Cannibal Corpse at The Vogue, Indianapolis, December 6, 2022

Cannibal Corpse continued its rampage across North America with at stop in Broad Ripple at The Vogue Theatre.

It was quite the bill: Black Anvil, Immolation, Dark Funeral, and Cannibal Corpse. First up, New York City’s Black Anvil. Riding on a high from the release of their fifth album, Regenesis (Season of Mist), they filled the theater with hair-raising black metal and ravaging guitar mayhem. They played a good chunk of that new album and, judging from the reactions of the crowd, they made a lot of new fans.

Another well-known New York band, Immolation, took the stage next. This was the second time Immolation had played at The Vogue this year, the first being when they toured with Carcass and Creeping Death in the Spring. Like Black Anvil, they are supporting a new record, Acts Of God (Nuclear Blast). They did several numbers from the new album, and also pulled from their deep history to feature fan favorites off of earlier releases. I was at both Broad Ripple shows this year and I can’t wait to see Immolation again and hear some more unique death metal.

Dark Funeral is a black metal band from Sweden that has been darkening the consciousness of listeners for nearly thirty years. Focusing on the occult and dark realms generally, they have legions of loyal fans, many of whom where in the crowd at the show. Their 2022 album, We Are The Apocalypse (Century Media), was reason enough for them to hit the road and show off their wares. To go along with the new songs, they reached all the way to back to 1996 and The Secrets of the Black Arts album to conjure the title track, and then one step further back to their self-titled 1994 EP for “Open The Gates.” I was glad to be in the house for those.

I have seen Cannibal Corpse many times, including earlier this year at Blue Ridge Rock Festival, and I will be the first in line to see them again whenever the chance arises. Who has done more to popularize death metal than Cannibal Corpse? Exactly. They are the reason I am a death metal fan today. Since 1995, George Corpsegrinder Fisher has been the voice of the band, and his stage presence is a force to be reckoned with.

As with the other veteran bands paying at the show, Cannibal Corpse had a metric ton of material to choose from. They hit a number of songs from their latest album, 2021’s Violence Unimagined (Metal Blade), and more than a dozen skull-pummeling classics from one of the most vibrant heavy music canons in existence. I was almost sorry to hear “Hammer Smashed Face” because I knew that meant the end was here. It was an amazing evening with all four bands playing at the top of their form.