From the moment a single foot was set inside Come And Take It Live in Austin on the night of Feb. 26, it was clear your standard heavy metal show was not about to unfold. That was confirmed from the first strains of the bands on the bill.
Immolation, Imperial Triumphant and Mortiferum made a packed venue feel like it had entered the bowels of hell via their respective soundtracks of death metal. But that wasn’t exactly a bad thing. As long as this version of hell included a few drinks and mosh pits accompanying the darkest sounds of death, ticket buyers in the house certainly didn’t mind.
Touring in support of the Feb. 18 release of Acts of God, Immolation brought three decades of death metal to downtown Austin and brutalized the cozy yet intimate venue with a mix of tunes from throughout its career. Led by original vocalist/ bassist Ross Dolan and original guitarist Bob Vigna, the New York band that often convenes for rehearsals at the Cleveland home of drummer Steve Shalaty had a tough act (of God, if you will) to follow after Imperial Triumphant and Mortiferum stoked the fires of hell in their own unique way (see 33-photo slideshow below).
Watch ATM’s Facebook Live footage of Immolation beginning its set here, then click ATM’s four videos below that included two songs from 1991 debut Dawn of Possession, the title track to 2013’s Kingdom of Conspiracy and “Rise the Heretics” from 2017’s Atonement. See an exclusive interview with Shalaty previewing the tour, discussing the latest album and other topics via the video box below.
Fellow New Yorkers Imperial Triumphant were easily the most unorthodox band on stage but certainly had its share of fans who came to see them most. Adorned in gold facemasks and black cloaks, vocalist / guitarist Zachary Ezrin, bassist / vocalist Steven Blanco and drummer Kenny Grohowski methodically made their way onstage before spending a large portion of their set prancing and dancing to fast and complicated, technical and abnormal bass-thumping and riffage not heard — or experienced — on a normal day. Ezrin at one point broke out a champagne bottle, using it on his instrument before popping it open and offering it up to the willing and waiting mouths of anyone who wanted a taste. Watch Imperial Triumphant begin their set via ATM’s Facebook Live footage here.
The night got off to a darkened, yet enlightening, start from Mortiferum. The band out of the Pacific Northwest set the tone with its intense brand of music, opening the fiery gateways to the abyss of the evening’s soundtrack. Mortiferum demonstrated it is a band on the rise within all subgenres of metal, and it would be nice to bring them to the Alamo City sometime in the near future.
After all, hell should be vast enough to cover Interstate-35 from one South Texas city to another.
