February 18th, 2016 will be a day that most Boston death metal fans will not soon forget. The Paradise Night Club was jam-packed for a tour package that consisted of death metal veterans Abysmal Dawn, Cryptopsy, Obituary, and Cannibal Corpse. Unfortunately, Abysmal Dawn did not make it out to this stop on the tour as they were apparently stuck in New Jersey. But, as the cliché goes, the show must go on!

Cryptopsy, by Evil Robb Photography

Cryptopsy was up first which was probably my most anticipated band of the night as they were the only band I had yet to see live. It was nice to say I had finally seen the long time technical death metal band, but it just did not seem the same without hearing Lord Worm’s vocals. Even with a set list that was a majority of old material from None So Vile (Century Media) and Blasphemy Made Flesh (Century Media), I just found myself disinterested in Matt McGachy’s vocals. The mix was also a little off as the bass was clearly overpowering the other elements on stage.

Obituary, by Evil Robb Photography

Next up, the legendary Floridian death metal outfit, Obituary. I, for one, was very excited to see them again since my first experience seeing them at Maryland Death Fest last year was limited (hey, a guy has to find food, even if that means sacrificing time in the pits). From the start of the set until the final note (which seemed like they were cut short), the fans had the floor moving violently and very well stole the show. Prior to this evening, I already considered myself a fan of Obituary. However, after this set which seemed to fly by was over, I realized that I liked them a lot more than I initially had thought. One of the better sets I have ever seen from a death metal band.

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

Finally, it was time for the biggest name in the death metal scene, Cannibal Corpse. Having seen this group countless times, I had most of the set list figured out going into the night. Staple tracks such as ‘Scourge of Iron’ , ‘Stripped, Raped and Strangled’ , and ‘Make Them Suffer’ were scattered into the sixteen song set. As for some surprises, we were lucky enough to catch ‘Death Walking Terror’ , ‘Pit of Zombies’ (my personal favorite) , and ‘Born in a Casket’. I had not yet seen any of those three songs live yet so it is safe to say I was very happy with Cannibal Corpse this time around. For a band that tours as much as they do, it must be hard to try and promote new material while also playing some older tunes but have about 30 years of material to cover in a short window. Having said that, switching up a few songs here and there to pull out some rarely played live tracks is always a crowd pleaser. Obviously the biggest pit of the night went to ‘Hammer Smashed Face’ which even included a few female participants!

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

Overall, I was very pleased with the show even after being let down by Cryptopsy and Abysmal Dawn not making it out of New Jersey in time for this show. Obituary and Cannibal Corpse proved to the Boston fans in attendance how they have stood the test of time as death metal bands and can still bring it on a live setting.

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

[slideshow_deploy id=’40003′]

WORDS BY TIM LEDIN

PHOTOS BY EVIL ROBB PHOTOGRAPHY

[amazon asin=B004YMT7KO&template=iframe image1]