I am not a fan of most brutal death metal, but there were a few bands I recognized and wanted to see how they were live, namely, Necrophagist, Beneath the Massacre, and Cephalic Carnage. I really wish I could have seen Arsis, but they had troubles with their van on tour and couldn't make it out.

I went expecting the bands to put on an amazing performance to go with the intense energy of the music, but sadly most of the bands really didn’t move much. I didn’t understand this lack of energy. The music was pure energy, why couldn’t these bands show that same energy in their performances? Whatever the reason it disappointed me, no matter how interesting the music was. For example, a band like Necrophagist just stood on stage and played amazing music without going crazy in the least. Though with the singer playing guitar it is understandable that he won’t go crazy all the time, but he did do a good job of having some presence. The rest of the bands, with the exception of Cephalic Carnage, Cattle Decapitation, Decapitated, and As Blood Runs Black, would have the singer putting on a good show, but the rest of the band didn’t seem into it and it felt forced. The music, as simple as it was at times, was complex enough for the band to pull it off, but without any sort of emotion or energy. Most metal shows I attend everyone in the band is head banging and going crazy. The energy compliments the music.

That being said, the show wasn’t a disappointment. The bands I enjoyed, I was really taken back by because I thought they’d bore me. A key example is As Blood Runs Black. They had pretty good music that was diverse and wasn’t monotonous. The hardcore breakdowns weren’t as obvious as other bands and it also flowed with the music very well. It was less predictable as well as more headbangable. The crowd was really getting into the music as well, which was surprising for an opening band. The singer at one point got off the stage and went up to the barrier next to the crowd and had the crowd sing along right next to him. Other members joined him in getting closer to the fans. This is a simple, yet effective way to get the crowd moving. Though when I came home to listen to their recordings on myspace, it wasn’t nearly as good as I remembered it.

Cephalic Carnage was one of the craziest bands I’ve ever seen live. They pushed the limits set by the other bands. The drummer is ridiculously fast and precise. On top of that he had a good amount of energy. The singer had one of the deepest growls I’ve ever heard and varied the vocals up enough to keep it interesting. He too was getting the crowd worked up and put the energy in there. The guitarist was insane. He would make weird faces and spin and go crazy. This was similar to cattle decapitation, but the biggest difference was that Cephalic Carnage had more unity as a group and complexity in the music, especially the drumming.

Decapitated I got the most into, since they were straight up metal and not a hardcore/grindcore blend like the other bands before hand. They also had the energy and unity as a band. Synchronized windmill headbanging is always a pleasure to see. There was a ton of energy from the band and with the crowd.

In the end, it really depends on how you look at a show like this. If you are going to see great musicianship and technicality then this is definitely the kind of bands you want to go see. I’d also mention that there was no moshing or ‘dancing’ allowed at the venue I went to, so that may have effected the crowd’s reaction to a lot of the bands, but when I did see pits start to break out, I saw a bouncer drag them aside and possibly kick them out. One drunk guy tried to pick a fight with the bouncer that was at least 5 times his weight and double his height. Nonetheless, for me I expected to be in awe not only by the musicianship, but also by stage presence. I did walk out of the festival enjoying it and talking about how Cephalic Carnage’s drummer is more machine than human.

You can check out some photos from the show in the photo gallery.