Walking into Neck of the Woods, surprised that they have two shows at the venue, and to see Genocide Pact perform downstairs stage. As I approach the stage to see the remaining few moments of the opening band Form Decay with fans crowded up to the front. Sadly, I had missed their set, but seen them before, and they are genuinely a great local band to check out.
Upcoming Melo-Death band, Darkness Everywhere sets up the stage. With immense vocals from Ben Orem (Light This City) while playing guitar, it is astonishing to watch him multitasking fast, shredding riffs alongside Cameron Stuckey, the lead guitarist, doing plenty of rhythmic solos. Unfortunately, their original bassist was replaced for the show tonight by Eligio Tapia from Crepuscle, who did amazing for his first time. Can’t miss the heavy blasts from the drums by Garrett Garvey. To my surprise, as a fan, Laura Nichols from Light This City coming onstage for guest vocals on the LTC song “The Architect of Misery” was great! This is the closest we can get to seeing original members Ben Murray and Laura onstage together from the band, but her vocals continue to sound gruesomely thrashy.
The final set of the night, hailing from Washington, DC, Genocide Pact takes the stage. Immersed in dark red lighting, giving the atmosphere of hell and darkness. As they open up with “Agnogenesis,” the music is slow and rising in tempo, with bassist Michael Nolan just thumping profusely away. Even though it’s a small area for fans to be up close to the stage, a fan started throwing himself onto bystanders, and a mini circle pit erupted. Vocalist and guitarist Tim Mullaney was jamming out profusely and screaming aggressively into the mic. As they play plenty of songs from their recent albums, and just great to hear songs from their first album, Forged Through Domination.
Unfortunately, hidden behind the rest of the band as usual, drummer Conner Donegan, was slamming heavily on drum snares and looking very intense at the crowd. As it was my first time seeing and hearing Genocide Pact, the trio has made a new fan and would encourage you to see this band if their tour comes to your town.
The night comes to an end, with many hanging around and having drinks. Seeing both bands hanging out with fans and friends that its one of the main reasons why I personally love coming to shows in underground venues. It’s the interpersonal experiences that make it worthwhile.
Buy Genocide Pact music and merch here:
https://genocidepact.bandcamp.com/album/genocide-pact
Buy Darkness Everywhere music and merch here:
https://darknesseverywhere.bandcamp.com/album/to-conquer-eternal-damnation
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY ANITA FRAUSTO
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