With the smell of fresh perogies and kielbasa wafting out from the venue into the sunny Brooklyn streets, the iconic cuisine of the Warsaw was in many ways a 'welcome home' to the Cancer Culture Over North America 2024 tour.
Making their triumphant return to the five boroughs for the first time in seven years, Decapitated had arrived from Poland to Greenpoint, also known as Little Poland, to bring their signature style of technical death metal to the masses. Joined by an all star cast, including Septicflesh, Kataklysm, and Allegaeon, the night ahead was destine for immense circle pits and neck straining headbanging even before the doors opened.
Starting the night off with tremendous force, Colorado's Allegaeon delivered hit after hit of rapid fire drums, dual solo work from guitarists Greg Burgess and Michael Stancel, and the roar of vocalist Ezra Haynes.
Opening with back to back cuts from Elements of the Infinite, which celebrates it tenth anniversary in June, fans were treated to a performance of "Iridescent", the band's new single released in late March.
Having played at nearby venues The Kingsland and The Meadows in 2022, the energy brought to life through "Of Beasts and Worms" and "Grey Matter Mechanics" demanded a larger stage, which was finally delivered to Allegaeon on this tour. Reflecting on their dominating performance at last year's Milwaukee Metalfest at a venue several times the size of the Warsaw, it's any wonder the room in Brooklyn didn't crumble from their explosive set.
Closing out with "Biomech - Vals No. 666" from their debut album, Fragments of Form and Function, the bar was set high as fans exited the dancefloor well warmed up and ready for the extreme symphonies to come.
Though stopping through New York City twice in 2022 (once with Deicide and once with Dark Tranquility), there was much to be excited for as Kataklysm took the stage. Releasing their fifteenth album, Goliath, last August, the Canadian metal lords delivered much anticipated play throughs of "Die as a King", "Bringer of Vengeance", and the album's title track for the first time in the Big Apple.
Performing the entirety of Serenity In Fire during their tour with Deicide, Kataklysm nonetheless made sure to keep fan favorite "As I Slither" in the set as the one cut from the album. With circle pits forming one after another during "Guillotine" and "Crippled and Broken", put the crowd to the test before the set concluded with "The Black Sheep", off 2015's Of Ghosts and Gods.
Making their debut in Brooklyn and first appearance back in New York since their 2019 tour with Ensiferum, Septicflesh arrived from Greece to enchant the eager crowd.
Leading off with "Portrait of a Headless Man", the first of three tracks from 2017's Codex Omega, the Athenian quartet made quick work of getting the dancefloor thundering with moving bodies. Dialing in some hints of their Hellenic heritage, "Neuromancer" from the band's last album, Modern Primitive, majestic melodies channeling the essence of Ancient Greece gave way to tremendous grooves and roars from bassist/vocalist Spiros Antoniou that would rattle the Underworld.
Boasting eleven albums over a thirty three year long career, legacy works from Communion and The Great Mass came to life through performances of "Anubis", "Communion", "Pyramid God" and "The Vampire from Nazareth".
Rounding out with "Dark Art", the chants of 'SEP-TIC-FLESH!' coming from the crowd as the band bid Brooklyn goodnight indicated that the show could have gone on for many more songs to the delight of fans.
Originally scheduled to perform in New York in the fall of 2017, extraordinary circumstances took Decapitated off the road before their tour made it to the Big Apple. Now some seven years later, New York crowds would at last have the chance to hear material from both Anti-Cult, which had just come out during Decapitated's last North American run, and Cancer Culture, celebrating its second anniversary at the end of May.
Bookending the start and finish of the set with cuts from Cancer Cultures (the title track, "Just a Cigarette", and later, "Iconoclast" and "Last Supper"), the Polish powerhouse held back nothing from start to finish, instigating nonstop circle pits and crowd surfing.
As if the crowd weren't already dealing enough damage out with the new material, it seemed like the venue itself swayed from the intensity of fan favorite, "Spheres of Madness", which made an appearance mid-set. Flanked by "Post(?) Organic" and "Lying and Weak", the latter of which has not been performed in the U.S. in a decade, the set was nothing short of a much needed fix of metal from the champions of tech-death.
Ticket and photo pass courtesy of Earsplit PR/Earsplit Compound; The Metal Mayan also extends a special thanks to Greg Burgess.
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