Words and photos by Thomas Woroniak
On a late September evening, Kansas City’s Truman opened its doors to a sold-out horde ready for one of the heaviest lineups to roll through the Midwest this year. The venue, with its industrial brick walls, open floor, and booming sound system, has become a favorite stop for touring acts looking to bottle chaos into an intimate yet unrelenting space. On this night, it was transformed into a crucible of sweat, distortion, and violence, as four distinct visions of extreme music collided: Italian horror-death purveyors Fulci, experimental noise/grind wrecking crew Full of Hell, thrash revivalists Municipal Waste, and death metal royalty Cannibal Corpse.
Opening duties fell to Italian death metal outfit Fulci, who turned The Truman into their own grindhouse cinema. Their set leaned heavily into horror, with “Apocalypse Zombie” immediately setting the mood in splattered Technicolor violence. From the bone-crushing weight of “Human Scalp Collection” to the swampy churn of “Rotten Apple,” Fulci balanced sheer brutality with their trademark B-movie atmosphere.
“Lonely Hearts” and “Tomb” conjured eerie dread before erupting into death metal chaos, while “Voodoo Gore Ritual” and “Tropical Sun” brought cinematic flair to their carnage. The pit came alive during “Splatter Fatality” and the grotesquely titled “Fucked With a Broken Bottle,” each riff sounding like a chainsaw chewing through flesh. Closing with “Vile Butchery,” “Among the Walking Dead,” and the grotesque groove of “Eye Full of Maggots,” Fulci left the room battered and primed for the escalating violence to follow.
If Fulci built atmosphere, Full of Hell ripped it to shreds. Their performance was less a conventional set and more a sensory barrage—grindcore velocity colliding with walls of harsh noise and hardcore intensity. Dylan Walker’s tortured screams cut through squalls of feedback as the rest of the band blurred genres into pure chaos.
The Truman’s floor exploded into constant motion, the first major pit of the night erupting within seconds. For many in the room, it was an endurance test: one unbroken assault of blastbeats, noise, and suffocating heaviness. While song titles may have blurred in the maelstrom, the impact of their set was unforgettable—a sonic battering that left the audience breathless and exhilarated. “From Fulci’s grindhouse death to Full of Hell’s sensory barrage, each act pushed the Truman further into chaos.”
Municipal Waste – Thrash Mayhem
From sheer chaos, the night shifted gears into high-octane fun as Municipal Waste stormed the stage with “Garbage Stomp” and “Unleash the Bastards.” Their crossover thrash brought a different energy—fast, reckless, and dripping with punk spirit. Tony Foresta commanded the crowd like a deranged party host, tearing through “Grave Dive,” “Breathe Grease,” and “You’re Cut Off” with unhinged glee.
The middle of the set was pure thrash mania, as “The Thrashin’ of the Christ,” “Headbanger Face Rip,” and “Blood Vessel” ignited nonstop circle pits. The one-two punch of “Sadistic Magician” and “Slime and Punishment” pushed the energy higher, while the rapid-fire “Wave of Death” sent bodies flying across the room.
Closing with their party anthems—“Restless and Wicked,” “The Art of Partying,” and the perennial favorite “Born to Party”—Municipal Waste turned The Truman into a raucous thrash carnival. By the time they left the stage, the crowd was drenched in sweat, beer, and adrenaline, primed for the brutality to come.
Cannibal Corpse – Death Metal Royalty
The night belonged to Cannibal Corpse. Few bands in extreme music can command a stage with such authority, and from the moment they tore into “Blood Blind” and “Scourge of Iron,” Kansas City knew it was in for a masterclass. George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher’s neck-defying windmills and guttural growls were matched by his darkly humorous banter—pausing only to challenge the audience to “show me some neck strength out there.”
The band wasted no time diving into “Inhumane Harvest” and “Death Walking Terror,” precision delivered by Erik Rutan and Rob Barrett’s twin-guitar assault. Old-school fans roared to life as deep cuts like “Disposal of the Body” and “The Wretched Spawn” made an appearance, proving that Cannibal Corpse know how to dig through their extensive catalog to satisfy diehards.
The middle of the set was relentless: “Summoned for Sacrifice” and “Pit of Zombies” leveled the room, while the thunderous “Evisceration Plague” and “Disfigured” showcased the band’s enduring technical brutality. Alex Webster’s bass mastery shone through during “Condemnation Contagion,” as Paul Mazurkiewicz’s drumming anchored the chaos with mechanical precision.
Newer material like the title track “Chaos Horrific” fit seamlessly alongside staples “I Cum Blood” and “Unleashing the Bloodthirsty.” The inevitable climax came with “Stripped, Raped, and Strangled” followed by the immortal “Hammer Smashed Face,” which sent The Truman into its most violent frenzy of the night.
By the time the last note faded, the crowd was exhausted, battered, and exhilarated. Cannibal Corpse remain untouchable in their field—death metal at its most pure, most violent, and most alive.
This wasn’t just a show—it was an assault on the senses, a gathering of four bands united by their devotion to extremity, each offering their own perspective on heavy music’s outer limits. Fulci delivered horror, Full of Hell conjured chaos, Municipal Waste provided thrash-fueled celebration, and Cannibal Corpse stood triumphant as the embodiment of death metal itself.
Kansas City won’t soon forget this night of unrelenting heaviness. “Cannibal Corpse remain untouchable in their field—death metal at its most pure, most violent, and most alive.”
Photos by Thomas Woroniak for Antihero Magazine
Cannibal Corpse
Municipal Waste
