It’s been a long time since I’ve been to The Cabooze for an indoor show. The last one I can remember was exactly six months ago, when August Burns Red rolled through on their winter tour. I also severely underestimated how many people would make the trek out to catch The Black Dahlia Murder and Whitechapel, both bands playing a special set consisting of full albums front in celebration of their ten year anniversary. This was also the last stop on this tour, adding more celebration to the mix.
Opening up the night were Connecticut based, self described symphonic deathcore band Shadow of Intent. When the band walked on stage thought I felt an air of familiarity about them and it was only until after their set that it dawned on me that their guitarist is in Currents, a band I’m more familiar with. I could also tell it had been a long time since I’ve been to a metal show. Often, I caught myself nodding or stomping to the rhythm, lost in the moment of the song. Shadow of Intent put on a solid set to start the evening, warming up the sage for Aversions Crown.
I’ve seen Aversions Crown one other time before, also at The Cabooze, and it was awesome to witness the band tear up the same stage from one year ago. The Australian metal band were relentless in their performance, the stormed the stage, the majority of the crowd nodding along, eyes glued to the stage. Aversions Crown were definitely better than I remembered from a year ago, the band fine tuning their stage presence and going their musical talent.
Fleshgod Apocalypse was the next band to take the last band on the tour bill that was new to me. I’ll admit, I didn’t check out this band prior to seeing them perform live, which is something I normally do to get a feel for what I’m going to experience. To say I was taken aback was a bit of an understatement. First, there was a full piano on stage, something I didn’t expect, but wasn’t entirely surprised by. What took me aback the most was the straight out of the 1800’s garb the band wore on stage, which was what I really didn’t expect. With that said, the band lived up to the two small surprises and brought a heavy set to The Cabooze, complete with gentle guitar interludes. If nothing else, this band definitely put on an entertaining set.
Whitechapel took the stage next shortly after Fleshgid Apocalypse departed. Playing their album “This Is Exile” from front to back in its entirety, the band wasted no time in celebrating this album’s ten year anniversary. The band barely took a break from their set, rather, they brought the heat to stage with their intensity, powering through their set in what felt like only a few minutes. . Before tonight l, I haven’t been able to see Whitechapel Live before, however, I can say that I’ll definitely be catching them the next time the stop in the Twin Cities.
Finally, closing out the evening was The Black Dahlia Murder, this band plays their 2008 release “Nightbringers” in its entirety. While I’ve listened to this band, albeit it has been a few years, I haven’t been able to catch their live performance yet and I was very excited to see what they would bring to the stage. From the start it was clear the crowd was there to see The Black Dahlia Murder, as fans crammed together on the barricade almost in sync with the rhythm. The band was not lacking any stage presence, their performance was tight knit, and watching the front of the crowd lose it for their performance made for a great set to end the night with.
