It is fair to assume that all metalhead’s at one point in their life were told either by their parents, school teacher, pastor, ect that they were going to hell for their love of heavy music. After the first weekend of the 6^th month of the year in NYC, I can tell you that hell is going to be an awesome place. With two days of never ending terror and darkness reigning down upon New York City, we will be saying “Hell yeah” when someone says that to us.

On Saturday, June 1^st at Gramercy Theater, we had Deicide performing at Gramercy Theater with Origin, Jungle Rot and The Absence. When it comes to satanic death metal, one of the first people we can think of is the Florida man with the upside down cross on his forehead, Glen Benton. From classic from albums such as Once Upon a Cross, In the Minds of Evil, and their newest album, Overtures of Blasphemy ranking up there, there was no better way to celebrate month number 6 in NYC.

Opening, we get The Absence. Easily the most melodic band on this bill, The Absence was the perfect band to open this insane show. Having the classic melodic death metal element with bands such as At the Gates, The Haunted and Soilwork, along with a technical death metal side for lovers of Rivers of Nihil and Obscura, The Absence was able to get many horns raised and spawn the first circle pit of the night with their brutal and unique sound and tons of interaction with the crowd.

Next we get the Wisconsin Death Metal Masters, Jungle Rot. Jungle Rot has come to New York City every time this year for the past couple of years, so it almost seems like a tradition to start the summer off with these guys. Being that the last couple of tours were more on the thrash spectrum of metal with bands such as Destruction, Warbringer and Havok, it was great to see them on a tour with many fellow old school death metal fans as well as some newer fans who may have discovered them back in 2015 on Mayhem Fest and they broke out of the Midwest Underground. Jungle Rot is a band that always brings the savage brutality we all know and love from Death Metal Bands such as Deicide, Morbid Angel or Cannibal Corpse. With the setlist containing old school classics from Terror Regime and Kill on Command as well as some newer songs from their new self titled record thrown in there, you were either in the moshpit or banging your head. Nothing remained static and they even spawned the first crowdsurfer of the night.

Origin would take the stage right after and the audience welcomed them back with open arms. Many people were excited to see them return since they last came at Summer Slaughter in 2017. All that can be said about this band is that they deliver the perfect essence of organized chaos in heavy music. From Death Metal, to Grindcore to Technical Death Metal, no matter how many times you have seen this band, you will never no what to expect other than falling in the bit, flying over the barrier or getting pushed up against it. With a great sense of humor from vocalist Jason Keyser added as well, there were just as many smiles as there were horns.

Finally we get one of Tampa Florida’s finest, the almighty Deicide. Unlike the other three bands that utilized backdrops, there setup was simple and that was just pitch-black darkness. A black abyss that was a clear representation of the void of hell that was delivered. The audience was clearly the representation of the fires of hell that consumed you whether you liked it or not. The setlist was perfect with songs from their self-titled record, Once Upon a Cross, and their new album Overtures of Blasphemy, old school and new school fans were satisfied 100%. Add a song or two from In the Minds of Evil, Scars of the Crucifix and Legion, you got yourself a kick ass death metal set. Ending with the classic Homage for Satan off The Stench of Redemption, Deicide turned The Gramercy Theater into a smoldering crater and a colony of hell. The 6^th month of the year started off on a great note.

On Sunday, June 2^nd the reign of Satan’s terror continued when The Devastation on the Nation tour hit Brooklyn Bazaar. This was a unique year for this tour. Being that the last couple of years consisted of death metal bands such as Aborted or Crytopsy, it was interesting to see this tour consist of mainly black metal bands such as Dark Funeral, Belphegor and Hate. This was the perfect show to end the weekend.

Devastation on the Nation has been great at exposing some underrated bands in extreme music. Many people got on board with Venom Prison, Rivers of Nihil, Alter Beast and Soreption. This year did exactly the same with Nightmarer and Vale of Pnath opening this killer lineup. Nightmarer actually played their first show on the first night of this tour and they are hitting the ground running playing live. With just a small and smoldering light shining through, they were brutal and mysterious at the same time. Vale of Pnath brought a great essence of savage brutality with great progressive like melodies.

Up next we get Hate. Hate returned to New York City after almost a decade and just came back with a vengeance. With their hair windmiling just as fast as the flickering lights and the vocals of Adam “ATF Sinner” Buszko with his horrifying corpse paint and intense growls, the night was slowly getting more and more brutal.

Incantation would later follow this performance, and they brought a great death metal vibe to this show. Being that Incantation would tour with a black metal band like Marduk but then tour with a death metal legend like Dying Fetus, this band can fit in on any bill with any genre of extreme music. Spawning brutal pits and absolute terror, Incantation is always going to bring it regardless of who they play with.

The two headliners of the tour come up next. Belphegor look the stage with their corpsepaint and intense blackened death sound. Fog rolled into the venue as they played which further immersed the audience in an atmosphere. It felt like you were thriving in the catacombs of hell. Fog, intense moshpits and the growls Helmuth over intense riffing, if we are going to hell, and this is what it is like, going there is totally ok.

At last, to conclude this weekend of brutality and darkness, the Swedish black metal legends, Dark Funeral takes the stage. Dark Funeral is a band that can spawn the ability to let out anger and rage that can be consuming one individual inside, and at the same time, leave you completely mesmerized and sedated in the realm of darkness that they portray. Dark Funeral brings life to death, and beauty to darkness. They are able to execute their material to a T and engage with the audience as well. Whether you were standing in the back or the front, you were in the realm of Dark Funeral.

When the 6^th month of June hit NYC, Satan was sure able to leave his mark and reign an essence of terror and brutality on us all. These two concerts left many metal heads happy that they were able to watch some of the most legendary black and death metal bands and revel in this darkness together. If hell is this fun, then you bet we have no problem going there.