May 11

May 11 Show Review: Carnage & Chaos Tour Kicks Off With Bone-Crushingly Heavy Show in Sacramento

Chaos & Carnage Tour
w/ Suicide Silence, Carnifex, Lorna Shore, Upon A Burning Body, Signs of the Swarm, AngelMaker, and Distant
Ace of Spades
Sacramento, CA
May 6th, 2022

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

I remember the very first time I saw bands like Suicide Silence and Carnifex. It was a life changing experience, as my pop-music-minded brain couldn’t necessarily comprehend music that was that heavy. I’ll never forget watching Suicide Silence take the stage at the very first Mayhem Festival, when they were touring in support of The Cleansing (rest in peace, Mitch Lucker). I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, let alone what I was seeing. Deathcore isn’t a genre I listen to all the time, but it is extremely entertaining to watch in a live setting. The current Chaos & Carnage tour that’s ripping across the United States celebrates the best this genre has to offer, with a show that kicks off in the late afternoon and goes well into the evening. The tour kicked off last Friday at Sacramento’s Ace of Spades and brought together some of the biggest acts in the deathcore community (along with a few up-and-comers) for a show packed to the gills with sweat, breakdowns, and screams.

I showed up about an hour after the show had begun, so I didn’t get a chance to check out Distant or AngelMaker’s sets, but you can check out their music here and here. If you’re planning on heading out to any of the shows, make sure you show up early and check with your local venue for all up to date showtimes. By the time I got inside, the air was thick with humidity and the sold-out show was already packed. It was by far one of the most crowded shows I’ve covered at the Sacramento venue; die hard fans made sure to be there as early as possible catch the madness that would ensue.

My first act of the night was Signs of the Swarm, a deathcore act based out of Pittsburgh, PA, who brought forth a crushingly brutal set, proving to be a tough act to follow. San Antonio, TX’s Upon a Burning Body were up next, and brought with them an insurmountable amount of energy that I hadn’t really witnessed from any other act that night. Upon A Burning Body is a heavy band, but I felt like they were a bit of an outlier on this show, as their music doesn’t fully fit that traditional “deathcore” sound that would come from a band like, say, Carnifex. With that being said, vocalist Danny Leal is an incredibly engaging front man, and he got the crowd bouncing with every breakdown and groove the band pummeled their way through.

While the crowd was still very packed for the tour’s co-headliners, I couldn’t help but notice that the show was filled with people waiting to bear witness to one of deathcore’s rising stars, New Jersey’s Lorna Shore. The quintet is bone-crushingly heavy; there simply is no other act like them in this genre right now. The band’s musicianship is immaculate, and vocalist Will Ramos has some of the most ruthless vocal abilities in the scene; this is a band that is poised to dominate.

As the sun set outside, the darkness was amplified as the first of the evening’s co-headliner’s, Carnifex, took the stage. Carnifex are effective at what they do; their music and their image is dark, even for a scene like this. I always walk away from one of their shows feeling like I’ve been through the ringer, even when I’m just standing in the back. But with songs like “Slit Wrist Savior”, “Drown Me In Blood”, and “Graveside Confessions”, you’d probably feel a little worn down at the end of the night too. Regardless, the band’s performance was excellent, and they even brought out a cover of Slipknot’s “The Heretic Anthem”, inspiring one of the biggest mosh pits of the evening.

Around 10:40 PM, Suicide Silence took the stage, bringing forth a one-two punch of “Unanswered”, “Disengage”, and “You Only Live Once”, three of their biggest songs from three of their most revered albums. We covered Suicide Silence last year when they opened up for Jinjer at this very same venue, and it’s always a blast covering their performance. They all look their having fun, even though they’re playing some of the heaviest songs in the genre. There was one difference to their lineup this time around; longtime drummer Alex Lopez announced that the was amicably departing the band. Taking his place on this current run is drummer Ernie Iniguez, who did a great job rounding out the lineup. By this point in the evening, I was feeling tired, but I wasn’t leaving until the band played that last note. “Bludgeoned to Death”, “Thinking In Tongues” (a brand new song) “The Price of Beauty”, and “Fuck Everything” were all highlights from the band’s hour long set. As per usual, the band closed with the crushing “No Pity For A Coward”, sending fans off into the night exhausted, yet completely satisfied. If you absolutely love this music, this is the tour for you.

All upcoming Chaos & Carnage dates can be found here. Main Photo: Scott Lewis (vocalist) of Carnifex.

Suicide Silence Set List
Unanswered
Disengage
You Only Live Once
You Can’t Stop Me
Bludgeoned to Death
Thinking In Tongues
Slaves To Substance
Love Me To Death
Wake Up
The Price of Beauty
Dying Life
Fuck Everything
No Pity for a Coward

Carnifex Set List
Slit Wrist Savior
Pray For Peace
Seven Souls
Dark Heart Ceremony
Drown Me In Blood
Hatred and Slaughter
Dark Days
In Coalesce With Filth and Faith
The Heretic Anthem (Slipknot cover)
Graveside Confessions
Lie To My Face
Hell Chose Me