12.18.25 - Last Thursday I went to the NO FEAR FOR TOMORROW Tour at Ace of Spades in Sacramento, California. CATTLE DECAPITATION headlined with support from ABORTED, FROZEN SOUL AND TRIBAL GAZE. The place was packed, shoulder to shoulder but I was lucky because I got to take pictures of all of the bands so I had excellent views!

First up was TRIBAL GAZE. Formed in 2020, this death metal band from Longview, Texas tore straight through the crowd. Eviscerated. Bodies were already flying over my head as I tried to get photos of the band.

The band consists of:

- McKenna Holland - Vocals

- Quintin Stuats – Guitar

- Ian Kilmer – Guitar

- Zachary Denton – Bassist

- Cesar De Los Santos – Drums

In October of this year, the band released via Nuclear Blast Records “Inveighing Brilliance,” their second album (their first being “The Nine Choirs” released in 2022). Their setlist reflected songs from both albums. The melodic hardness was apparent in “To the Spoils of Faith” and showcased how controlled Holland’s vocals are. And I couldn’t even begin to explain the complete brutality coming from De Los Santos on drums! The entire band showed they have zero fear and all I can say is TRIBAL GAZE has fixated on leading the way to unrelenting death metal.

Setlist:

- Emptying the Nest

- Smiling From Their Chariots

- To the Spoils of Faith

- Irreversible Sequence

- Godless Voyage

- Guarding the Illusion

- Until the Savior Returns

- Beyond Recognition

Head over to https://www.nuclearblast.com/pages/tribal-gaze to learn more, hear more, and buy merch to support live music.

Next up was FROZEN SOUL. Founded in 2018 this death metal band from Fort Worth, Texas came out swinging. Cloaked in blue hues to reflect brutal coldness, FROZEN SOUL gave a solid live performance, showing fans that old school death metal sound is alive and well . If “Skinned By The Wind” is a reflection of their recent studio work with producer Josh Schroeder, then I am excited and you should be too. Vocalist Chad Green repeatedly encouraged fans to start a pit and the crowd was happy to oblige. Samantha Mobley absolutely executed the audience with powerful basslines. FROZEN SOUL ended their set with a few songs from their debut full length album “Crypt of Ice” to remind the fans why they became fans in the first place.

The band consists of:

- Chad Green – Vocals

- Matt Dennard – Drums

- Michael Munday – Guitar

- Chris Bonner – Lead Guitar

- Samantha Mobley – Bass

Head over to https://www.frozensoultx.com/band to learn more, hear more, and buy merch to support live music.

Next up was Belgian death grind/death core band ABORTED. Founded in 1995, the band launched into a gritty, thick-riffed set, complete with deep and foreboding vocals from de Caluwé. In between songs, de Caluwé encouraged the crowd to do a bit of surfing because he said security told him “…they were bored.” And, unfortunately for security, the crowd obliged. I did not get a chance to see the setlist so I cannot provide that to you all but, rest assured, you do not want to miss them the next time they play live. de Caluwé provided us with intermittent sparks of humor and ended their set in an EDM rave.

ABORTED’s last album, “Vault of Horrors” came out in 2024 and most recently, the band released the single, “The Pain, Will be Exquisite.”

Go get yourself some merch, read up on the band, and support live music here: https://goremageddon.be/

The band consists of:

- Sven de Caluwé – Vocals

- Ian Jekelis – Guitar

- Dan Konráðsson– Guitar

Finally, San Diego’s legendary deathgrind band CATTLE DECAPITATION took to the stage and performed their iconic 2019 album “Death Atlas” in its entirety. If you aren’t familiar with CATTLE DECAPITATION, this band (IMHO) is one of the top bands I have seen live. And, to get to hear “Death Atlas” in its entirety, after being warmed up by three solid openers, was mind blowing. They opened with “The Geocide,” showcasing thought-provoking lyrics juxtaposed with brutal riffs, blast beats, and the haunting screams of Travis Ryan. Speaking of Ryan, his ability to switch from high pitched screams to guttural thought-punching growls is nothing short of amazing. If you get a chance to see one of the best extreme bands live, take it. CATTLE DECAPITATION delivers.

The band consists of:

- Travis Ryan – Vocals

- Josh Elmore – Lead Guitar

- Belisaro Dimuzio – Rhythm Guitar

- Diego Soria – Bass

- Dave McGraw - Drums

The band’s eighth album release was Terrasite in 2023 via Metal Blade Records. To learn more, hear more, and buy some merch, go to https://cattledecapitation.com/.

Setlist:

- Death Atlas

Cattle Decapitation Sliced Up Thursday Night

Save Ferris Saved Sunday Night . Happy “Skalidaze” To Us All