The Black Dahlia Murder w/ Skeletonwitch

As far as metal tour packages go, they don’t come much better than this. Embarking on a mammoth month long tour of the UK, The Black Dahlia Murder take Skeletonwitch and Fleshgod Apocalypse under their wing as the three bands aim to deafen those who dare attend, and today, The Tunnels in Aberdeen is the host of what can only be described as one of the tightest metal shows it has witnessed in quite some time.

Kicking off proceedings are Italy’s Fleshgod Apocalypse (8). Clad in make up, it’s very easy not to take this band seriously, but their pounding death metal, complimented by an intriguing, sometimes compelling symphonic section makes for an impressive half hour of noise. Add in a vocalist who has the most amazing high pitch voice this reviewer has ever witnessed live, and you have yourself a winner. Skeletonwitch (8) play next, and deliver their thrash metal with just as much confidence and power as their predecessor, and the crowd lap it up. You can’t move on the dance floor without getting sucked in to a pit, and looking at the amount of merch the band are selling after their set, you can guess that they won over quite a large number of fans.

The Black Dahlia Murder (9) signal their intent before walking on stage by declaring at their merch table that the local opening band are “gayer than butt sex”, and with that moment of hilarity shared among many fans, you get an immediate feeling that the set that lies ahead will be one that never begins to take itself too seriously. It takes more than being a tight live band to really make an evening as special as this one, and TBDM do a great job of making everyone feel part of the night’s proceedings. It’s easy for a band to feel jaded after just under a month of touring, but there’s no sign of fatigue here; the Michigan black metallers thrash through their set with the pinpoint precision one has come to expect from a band of TBDM’s stature. The dance floor is whipped up into a frenzy when the band blast out fan favourites such as ‘What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse’ and ‘Funeral Thirst’, and when the set comes to an end, there’s a feeling that lingers around the room that what these 300 people have witnessed is something that will be savoured for quite some time.