Welcome to Raving Reviews, a new series wherein Eric, of the Heavy Metal 101 podcast (https://anchor.fm/heavymetal101podcast), periodically reviews fun-filled heavy metal concerts:
I never had the opportunity to see Death play live. Outside of not seeing David Bowie or Frank Zappa in concert, not seeing Chuck Schuldiner perform is quite possibly my biggest musical regret. However, much like the many wonderful Zappa tribute projects presented by living artists with a direct connection to the maestro’s work, former Death members have lately been spreading the Gospel of Chuck via a variety of cool, different projects. And so, it was with GREAT enthusiasm that I recently attended the 2023 performance of one such ensemble, Death to All, at Hanger 1819 in Greensboro, NC.
The opening act was CA-based thrash revivalists Nukem. I wasn’t previously familiar with their work but caught the last few songs of their set. They sounded quite cool. I’ve since gone back and checked out their debut, 2016’s The Unholy Trinity, which I enjoyed. Fun stuff! Next up was the mighty Suffocation, and while my enthusiasm was somewhat tempered by the fact that only the great Terrance Hobbs remains from the classic lineup, I was still very excited to hear what Suffocation 2023 had to offer. What we got was an extremely solid set comprised primarily of classics from their assortment of 1990’s-era brutal tech death masterpieces. The current line-up was incredibly tight, though I did find the sound to be a bit muddy. That’s perfectly fine for moshing but was a bit of a bummer with a band whose work is as richly detailed as Suffocation’s. That said, it was a very enjoyable set of high-quality death metal.
And now for the main event! Death to All was comprised of an assortment of former Death all-stars: Steve DiGiorgio, bass/master of ceremonies (Human, Individual Thought Patterns), Bobby Koelble, guitar (Symbolic), and the great Gene Hoglan (Individual Thought Patterns, Symbolic) on drums. The band was rounded out by Max Phelps (who has performed with Cynic and WAIT, among others) on guitar and vocals. The underlying context for this tour was a celebration of the (30th!) anniversary of Individual Thought Patterns, however, the day of this performance happened to also coincide with the 28th anniversary of the release of Symbolic. Regardless, Death to All put together a fantastic set list touching on something from every single Death album. Opening with the introduction to “Infernal Death” into "Overactive Imagination" and "The Philosopher" was truly transcendent, and I was utterly hooked from there on out. Overall, it was an incredible performance of an incredible set of music. The spirit of Chuck was most definitely in the house, and he was lovingly tributized by DiGiorgio. Phelps was an excellent stand-in, particularly on the guitar, though I did think his vocals were generally too buried in the mix. Still, that’s a minor quibble. I got to see “Spirit Crusher” performed live! I got to scream along with the chorus to “Pull the Plug” at the end of a live show!! Dreams really can come true. Many, many thanks to the good folks of Death to All for keeping Chuck’s music alive. It was a truly extraordinary experience, and something I will never forget.
For more fun-filled heavy metal chat, please do check out the Heavy Metal 101 podcast, available everywhere you like to listen! https://anchor.fm/heavymetal101podcast
