Written By: George Archibald
It was a fair night as a sold out crowd stood in line eagerly awaiting to enter The Outpost, in Kent Ohio on Black Friday. Whitechapel, along with Carnifex, Rings of Saturn, Entheos and So This Is Suffering were in town for the Decade of Defilement tour (running from 11/10/17 to 12/16/17). Most fans at the venue were anticipating Whitechapel's set as it was promoted the band would be playing their first cd release Somatic Defilement in its entirety.
Kicking off the show was Los Angeles, California natives So This is Suffering. The band has a very intense set, with vocalist Rudy Flores, staring down the crowd and asking everyone to come forward to join in. It was my first time seeing this band live but they put on a highly energetic set, filled with heavy breakdowns, syncopated drum and guitars, and bass drops throughout.
The next band to take the stage was Entheos, who just released their latest album, Dark Future prior to touring. I was very excited to see this band live, as it sports a who's who of metal players in its lineup; Navene Koperweis (former Animals as Leaders, and Animosity drummer), Evan Brewer (former The Faceless, and Animosity bassist), Travis LeVrier (former Scale The Summit Guitarist) and Chaney Crabb (vocals). The band came out playing a very tight set, with vocalist Chaney Crabb running across stage engaging the crowd, to drummer Nevene and guitarist Travis, syncing up playing the bands signature style of break beat rhythms, and ever changing time signature metal. The band unfortunately was minus bassist Even Brewer for the night.
Rings of Saturn took the to stage afterward as the crowd cheering for them. Fronted by vocalist Ian Bearer, with guitarist Miles Dimitri Baker, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, the band was minus founder and guitarist Lucas Mann for the night. A pit formed during the set as the crowd was introduced to the bands blend of Aliencore metal. The standout moment of the night was when the band played the single, Inadequate leading in with a few bars of Santana's Smooth before cutting into the song.
As the evening continued, Carnifex was up next. The stage was adorned with two light up pentagrams as band took to the stage. Carnifex known for their heavy breakdowns, and harsh vocals got the crowd into a frenzy. The band sounded thunderous with the dual guitar stylings of Cory Arford and Jordan Lockrey, pairing up with the bass stylings of Fred Calderon, and the quick double bass drumming patterns of Shawn Cameron. Rounding out the band's line up is vocalist Scott Lewis, who's harsh vocals ripped through several of the band's singles Dark Heart Ceremony, and Drown Me in Blood to name a few.
Finally finishing out the night Whitechapel was up. The crowd was anticipating the set of Somatic Defilement for the night, but the band had other plans as they played a mix of hits with a few songs from the album. The band sounded thunderous on stage as the guitar tones were thick, and the drums sounding massive in the mix. Vocalist Phil Bozeman was the conductor for the night getting the crowd stirring and never stopping through out the set. As the band began to play Prosthetic Fluid from Somatic Defilement the crowd opened up to a huge pit in the center of the room. As the band went to leave the stage, you could hear the chants of 'Whitechapel, Whitechapel, Whitechapel from everyone in attendance as the band re-emerged to play an encore. Whitechapel ended out the night with performances of Possession and This is Exile.
The Decade of Defilement tour is going till December 16th.