Concert: Metal Threat Fest Warm-Up Show – Barbatos, Angelcorpse, Destroyer 666, Ares Kingdom, Nuke, Peucharist (7/14, Reggie’s, Chicago)

Guess who didn’t get tickets to Metal Threat Fest in time to take off the whole weekend and go? THIS LADY. With class at 8AM Saturday, however, I wouldn’t have been able to stay the whole weekend even if I had wanted to. And so it was that I got tickets for the “Warm Up Show” on Thursday eve, inasmuch as fucking Destroyer 666 plays the “Warm Up Show.” The saddest part was that since everyone else stayed, I drove down and back by myself. At the same time, school has been stressing me out bad lately, and driving long distances while listening to Electric Wizard is kind of my zen place.

Me and the pals missed the first couple of bands, due to our getting stuck in traffic on the way to the Metal Haven Grill. I was starving by the time we got there, but fortunately they had 10 inch Polish sausages wrapped in bacon so that situation very quickly rectified itself. I don’t think that it has been a restaurant for very long as they still seem to be establishing a full menu, but my meal at least was delicious. They also had records and CDs to buy, and some books (like the Slayer Mag Diaries, which is the best book ever).

I snagged Forgotten Woods, an Arckanum album that somehow slipped beneath my radar, and some Kommandant, whose patch is on my jacket and whom I like, but for some reason didn’t own any of their stuff.

Well, we got stuck in Chicago afternoon traffic, so we missed Peucharist and Nuke, but we did get to the venue in enough time to see about half of Ares Kingdom’s set. Ares Kingdom is a band that a lot of my friends love that I don’t know much about because… I’m an idiot and also I need about four more hours in each day to be able to get everything done and listen to everything that I would like. I did greatly enjoy their set though, and I had pretty high expectations having had it built up for me so much.

Ares Kingdom

I’m not sure what led to the decision to have Destroyer 666 play next instead of in the headlining slot, and it’s kind of a bummer because a friend suggested that they might have played a slightly longer set (?). But make no mistake, this is what I drove down for and it was totally worth it. They played a variety of stuff, the ones off the top of my head that I remember being Lone Wolf Winter, I Am the War God, Wildfire, Live and Burn, The Calling, Hounds At Ya Back, and Trialed By Fire, which they dedicated to Selim Lemouchi of The Devil’s Blood (may he Reign in Chaos). Also, they did a cover of Motorhead’s Iron Fist, which was about as fun as you would expect. It was a fantastic set, the band was spot on, everyone was happy, no one was rousing rabble, and Mr. Warslut seemed practically cheerful (he only called a couple of people “fucking cunts,” and considering that they were filming the set, they probably deserved it).

Destroyer 666

Please forgive me for snapping photos, Mr. Warslut. It’s just for the blog.

Next up was Angelcorpse, who I was also excited to see. I love me some war metal, and having listened to pretty much nothing but Revenge leading up to this shindig, I was ready for some. Unfortunately, I’m not familiar enough with their catalog to give a run-down of the setlist, but it was much akin to being punched in the face repeatedly, which is kinda what you want when Angelcorpse plays.

Angelcorpse

The night ended with Barbatos, who I had never heard of, but is a project of Abigail vocalist, guitarist, and bassist Yasuyuki Suzuki. They play a kind of mix of punky, blackish thrash, and are fun as shit. While it would have been cool to get a full set from Destroyer 666, I was totally fine with Barbatos finishing up the night as they were fun, exciting, and a great ending to the first night of a metal festival and a warm up for a four day party (which I unfortunately could not attend the rest of).

Barbatos

I ended up with a lot of stuff; there was no merch for Angelcorpse or Destroyer 666 that I saw, but I cleaned up with the music. Along with the albums I bought at Metal Haven Grill, I acquired Destroyer 666’s Pheonix Rising and Cold Steel…For an Iron Age, Funeral Mist’s Devilry (I never owned it on CD, though I do have it on vinyl). I also got a Mgła patch, and from my friend Carlos, I got a Sacrocurse patch and a Transilvanian Hunger shirt that SPARKLES.

 

No, I’m not kidding. The logo has glitter on it. GLITTER.

**A note on Destroyer 666 because I feel like in the midst of all the hubbub I should probably say something: their set was absolutely fantastic, and if anything was done to offend anyone, I certainly didn’t catch it. Going in I was a little worried because I thought that someone might use it as a chance to cause trouble, but contrary to my fears the crowd was absolutely wonderful. KK Warslut briefly alluded to the recent blog posts about him a couple of times so it was clearly on his mind, but they played a hell of a set and were extremely gracious, and the crowd was supportive as well. So, by chance anyone from Destroyer 666 happens to come across my little blog—Thank you guys for coming here, and I hope the rest of the tour was a brilliant as the Chicago show.**

I apologize that this review is not as good as it should have been- I know Destroyer 666 well enough, but the other bands are still pretty new to me (I know Angelcorpse in that I know that they are like other stuff that I like, and I enjoyed the shit out of it, but I don’t know specifics). While I only got to go for one night, what I saw of Metal Threat was fantastic, and as this summer has been very stressful for me with school it was nice to have a day off to enjoy myself and get out of the Twin Cities.

I’ll be working up a review of Macabre (!) and Ghost soon, both of whom I know a lot better than the bands that played this night.

-Hagalaz