Chesapeake, VA – The second annual Something Dead In The Water brings the heavy to Riffhouse with local doom/sludge outfits Seið and Hiss, Richmond death metal bands Eradicant and Appalling, Philadelphia’s grindcore band Gross, Baltimore’s brutal death metal outfit Torturous Descent, Massachusetts’ weed death band Bonginator, and three of the heavy hitters of New York death metal Morpheus Descends, Immortal Suffering and Pyrexia.
Starting the afternoon off was Norfolk based sludge outfit Seið who played three songs from their November 2023 effort ‘We Are Doomed’. While most of the crowd had not showed up yet, they looked and sounded good.
Seið SETLIST
The Sentry
Pariah
A Hymn to Freyr/Blessing of the Indica Fields
Following Seið was sludge outfit Hiss who played three songs from their upcoming album and a nice cover of Profanatica‘s ‘Crucifixion Wounds’. The crowd was still light but it was good to see my friends play live again.
Hiss SETLIST
I
II
III
Crucifixion Wounds (Profanatica cover)
Richmond’s Eradicant surprised me, a band that has been playing for six years and I had never heard of them until a couple of weeks ago. One of my friends describes them as “anti-social media” as they have no Facebook or Instagram presence that I could find. This is in a way a shame because I was impressed by their set. I thought to myself “Where the Hell did these guys come from and why haven’t I heard of them before!?” While Encyclopedia Metallum describes the band as death metal, I heard what sounded like thrash coming from them. If you haven’t seen them, you definitely need to check them out.
Coming out of hiatus, Richmond’s death metal purveyors Appalling were a welcome sight to those of us who had thrown down with them in the past. They played an absolutely crushing set consisting of songs primarily from their December 2, 2022 album ‘Sacrilege’ . The place was starting to fill up and the crowd was getting into the music and the play time as the pool noodles started being used.
Appalling SETLIST
Father Inferior
Pavilion
Nunsploitation
Hot Coals for Branding
Another band I discovered for the first time is Torturous Descent, I don’t get up to Baltimore as much as I used to and missed Maryland Death Fest where they played at Angel’s on Friday May 24th. If you want a brutal death metal band for your next show, give these guys a call, you won’t regret it.
Going from death metal to grindcore, Philadelphia’s Gross was a great change of pace, a band that plays music in the same vein as other bands from the area like Eat The Turnbuckle, Call The Paramedics, Crackhouse and Sparklefight with the “Fuck You, we’re from Philly” attitude and lyrical content that snubs it nose at just about everything. Their set included songs from their most recent effort ‘Genitales’ to ‘World War Cum’. I was introduced to the term “shit ticket” for toilet paper for the first time, that was a new one for me. If you are looking for a band that dives for the gutter with their music and kicks your ass while doing it, Gross is the band for you!!!
Gross SETLIST
Unwiped
Code Red at the Cum Factory
Meat?
Ghost Loads
Cephalopod Bukkake
45 Second Break
Take Dem Teefs Out
Party at the Piss Trough
Drainiac
This was my second time seeing Bonginator and I was not prepared for what the band had in mind for the crowd. They asked Mike Tepper to buy some toilet paper and they started throwing rolls of TP into the crowd and started playing. The place broke out into complete chaos as fans were flinging rolls of toilet paper at each other, trying to TP the stage and dance floor while others were playing with and hitting others with pool noodles while moshing. I have been to a lot of shows, and I have never seen anything like this. You had to be careful as you walked around to make sure you didn’t fall and bust your ass. They didn’t come to Virginia just to throw toilet paper around, their set was absolutely crushing and despite only playing for 30 minutes, the place was trashed. Achievement unlocked.
Bonginator SETLIST
First three songs are new and unnamed
420 lb Poop
Blood Diner
Zombie Party Rockers
Chopped 2 Pieces
After seeing the carnage that Bonginator wrought, Morpheus Descends did what they do best, they threw down with total brutality. I have previously seen them live when Steve Harris of The Day of The Beast brought them down years ago to play Riffhouse. I think most of the crowd had never seen or heard of Morpheus Descends before SDITW 2, what they got was a taste of some of the best New York death metal played today.
Morpheus Descends SETLIST
Cruciform Hills
Begging for Possession
Immortal Coil
Martense Mansion
Ritual of Infinity
Signs of Gehenna
Submerged in Adipocere
Corpse Under Glass
And if Morpheus Descends didn’t melt your face completely off, next up was Immortal Suffering. This was my first time seeing them live and they crushed it!!! Playing a mixed set of songs from their July 17, 2023 EP Extreme Torture, as well as some older material the band continued the aural assault as fans moshed and continued playing with pool noodles.
Immortal Suffering SETLIST
Extreme Torture
S.T.F.U.C.
Frenzied Hallucinations
Nothing Left
Murder Suicide
Conceived in a Crackhouse
Intestinal Strangulation
Corpse
And to end the night Pxrexia closed the night out only as they do, kick you in the taint with their heaviness. It doesn’t get much better than this!!!!
Pyrexia SETLIST
Abominat
Apostles to the Grave
Art of Infamy
Gravitas Maximus
Pawn to King
The Day the Earth Shook
We Are Many
Rule of 2
Confrontation
Sermon of Mockery
As a bonus, I included a gallery of shots of the venue and fans during the show.
I would like to thank Just The Tep Productions, Wargoat Entertainment, Blue Horseshoe Tattoo and Riffhouse Pub for putting this absolutely incredible show on and allowing me to cover it.
Show Date: July 20, 2024
