Summer Slaughter 2016 was a great tour filled with lots of great bands. Thousands of people across the U.S. of A. got to witness the majesty of Cannibal Corpse, the tour headliner, as they mangled faces with their special blend of brutal death metal. However, I don’t think anyone was more excited than me, because I was lucky enough to open for Cannibal Corpse, my favorite band.
On a sunny day in Worcester, Mass. Black Trip pulled up to the doors of the Palladium. It was barely nine in the morning, but already dedicated metal fans lined the streets waiting for the doors to open. They looked like sexy little prairie dogs sitting on their hind legs scanning the area for food.
Load in was shortly after we arrived, and then I sat around doing nothing for a few hours while waiting to play. When the time came, Black Trip took to the stage and played four songs, getting our dirty little groove on while burly white dudes punched each other in the pit. The audience seemed to really enjoy us, and we actually sold out of all our merch that day. A few kind individuals from other bands and the audience alike complimented my guitar playing (Thanks, guys!) and one of them even said he “wanted to go practice more” after seeing us.
As fantastic as that was, the night was far from over for me. I went to the merch table, bought two Nile CD’s, a Nile hoodie, the new After the Burial record, a Revocation shirt, and a Cannibal Corpse shirt. After that, I went upstairs to watch the bands.
Revocation, After the Burial, and Nile were all incredible, and lots of fun to see live. This was not my first time seeing any of them, but it’s always enjoyable. Sadly, I wish Nile were given longer to play, as their set seemed like it flew by in an instant.
Finally, the last band of the night: Cannibal Corpse. Opening up with Evisceration Plague, the crowd went crazy. It only escalated in brutality from there as they did A Skull Full of Maggots, Death Walking Terror, I Cum Blood, and Icepick Lobotomy. Their set was intense and loud, just the way metal fans like it.
This was not my first time seeing Cannibal; third, actually. Every time though, it gets better and better. Cannibal Corpse wrote the book on brutal death metal, and I would be unemployed without them. Long live Cannibal.
