A stroll down University Avenue in Berkeley this past Saturday night may have left many confused. Four weeks ahead of Halloween, corpse paint was on full display in anticipation of what was about to transpire within the walls of the UC Theatre where Obituary was preparing to unleash the metal in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Slowly We Rot.
By the time Devil Master kicked things off with their opening set, the room was already filling up and the crowd was clearly ready to rumble in spite of the lack of familiar tunes. But things truly kicked into gear with local favorites Midnight, a Bay Area favorite who clearly appeal to those thrash metal roots.
Midnight were a tough act to follow but Abbath showed that they were worthy of the challenge, blasting through an hour long set that included a few Immortal songs which got the floor spinning out of control. With Obituary, however, the UC went full-on sideways with a steady stream of crowd surfers keeping security busy as they poured over the barricade. The particularly brutal set kicked off with instrumental “Redneck Stomp” and paid special attention to Slowly We Rot.
Thrash metal from Cleveland, Death metal from Tampa, and Black metal from Norway … Saturday night’s festivities offered a little something for most metalheads. This must-see tour runs through the end of October.
DEVIL MASTER
MIDNIGHT
ABBATH
OBITUARY
ABBATH SETLIST
Count the Dead
Bridge of Spasms
The Artifex
Harvest Pyre
In My Kingdom Cold (Immortal cover)
Tyrants (Immortal cover)
Ashes of the Damned
Calm in Ire (Of Hurricane)
Outstrider
Winterbane
To War!
OBITUARY SETLIST
Redneck Stomp
Threatening Skies
By the Light
Chopped In Half
Turned Inside Out
Dying
Straight to Hell
Find the Arise
I’m in Pain
Internal Bleeding
Godly Beings
Suffocation
Words of Evil
Intoxicated
ENCORE
A Dying World
Slowly We Rot
