Friday night the Bottom Lounge played host to a big metal show featuring a couple big veterans playing alongside a few newer bands. The result was a little bit of something for everyone, providing the something you were looking for was fast, heavy and mostly brutal thrash or death metal.
Newer band, Lazarus A.D. started the show. They are a thrash metal band from Kenosha, WI so Chicago is familiar territory for them. They played speedy thrash metal with some infectious riffs. Their songs were about five minutes in length each with some really cool and tight riffs that were equal parts catchy and brutal. The crowd wasted no time getting into the action showing their appreciation for the band and they won themselves a handful of new fans by the time they got to their third song. Their songs sounded excellent and they really got the show started off on a great note. Hopefully they’ll play here again asap!
Lazarus A.D.
Lazarus A.D.
Lazarus A.D.
Lazarus A.D.
Hailing from England, Evile was the second band to take the stage. They played some very old school influenced Thrash metal which definitely owed a nod to early Metallica and Slayer. The vocals were lower pitched than those bands though and the band were fast and powerful. This was their first time touring the United States and after the warm reception they received, it is doubtful that it will be their last.
Evile
Evile
Evile
Chicago’s own Nachtmystium played third. They had a foundation based on black metal with lots of elements of thrash and death metal and even a bit of industrial thrown on top of it. They were dark, heavy, hyper, and intimidating! They barely stopped for air between songs and they played a really intense set that found everyone in the band flipping their hair around while head banging which resulted in them all being drenched in sweat by mid-set.
Nachtmystium
Nachtmystium
Nachtmystium
Nachtmystium
After about a decade’s absence, Canada’s finest metal export, Voivod, took the stage to a very eager crowd. The crowd were so excited for the band that they easily could have headlined this show and probably have drawn just as big of an audience as was there this evening. When they started playing, Snake came out in a gas mask and then shed it when it was time to start the first verse of the song, “Voivod” from their first album, War and Pain. The crowd wasted no time starting up a mosh pit and at this point the club was pretty full. They thanked the crowd and then played “Brain Scan” followed by “Tornado”, the latter which had the crowd moving like mad. From there it was Voivod’s greatest hits, they played the amazing, “Tribal Convictions” which sounded pretty amazing, as well as “Ripping Headaches” which is one of the best and noisiest thrash metal songs of all time. They played one new song from their latest album, Infini, which sounds like it would fit somewhere between Dimension Hatross and Nothingface, which are two of the band’s best albums. After a couple more popular older songs, they finished their set with “Astronomy Domine” which was one great way to end their flawless set. It was a shame they weren’t given a longer time to play so hopefully it won’t be another decade before they make their way back here again, hopefully headlining their own show.
Voivod
Voivod
Voivod
Voivod
Voivod
After a long setup and a sound check German thrash metal Legends, Kreator, finally took the stage. The band is touring in honor of their 25th anniversary and the crowd started chanting for them to come out. Some smoke filled the stage as the lights went out and they came out and immediately started playing, “Choir of the Damned”. The crowd went absolutely nuts and fists were pumping towards the stage as heads banged and a large sized mosh pit formed. The band were spot-on in their delivery of the song and the sound was crystal clear and heavy.
Kreator
Kreator
Kreator
The band played a lot of material that spanned their career, including lots of classics . They played nearly an hour and a half which equated to about 17 songs to a crowd that never grew tired of relentless moshing and headbanging. At some points the pit was nearly as big as the room itself! The band never seemed to fatigue because they sounded as tight and powerful at the end of their set as they did at the beginning, giving the fans in attendance one hell of a 25th anniversary performance for their money.
Kreator
Kreator
Kreator
See more photos from this show in the slideshow here.
