Bringing the aggression to Copenhell was none other than long-time running death metal pioneers Cannibal Corpse, but what the band tried to fire up in people, the weather tried to put out at the same time. Yes, the long-promised rain had also arrived…

“God is pissing on us because he doesn’t like metal!”
- George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher (vocals)

Not surprisingly, the attempted assassination was doomed from the beginning of course. What could a little rain do against the heavy onslaught that began with Scourge Of Iron, and then continued relentlessly on for a total duration of about 45-50 minutes?
Nothing I tell you, nothing at all.
The band members were already fired up, and it didn’t take many seconds for the wildfire to spread out into the audience, where it took the form of massive headbanging and a good stream of crowd surfers.
Back on the stage, Corpsegrinder proved to be in a particularly good mood, and cracked many jokes between songs, albeit of the darker kind, and during the songs his infamous headbanging skills windmilled up a storm to be reckoned with. The rest of the gang was as usual a bit more anonymous, but still performed with power and conviction, and a tightness that the style demands.

“You had better make some noise, or you die!”
- Corpsegrinder (vocals)

Yes, the Copenhell crowd was clearly warmed up by this time, and ready to give it an arm and a leg, and any other part that may be desired by the cannibalistic death kings for that sake.
As I mentioned, crowd surfers were plentiful, and thankfully this wasn’t looked down upon by the security at hand. Rather, I saw one guy give a hearty hug to one of the guards as he passed by on his way back to the crowd, and he got a big smile in return from said guard.
Cannibal Corpse was booed at as well, but that’s a different story. A short one. Corpsegrinder announced the final song of the setlist, got the aforementioned response, and replied in form by saying that it didn’t matter if people were disappointed because it was still going to be the last song. And if that sounds diplomatic, he soon ruined that illusion by putting on a very wicked grin. And after the song, Hammer Smashed Face, they played one more. No one booed about that.

It is rare for me to be grabbed by Cannibal Corpse, as they’re generally not really my thing, and even though they had a lot of things going for them this afternoon, this was yet another one of gigs that comes and goes without leaving an imprint. Photographer Lunah Lauridsen was of another meaning however, and thought the concert was quite brilliant, as did a lot of the crowd by the looks of it.

Setlist:

Scourge Of Iron
Demented Aggression
Evisceration Plague
Stripped, Raped And Strangled
Kill Or Become
Sadistic Embodiment
Icepick Lobotomy
I Cum Blood
Make Them Suffer
A Skull Full Of Maggots
Hammer Smashed Face
Devoured By Vermin