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Cannibal Corpse stormed the Roundhouse on the 29th September 2024, delivering a mind crushing performance that reaffirmed their legendary status in death metal. The night featured three sensational openers, Schizophrenia, Immolation, and Municipal Waste, each bringing their own brand of extreme music to warm up the crowd.
Schizophrenia opened the night with an explosive performance that set the tone for the chaos to follow. The Belgian death-thrash band brought raw energy and a ferocious sound, immediately grabbing the crowd's attention with their intense riffs and blistering speed. Their blend of old-school thrash and death metal influences was on full display! With razor-sharp guitar work and punishing drums driving their set they really did win over the crowd. Despite being the first band on stage, Schizophrenia quickly got the crowd moshing, earning enthusiastic applause as they tore through their songs.. Their performance was a very powerful start to an unforgettable night at the Roundhouse
Immolation brought a crushing intensity to their support slot that's for certain, delivering a powerful set filled with dark, atmospheric riffs and technical precision. Their beautiful blend of brooding death metal had the crowd fully engaged, with heads banging and pits forming to every heavy breakdown. Balancing classic tracks with newer material, Immolation’s performance was a masterclass in stellar musicianship, setting the stage perfectly for Municipal Waste who followed shortly after.
Municipal Waste delivered an electrifying performance that easily had the MOST energy of all the openers. From the moment they hit the stage, the crowd erupted with excitement, chanting "Municipal Waste Is Gonna’ Fuck You Up" in unison, setting the tone for what was to come. Their mind blowingly high-octane mix of thrash and punk immediately ignited the first wave of crowd surfers… or a ‘wave of death’ as the band shouted. As fans fed off the band’s relentless energy only more chaos was to follow... The band’s infectious enthusiasm, coupled with fast, thrashing riffs and adrenaline-fueled stage presence, made their set a wild, chaotic spectacle that perfectly primed the audience for the brutality of Cannibal Corpse.
The band kicked off their set with the iconic “Blood Blind,” exciting the crowd in an instant. With a setlist that spanned both fan-favourites and fresh material from their newest album, Chaos Horrific, Cannibal Corpse showcased their enduring brutality. Songs like “Hammer Smashed Face” and “Fracture and Refract” demonstrated the darker, heavier direction of their recent work, while classics such as "Fucked With A Knife" saw the crowd erupt into chaos and pure death metal joy.
Vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher was in top form,wearing a T-shirt with his very own face on which read “Respect The Neck”. His guttural growls hitting hard throughout the entire performance. In a memorable moment that blended humour with the chaos previously mentioned… Someone in the crowd handed him a Build-A-Bear, which he proudly held above his head like Simba from The Lion King, earning a huge reaction from the audience. The crowd surfing was relentless, My personal favourite being a bin making its way over the heads of fans at one point and even ending up safely over the barrier just like any other surfer that night. By the end of the night, a staggering 593 crowd surfers (and 1 bin) had been caught by security, a testament to the wild energy inside the venue that was spilling out of the bands pours.
Though Erik Rutan was unable to perform due to a family emergency, Cannibal Corpse didn't miss a beat. Guitarist Rob Barrett took up much of the weight, delivering intense riffs and solos with his usual precision. The band’s cohesion was impressive despite the absence of their lead guitarist, with Paul Mazurkiewicz’s drumming delivering a barrage of blast beats that kept the intensity high. Bassist Alex Webster, as always, provided a thunderous low end, driving the band’s unmistakable sound.
The Roundhouse proved to be an ideal venue for the evening, with its acoustics capturing every crushing note and guttural growl. The lighting was perfectly in sync with the music’s dark themes, often bathing the crowd in blood-red hues as the band delivered their heaviest moments.
The energy in the room was electric, with the crowd fully engaged from the first riff to the final note. The mosh pits were relentless, but the atmosphere remained inclusive, with a sense of camaraderie among fans, typical of Cannibal Corpse's die-hard followers.
Cannibal Corpse’s performance at the Roundhouse was nothing short of extraordinary, despite the last-minute lineup change. With support from Schizophrenia, Immolation, and Municipal Waste, the night was a triumphant celebration of extreme metal. Fans were treated to both brutal intensity and moments of unexpected levity, making this a night to remember. From crowd-surfing bins to the now-famous Build-A-Bear moment, the show will be talked about for years to come.
Words and Photos: Leah Cox
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