Angel Corpse, Malamor
Malignent & Shadows Fall
Live @ The Chance, Poughkeepsie, NY
August 1st, 1998
Review & photos by Al Kikuras, with the exception of the last two, which were taken by Piston Rod .
Live @ The Chance, Poughkeepsie, NY
August 1st, 1998
Review & photos by Al Kikuras, with the exception of the last two, which were taken by Piston Rod .
Openers Shadows Fall surprised me, and those that I attended the show with. They are a young outfit, but they have a lot of energy and some excellent ideas.
Three of the band's 5 members belt out some fierce death metal vocals worthy of early Carcass. One guitarist (unfortunately I do not know their names) has a
Malignant took the stage next. Bland death metal, spiced up only by a cover of Celtic Frost's "The Usurper." Malignant's vocalist was, and possibly still is, a member of Next Man Flip - a much more interesting outfit with a lot more to offer. The locals ate it up, but they did nothing for me. In my opinion, the most entertaining aspect was the singer's gut (at left). Twin guitars just came out as a big wall of blah. Perhaps it was due to the mix, but I would venture a guess that they just weren't tight enough to pull it off. No original ideas, nothing overly interesting, no risks taken and, as a result, nothing accomplished. Standard fare that has been done worlds better. I have to wonder... why in the world does the bassist need a six-string?
To their credit, I must say Malignant were a lot tighter and much more impressive opening for Mercyful Fate a few weeks later. Perhaps the Cannibal show was just a bad night. The night of Fate they were ferocious! They are well on their way to a much more grooving, impressive act overall and it is good to see!
Local faves Malamor took the stage next, and embodied everything a death metal performance should. Groove, tight as a 12 year-old, limitless energy and entusiasm and intensity from the first note to the last. It was reflected in the pit, and in the overall crowd response.
With the response Malamor generated and the fact that they just about blew every other act that night off the stage, you have to wonder what the fuck was going on in the heads of the people that run the place when they made the band cut their set short. Then again, I can't figure out why anyone would want to get their cock pierced, either, so I am not going to waste the energy thinking about it.
Angel Corpse came forth with a very no-bullshit stage presence, with Helmkamp saying little more than the title of the next tune between songs. "Venomous" is the word that comes to mind when Angel Corpse is on stage. They absolutely teem with it, Helmkamp spitting forth vocals that make your stomach churn, while guitarists Gene Palubicki and Bill Taylor meshed their chaos into a wall of sound that assaults the ears without respite.
No wonder Morbid Angel and Cannibal were both pining to take these boys on tour with them. As Alex Webster stated, "If you're going to be on tour with a band for 60 days, you'd better like the music." I can't understand how any death metal fanatic wouldn't.
There were no surprises in Cannibal's set or performance, but then I did not come expecting any, so I was not disappointed. Cannibal Corpse took the stage and played ferociously like the veterans they are. They have progressed trememdously from the days of Butchered At Birth when non-stop blasts and indecipherable vocals made each track blur into the next. Their set was peppered with a few of the aforementioned smeared classics, but not oversaturated. An excellent blend of the old and new really showcased how Cannibal has grown over the years and albums without trading in any heaviness for hooks.
The moshing was kept interesting by a grossly overweight tattooed individual with his shirt off that lumbered through the pit like an elephant on crack. Slow, but unstoppable. He was slick with sweat and grime, ribbed with stretch marks, but provided non-stop entertainment. He also had the absolute biggest ass I have ever seen in my life. - Al Kikuras
With a strong crowd in attendance that actually showed enthusiasm, which most death metal shows lack, The Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY played host to a night of death metal on the 31st of August, 1998. For a measley 10 clams the average longhaired chowderhead could spend a few sweaty hours being pummeled by some of death metal's finest.
Shadows Fall as Sexual Chocolate in Eddie Murphy's Coming To America
decent clean voice, but when any attempt to harmonize was made the vocals fell flat on their face. Fear Factory obviously comes to mind at time, largely due to the mix of clean and brutal, but the death metal here rages all the way through. Shadows Fall showed a lot of professionalism and hunger, two things sorely lacking with many acts today. 
Malamor tear through their version of the Fraggle Rock theme song.
If they ever get their debut CD out, they will go directly to the top. In my opinion, they are there in talent already. Malamor have presence that most stage veterans can only dream of. It is frigtening to think what they will be like when they have a few more years under their belts. The crowd was treated to songs from their (hopefully) forthcoming full-length Dead to the World, such as "Fuckers Like You," "Bless Me Father," Breeding Impurity," "A Part of Me," "Drowned Only To Be Eaten," and the title track. Also included were "Near The End" and "Condemn The Rising" from the demo of the same name.
Angel Corpse came out blasting, stayed blasting, and left blasting. Non-stop intensity throughout that got monotonous to the unfamiliar ear, but if you can appreciate the dexterity and endurance it takes to blast out 45 minutes to an hour of total steam and speed, then Angel Corpse is the stuff of gods. Unless I am mistaken, from the looks of things John Longstreth is no longer providing "flagellation" for the band. I was told that the new drummer is actually Cannibal's drum tech, although I cannot confirm it at the present time. He more than filled the slot... no easy task as he was huffing and puffing between songs. "Phallelujah" and "Sons of Vengeance" from the wondrous Exterminate were the highlight of the set. 
Gene Palubicki as Private Pyle in Full Metal Jacket.
Cannibal Corpse took the stage after mercifully not keeping the crowd waiting for an eternity as so many headlining bands do. What ensued was nothing short of a phenomenal death metal performance. Vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher belted out his lines with precision and speed, not faltering for a second, despite sounding very hoarse between songs. The band was tight, belted through classics such as "Meat Hook Sodomy" and "Born In A Casket" with the same ferocity as "Staring Through The Eyes of the Dead," "Stripped, Raped and Strangled" and "I Will Kill You." Set highlight for me was the title track to Gallery of Suicide, although the crowd really exploded when Cannibal tore through "Hammer Smashed Face" as a predictable, but no less effective, encore.
"It's fun to play at the Y-M-C-A!!!"
Somebody get this man a Big Mac, quick!
"I found where they hid Jimmy Hoffa!!"
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