Photo Gallery: Bassists, Part 8

May 27, 2023May 2, 2023 Wayne EdwardsBad Wolves, Black Anvil, Black Metal, Blue Ridge Rock Festival, Death Metal, Devil Be My Judge, Doom Metal, E Street Pub, Hard Rock, Hath, Heavy Metal, Integrity, Live Music, Nile, Overkill, Piere's Entertainment Center, Pop Evil, Pure Filth Festival, Tennessee Metal Devastation, The Vogue Theatre, Thrash Metal

**Pop Evil at Blue Ridge Rock Festival**

**Hath at the E Street Pub, Richmond, Indiana**

**Devil Be My Judge at Tennessee Metal Devastation**

**Bad Wolves at Blue Ridge Rock Festival**

Photos by Wayne Edwards.

Photo Gallery: Shredders, Part 2

April 2, 2023March 24, 2023 Wayne EdwardsAndrew J. Brady Music Center, Black Anvil, Carcass, Creeping Death, Death Metal, Heavy Metal, Immolation, Live Music, Obituary, Piere's Entertainment Center, Spirit Adrift, The Vogue Theatre, Thrash Metal

**Creeping Death at The Vogue Theatre, Indianapolis**

**Black Anvil at The Vogue Theatre, Indianapolis**

**Obituary at the Andrew J. Brady Music Center, Cincinnati**

**Immolation at The Vogue Theatre, Indianapolis**

**Carcass at The Vogue Theatre, Indianapolis**

**Creeping Death at The Vouge Theatre, Indianapolis**

**Spirit Adrift at Piere’s Entertainment Center, Fort Wayne, Indiana**

**Obituary at the Andrew J. Brady Center, Cincinnati**

Photos by Wayne Edwards.

Photo Gallery: Drummers, Part 4

February 18, 2023February 13, 2023 Wayne EdwardsAmon Amarth, Andrew J. Brady Music Center, Attila, Black Anvil, Black Cobra, Black Metal, Blue Ridge Rock Festival, Cannibal Corpse, Death Metal, Hard Rock, Healing Magic, Heavy Metal, Howling Rooster, Jarhead Fertilizer, Live Metal, Live Music, Muddy Roots Festival, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, The Monkey House, The Vogue Theatre, Thrash Metal

**Healing Magic at The Vogue, Indianapolis**

**Jarhead Fertilizer at The Monkey House, Burlington**

**Howling Rooster at Muddy Roots Festival**

**Cannibal Corpse at Blue Ridge Rock Festival**

**Black Anvil at The Vogue, Indianapolis**

**Amon Amarth at the Andrew J. Brady Music Center, Cincinnati**

Photos by Wayne Edwards.

Black Anvil, Regenesis (Season Of Mist 2022)

December 14, 2022December 7, 2022 Wayne EdwardsBlack Anvil, Black Metal, Death Metal, Heavy Metal, Regenesis, Season of Mist, Thrash Metal

New York metal band Black Anvil release their first album in five years, Regenesis.

Black Anvil came together in 2007 at the end of the first lifecycle of New York hardcore band Kill Your Idols. Since then, they have released four full-length albums, a split, and an EP. They are typically described as a black metal band, and while that label does cover part of the story, it also leaves quite a lot out.

There are twelve cuts on the new record. After a solemn intro, black metal riffs and vocals reign on “In Two.” As the song goes on, the style transforms into more of a melodic death metal stance. Dark metal, really. By the end of the song, it has become an explosive amalgamation. “The Bet” follows a similar trajectory while veering less and remaining more caustic overall. It is more of a battering, “The Bet,” and we’re the better for it – a nice sharp punch to keep our attention. “8-bit Terror” is considerably different, making the set hard to clock in a narrow way. The music is expansive, pulsing on a sigmoid wave that is writhing itself.

I found “Silver and Steele” particularly compelling, and I say that meaning to take nothing away from the rest of set. This one, though, found a way in and a way to stay. “Grant Us His Love” is notable for the wrecking ball it will take to your sensibilities. The final song is the title track. It feels like a mantra and a command at the same time. A herald also, you might say, and a reckoning, like the album in total. Recommended.

Regenesis is out now through Season of Mist. Examine the options at the links below.

Live photo by Wayne Edwards.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://blackanvil.bandcamp.com/album/regenesis

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/BlackAnvil

Season Of Mist, https://www.season-of-mist.com/bands/black-anvil/

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

December 9, 2022December 9, 2022 Wayne EdwardsBlack Anvil, Black Metal, Cannibal Corpse, Dark Funeral, Death Metal, Heavy Metal, Immolation, Live Music, The Vogue Theatre

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.