When looking for flat out aggression and brutality, I guess you can’t go wrong with the good old Tampa flesh-eating squad Cannibal Corpse. Admittedly, they have not been my cup of tea up till now, but older years have made my ears more accepting to the more bestial corners of the music industry. Maybe it was time to re-evaluate my position on the works of these gentlemen?

“All you people here right now, how the fuck are you doing?!”
- George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher (vocals)

When Cannibal Corpse hit the stage as the third and final act of the night, the crowd had increased substantially in numbers compared to how it had been during their two support acts. Still, you couldn’t really call it over-crowded as there was still plenty of room to move about in. My best bet is that it had to do with timing, as there was another very large metal show at the same time elsewhere in Copenhagen, and there are only so many fans to fight over.
Nevertheless, Cannibal Corpse were out to kill, and scarcely had they entered the stage before they bombarded us with Staring Through The Eyes Of The Dead, and Corpsegrinder was instantly whipping up quite a storm with his powerful windmilling headbanging. The rest of the guys we rarely saw the face of as they were doing the slouched over type of headbanging, but then again, we rarely saw the face of Corpsegrinder either as he usually had his hair covering it when belching out the lyrics.
The music was extremely tight and as far as the sound would allow it, I couldn’t pick up on any bad mistakes through the long setlist played for us. This is of course very commendable and all, and I do appreciate the amount of concentration that must go into delivering such lightning fast riffing without tripping on the fretboard, but I honestly could have forgiven a missed note here and there if they instead had put some effort into performing. This was a live-show after all, and they all stood as if nailed to the ground!

“Yeah, I’m a heartbreaker.”
- Corpsegrinder (vocals)

If the band looked nailed down, the story was a very different one in the crowd – a small but lively moshpit had been seen during Revocation’s stint on the stage, and this might have been a little bit calmer now but the only reason for this was that there were many more people participating in it now, and there were a lot more folks taking up space on the floor now, headbanging away like there was no tomorrow.
Regarding this last bit, Corpsegrinder actually showed a funny side that I had not seen coming, when he commanded people to headbang harder but also said that he wouldn’t be able to see it if they did or not as he would be headbanging too. More than everyone else in fact, and that we could try and keep up but we would fail every time. Maybe when he was 60 we’d stand a chance.
Truly, Corpsegrinder’s headbanging proficiency is remarkable as anyone who have seen him can testify to, but it would be nice if he wasn’t such a one-trick horse… Well, ok, he did have two or three jokes up his sleeve as well, very welcome they were, and he had presence pf mind enough to comment on the goings on in the audience at one point – he couldn’t understand why a guy would have another guy on his shoulders instead of a girl “but hey, if you want a sausage on your neck, go for it”.

So, yeah. I gave it a shot, but honestly, you would probably be much better off having Lunah Lauridsen review this show. I still like my shows best with a bit of performance in them, and songs with noticeable variation, but if you’re a die-hard death metal fan who wants to have a lethal dose of loud, fast, and tight music thrown your and take the pounding of a tank rolling across your ribcage, well then, look no further – Cannibal Corpse will take you to heaven (or hell if that’s your preferred destination) every night of the week! They know their shit, it’s just not my kind of shit.

Setlist:

Staring Through The Eyes Of The Dead
Fucked With A Knife
Stripped, Raped And Strangled
Kill Or Become
Sadistic Embodiment
Icepick Lobotomy
Scourge Of Iron
Demented Aggression
Evisceration Plague
Dormant Bodies Bursting
Addicted To Vaginal Skin
The Wretched Spawn
Pounded Into Dust
I Cum Blood
Disposal Of The Body
Make Them Suffer
A Skull Full Of Maggots
Hammer Smashed Face
Devoured By Vermin