Speed, thrash, death, and straight-up metal combined for a blistering evening with Necrot and a wild Raleigh, NC, audience.
The Chapel of Bones is an intimate, 200+ person capacity music venue on the outskirts of downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. Inspired by the 16th-century architecture of “Capela dos Ossos,” a chapel of human skulls and bones built by monks in Evora, Portugal, Chapel of Bones serves as a coffee shop during the day and by night they are the home of death metal for Raleigh. Filled nearly to capacity, Chapel of Bones ignited with a blistering evening of death, thrash, and straight-ahead metal music.
Hailing from Greensboro, North Carolina, Blood Ritual kicked off the evening. Still a relatively young band starting in 2018, Blood Ritual is a five-piece thrash metal band that doesn’t understand the word “slow.” The band ripped through their short set pausing only once towards the end to repair a broken kick drum pedal. In between songs, there was never a moment of silence. Continuous feedback and power chords filled the space until the band was ready to launch into the next song. The refusal to allow silence to interrupt their set mirrored the full-throttle songwriting and high-octane performance.
Street Tombs followed next with their guttural, fast punk rock-paced death metal sound. Simple, classic, and no frills were to be found in any of the songwriting. A kind of, “just the facts, ma’am” type of band who knows who they are and wastes no time getting there. Rarely dropping below 120 beats per minute, Street Tombs used a doom-like, echo chamber effect on the lead guitar which added a sinister dimension on top of the rarely understandable growling lyrics. Intense audience head-banging began during their set, adding flailing heads and hair around an active mosh pit. A long way from their home in New Mexico, Street Tombs delivered an impressive set and revved up the audience even more. In the supporting slot was the Richmond, Virginia-based Bat. Their searing speed metal style was born from the impressive band member resumes including powerhouse bands such as Municipal Waste and DRI. Their talent was unquestionable and their music was undeniable tonight. The venue was filled nearly to capacity as the band launched into “Vampyre Lore” from their 2024 release, Under the Crooked Claw. Their 13-song set included additional cuts such as “Rite for Exorcism” and “Streetbanger” from the same album, plus “Code Rude” from their 2013 self-titled cassette release and the single, “Cruel Discipline.” The on-stage chemistry between bassist Ryan Waste and guitarist Nick Poulos was in full effect, coming together at center stage and moving in sync with each other, back to back. The stage diving began about halfway through their set, primarily done by members of Blood Ritual, which completed the formula for one kick-ass metal show. Transition time to break down and set up the next band was extremely fast all night and Necrot continued the tradition. Coming on stage while the audience was still catching their breath from Bat, Necrot opened with “Cut the Cord” from their 2024 release, Lifeless Birth. The trio of drummer Chad Gailey, bassist and vocalist Luca Indrio, and guitarist Sonny Reinhardt delivered endless energy for the entirety of their 10-song set, pounding and thrashing with intensity that would have quickly exhausted most. Including songs “Lifeless Birth,” “Superior,” and “Dead Memories” from Lifeless Birth, the setlist also included “Stench of Decay” and “Sinister Will” from their Mortal 2020 full-length album.The microphone was dripping of sweat, spit, and condensation from the incredibly humid air as if the microphone was itself sweating to keep up with the band’s intensity. Coming on stage briefly to introduce “Drill the Skull,” an audience member who apparently didn’t understand their welcome was over, needed to be shooed off the stage by Chad to reclaim his microphone. Said first by Bat then repeated by Necrot, the enthusiastic Raleigh audience who refused to stop was the best so far on the tour.
The Lifeless Birth Tour 2024 is a powerhouse bill of speed, death, thrash, and straight-up metal music. Each band is more than worthy, not one is a weak link, and the professionalism shown by all to transition between bands and arguably run a better-managed show than anyone else touring today was beyond impressive. The tour continues through July 13, 2024.STREET TOMBS
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