Six Feet Under und Kataklysm

Death metal is the kind of music that I really believe needs to be witnessed live. I know a lot of people don’t like the genre and say that the music is too heavy for them, but when you watch a band like Six Feet Under give the performance their absolute everything, running around stage, head banging, and dancing like mad whilst still maintaining solid instrumental and vocal performances, even if you don’t like the music, you have to at least be impressed!
The band are made up of four incredibly talented musicians with wonderful writing albums, and are the fourth best selling death metal act around in the US at the moment. Although their line-up has somewhat altered over the years, their addition of new members keeps their sound from growing stale and repetitive. They each played solid instrumental solos, and the singer, Chris Barnes, performed some remarkable vocals throughout the show. They concentrated predominantly on Unborn, their 2013 album, that hasn’t had much live exposure. Everyone at the show seemed familiar with the lyrics, so they encouraged us to sing along, which was great to feel involved with such a huge show.

I still don’t know how the members of Kataklysm manage to have enough energy to walk off stage at the end of their concerts. No matter where they perform they always give it their all; their head banging, finger-bleeding, face-melting all. Kataklysm’s consistently insane performances give you death metal as it should be: raw and full-on. This two decade old Canadian band refer to their style as “northern hyperblast,” and after a minute of listening to their sick drum lines you absolutely understand why. It’s no surprise that the majority of Kataklysm’s past members are all drummers given the intensity of the drum rhythms within their vast catalogue of music. Current drummer, Oli Beaudoin, is totally up to the challenge, though, and is amazing to see live. Maurizio Iacono never fails to impress on vocals, his sound really is mighty, and he consistently engages with whatever audience the band is in front of. Believe me, this guy knows how to bring the energy to boiling point. Don’t just take my work for it, though, go see Kataklysm live and experience their amazing insanity.