Brazilian thrashers Sepultura bring a unique lineup to Baltimore including Gibsonton, Florida’s death metal masters Obituary, New York hardcore legends Agnostic Front and fellow Brazilian thrashers Claustrofobia.
This is my first time seeing Claustrofobia live and I thought they were a new band until I looked them up and found out they have been around since 1994, oops. I was impressed by their energy as they kicked off the night. Their set consisted of songs almost exclusively from their March 11th, 2022 effort “Unleeched” with the last song of the set being the title track of 2011’s “Peste”. If you haven’t seen these guys live before, you should.
Claustrofobia SETLIST
Stronger than Faith
The Encrypted
Neuro Massacre
Corrupted Self
Unleeched
Peste
It has been a few years since I have seen my friends in Agnostic Front, so I was really looking forward to this show. The guys were in a really good mood and were smiling and joking throughout their set. Lead singer Roger Miret kept asking the crowd to mosh and I think for the most part he was happy with the response. Their set was a solid mix of new and older material, if you are a hardcore fan, you should be very happy with the set. They looked and sounded great with the added bonus of Roger going out into the crowd to sing “Addiction” to end the set.
Agnostic Front SETLIST
AF Stomp
The Eliminator
Dead to Me
New Jack
For My Family
Friend or Foe
Toxic Shock
Victim in Pain
All Is Not Forgotten
Peace
Gotta Go
Addiction
Of all the shows I have been to, I have never seen a shift in crowd activity as I witnessed with Obituary. It looked to me as if the crowd held off until they got on stage before the chaos started, but the crowd moshed and a wave of crowd surfers came to the front and didn’t stop and yelled “Holy Shit” as only Baltimore metalheads do. Obituary delivered a brutal set that covered songs from 1989’s “Slowly We Rot” to 2023’s “Dying of Everything” and the crowd loved it!!! This was by and far the best Obituary set I have ever seen.
Obituary SETLIST
Redneck Stomp
Threatening Skies
By the Light
The Wrong Time
Deadly Intentions
Chopped in Half / Turned Inside Out
Solid State
War
Circle of the Tyrants
Dying of Everything
Slowly We Rot
The first time I saw Sepultura live was nine years ago when they played The NorVA in Norfolk, Virginia. It is hard to believe that the second time I am seeing Sepultura will be the last. What has impressed me about the band is their simple approach to shows, go out and kick ass!!! You can see the sweat running down Derrick Green’s body as he delivers the vocal assault, backed up by Andreas Kisser’s guitar work, Paulo Xisto’s bass and replacement drummer Greyson Nekrutman’s work, who was amazing. The set started with one of my favorite Sepultura songs “Refuse/Resist” from 1993’s ‘Chaos A.D.’ and they played a set of mostly older material that goes as far back as 1987’s ‘Schizophrenia’, a definite nod to older fans. The crowd responded with moshing, crowd surfing and the Baltimore cry “Holy Shit!!!”. It was a night to remember and one of the best metal shows I have ever been to.
It is doubly sad that it was announced that Rams Head Live! is closing it’s doors, and depending on what story you read it is either temporary or permanent. I have only been to two shows at Rams Head Live!, this one and KK’s Priest. As a fan and photographer the place is awesome, friendly staff, massive photo pit, great lighting and three levels that the audience can experience a show. This is a place I am going to really miss.
Sepultura SETLIST
Refuse/Resist
Territory
Kairos
Phantom Self
Attitude
Means to an End
Choke
Guardians of Earth
Breed Apart
Escape to the Void
Kaiowas
Agony of Defeat
Dead Embryonic Cells
Agony of Defeat
Orgasmatron (Motorhead cover)
Troops of Doom
Inner Self
Arise
Ratamahatta/Roots Bloody Roots
The “Celebrating Life Through Death” tour runs through October 12th with the last stop in New York City at the Palladium Times Square.
