Cannibal Corpse Throw a Thrash Fest at Arizona Pete’s in Greensboro, NC
Arizona Pete’s – Greensboro, NC – 03 December 2017
It isn’t very often that legends in the metal genre make a stop in the Triad area since many of our bigger venues have closed over the years, there isn’t really much of a draw for these bands to perform in this area. When this tour was announced and I saw that it was making a stop just a few minutes away from where I live, I had to jump on this one. Especially after my conversation with Cannibal Corpse drummer, Paul Mazurkiewicz earlier this year when we discussed the band’s newest release, Red Before Black.
The crowd packed the country western bar to full capacity on the night of the show – if this one wasn’t sold out it was damn close to it. Before doors even opened at 7 pm, the line extended deep into the parking lot and continued to grow as fans took their places. Once the staff of Arizona Pete’s brought everyone in from the cold, the local opener Outlier was wrapping up on stage.
After a short tear down period, it was time for the opener for this tour, Gatecreeper, to take the stage. The four-piece death metal act from Arizona delivered a great performance to help the crowd warm up. After the recent release of their short EP, Sweltering Madness, the band showed that they were working on some new material for their dedicated fan base also giving them something to add to their already stacked setlist.
The funniest thing for me on this particular night was the fact that this crowd was here to rock, not to help crowd surfers make their way to the stage. Many of the times when someone would attempt to crowd surf they would only make it a few feet max before being dropped. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but it did deliver a good laugh. Despite the lack of crowd surfing opportunities, there were a few, pretty big circle pits when the next band hit the stage.
With a fresh new album, Nightmare Logic, Texas metalheads Power Trip brought the energy to the stage with their awesome performance. With a mixed setlist of a bit of old and a bit of new, the band gave the fans in attendance exactly what they paid their hard-earned money for – a fucking metal show. This band delivers on all levels – their crowd interaction, on-stage energy, and internal chemistry – and seeing this band play live is like watching a well-oiled machine.
After Power Trip delivered a heavy hitting performance, the lights dimmed as members of the night’s headliner, Cannibal Corpse, slowly made their way to the stage. Frontman George Fisher, better known by his metal name, Corpsegrinder, stood center stage, hair covering his face as the band’s intro built. The moment the band started pounding their instruments the venue erupted. Even though members of this iconic metal act are in their 40s, when they are on stage they perform like they are in their early teens. Ever really wonder why Corpsegrinder has such a massive neck? It’s from the hours of headbanging and windmilling that he does performing nightly on stage. With their new record Red Before Black making its impact on the metal world, the band played a very stacked setlist mixing their greatest hits in with songs off the new record. Cannibal Corpse delivered a 90-minute set for the fans to get their fix.
I couldn’t have imagined ending my first full year with Antihero Magazine in any other way, photographing metal giants like Cannibal Corpse. This tour has come to an end, but there is still a chance to see the guys in Cannibal Corpse in 2018 when the band takes their instruments on the high seas for the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise sailing out of Florida in February. Keep up with all the tour dates and shows via the band’s websites and social media sites.
http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/
All photos © James Geiser
Cannibal Corpse
Power Trip
Gatecreeper
