This article will guide you through the Summer Slaughter Tour 2009 show that took place in Orlando, Florida at Club Firestone on June 16, 2009. I carefully watched each band, made notes and took photos, and hopefully you will get some insight on what to expect when the tour comes to your town. Caution: This article is suitable for the typical users on The Apparatus... if you are new to the metal scene or prefer cheap gimmicks over musicianship, check out Metal Injection for more on Summer Slaughter Tour 2009.
Blackguard http://www.myspace.com/blackguard I was expecting Decrepit Birth to be at this date, but I guess things got moved around and we got Blackguard. They were grateful to be on the tour and acknowledged that they didn’t really belong with the other "death metal bands". For fans of power/thrash metal with keyboards and harsh vocals.
After the Burial http://www.myspace.com/aftertheburial They entered the stage with a breakdown intro and one of the guitarists started playing behind his back on a neon green guitar. They play deathcore, lots of breakdowns and gutteral vocals. Probably pretty good if you're a fan of the genre.
Beneath the Massacre http://www.myspace.com/btm They were really tight but very monotonous, every song was filled with bass drops. I thought it would be exciting as it was my first time seeing them, but I was really bored. I remember there being a lot of speculation on whether or not they could play their music in front of a crowd, which they did well, for what it's worth.
Origin http://www.myspace.com/origin666 I've seen them before at a smaller venue and they put on a very intense, energetic show. This time, they barely made any effort to hype up the audience. The microphone levels were really low for the backup vocals, which are a big part of Origin's music, especially live. I couldn’t help but watch the bassist the whole time... he could put on a show all on his own and keep me entertained.
Born of Osiris http://www.myspace.com/bornofosiris Our forum regulars will probably recognize this band as Rosecrance (their old moniker). The stage seemed really crowded with all of their members huddled together. They had the crowd hyped up but I felt like they were too amateur to be so high on the bill. "Brutal" deathcore but the keyboards seemed useless.
Dying Fetus http://www.myspace.com/dyingfetus They were really tight, played everything perfectly in the classic style of Dying Fetus but it was more of the same and they didn’t really do much as far as stage performance. What's up with being a 3-piece now? At this point, I was really bored, hot, and tired.
Winds of Plague http://www.myspace.com/windsofplague Very reminiscent of Bleeding Through (without the eyeliner). They even had the token sex symbol on keyboards wearing a black leather corset. They were really bad and I would recommend taking a break to get food at this point in the show (Club Firestone was charging $5 for re-entry!), unless you like the Orange County horror/glam metal-wannabe scene.
Darkest Hour http://www.myspace.com/darkesthour I looked forward to seeing them, I thought they would lift my spirits and give me a second wind for the rest of the show. They were really tight, energetic, and put on a great performance. They played some new material that was more of the same, classic Darkest Hour, coming soon on their new album. For fans of American musicians playing posi Swedish melodeath.
Suffocation http://www.myspace.com/suffocation Most of the youngsters left after Darkest Hour and made room for all the middle-aged Suffocation fans. After some preaching (which they ironically hate) about all this nonsense, they opened with a song from 1989 to commemorate their 20th anniversary.
They played a lot of new songs that were really good... they are keeping it brutal, as they took an “oath to metal” back in the day. Finally, after all the other bands before them failed, we saw our first circle pit of the night! I would recommend checking out their new album "Blood Oath" coming out July 3, 2009 in Europe and July 14, 2009 in the USA.
Necrophagist http://www.myspace.com/necrophagistde I took the liberty to go back stage and setup the camera pointing at the drums. I figured that there were enough fanboy videos of Muhammed playing solos. They played their typical set of rehashing their 2 albums on shuffle, although they did play ONE new song, which can be heard at the end of the video clip. More of the same, but just as good and I'm definitely looking forward to the new album (if it ever comes out)!!!
In retrospect, I may just be getting too mature for this type of mainstream metal and I may come off as smug. Summer Slaughter Tour 2009 ("The most extreme tour of the year") is really only worth the $25 ticket price if you’ve never seen many of these bands before, or if you are a die-hard fan of Suffocation or Necrophagist. Most of the bands were just there to sell tickets and didn’t have anything to offer to a technical and progressive music fan.
If you end up going, don't forget to pick up the "Official Tour Program" for a Necrophagist interview regarding new material!
Have you already been to Summer Slaughter Tour 2009? Do you plan on going? Discuss your experiences and this article on our forums!
