Justin Nuoffer 
CONCERT REVIEW + PHOTOS
Dying Fetus
with Full of Hell, 200 Stab Wounds, Kruelty
5/10/24 – The Rave, Milwaukee, WI
Review + Photos © Justin Nuoffer / NuofferMedia
Cream city was once again full of events going on around town. The Brewers were playing host just across the freeway from the historic Rave/Eagles Club. The warm weather brought people out in droves. All 3 levels of the facility were scheduled to host performances. However, in The Rave 2 basement room, Dying Fetus brings out a tour package chock-full of face-smashing brutality. The line outside to enter grew quickly and lined the back parking lot. Nearly everyone out there sported some sort of Death Metal t-shirt. Things were about ready to pop off.
Entering the venue through the side door, the security check sits at the bottom of a ramp and moves quickly. From there you can head up the stairs to the main Rave floor and the box office or turn left and go into The Rave 2 room. The room itself is entirely hardwood and converted from bowling lanes. Turning right, the stage is directly in front of you. To the left runs a massive bar and seating area. The left-hand side has glass doors that open when the heat builds up too much and those ornate doors were opened quickly. Also on the left-hand side is a small bar tucked into the middle. Down the center of the room are 3 support pillars to the right and the left. In the back left corner stood all of the band’s merchandise tables. The lines instantly stretched towards the back of the room and never let up until the lights turned on.
Kicking off the night were the Japanese Death metal imports from Tokyo. The crowd was unsure what to expect since they are relatively new to this country. From the first growl, Kruelty ripped through song after song. With pure brutality, they won the crowd over and had a massive circle pit spinning between the structural supports. Their thirty-minute set shook the venue awake. Dust kicked up from every nook and cranny. To say they were a band to keep an eye on was a massive understatement.
The odd warm-up for 200 Stab Wounds worked wonders and they wasted no time jumping into their 10-song set. No commentary until they performed “Itty Bitty Pieces” either. It was all business. With their first 4 songs from Slave To The Scalpel, they punished the circle pit with pure filth like “Skin Milk”, “Tow Rope Around The Throat”, and “Drilling Your Head”. Nothing stopped them from laying down speedy guitar solos and bone-rattling bass lines. It was a relentless assault on the senses. The gems from Cleveland, OH tortured the crowd to the best of their capabilities.
Once again the music in between sets became another sing-along. This time Spandau Ballet’s “True”. If you didn’t know what Full of Hell was about, it wouldn’t be a hilarious contrast to you. Full of Hell are straight-up extreme metal geniuses. They may be an acquired taste to some, but the Milwaukee faithful ate up the quick bangers. Vocalist and connoisseur of noise, Dylan Walker, screamed to the crowd, “This next song is from our new album and is about taking a handful of pills.” The pulverizing song “Doors To Mental Agony” kicked in. The room moved and bodies flew across the floor. The ambient noise ringing in between songs gave an unnerving feeling. A sense of hopelessness.
The pure chaos of vocalist/keyboardist Walker moving along the front of the stage was matched by the unadulterated viciousness of drummer Dave Bland who had no issue destroying his drum heads with every blow. Closing the set out the band ground down slowly to a snail’s pace. Spencer Hazard on lead guitar waved his guitar over his head, rhythm guitarist Gabe Solomon slid his pick up and down the strings and created a ton of reverb, and bassist Sam DiGristine slowly plucked his strings. Then just like that a thank you and good night. The out-of-control hell that was unleashed drove fans to their merchandise table once the set closed out.
Once again the mood changed during the set change. Eddie Murphy’s “Party All of The Time” pumped across the room. People didn’t seem to notice as they repositioned themselves for the Death Metal legends Dying Fetus. The stage was illuminated in blood red and spatters of black as well. The three-piece took the stage and launched into “Wrong One To Fuck With”. The front row on the security barrier head banged and hair flew around. The center of the floor pulled open into a mosh pit. The air filled with condensation and sweat. The ass-whipping was on. Founding member and guitarist John Gallagher was as efficient as efficient could be. His technical prowess was on full display from the start. His complex riff structure was handled with ease.
The first two songs were mere warm-ups for the bedlam that started to go down during “Intentional Manslaughter” and “Homicidal Retribution”. A fury of crowd surfers started to fly over the top at lightning speed. The height of the room is maybe 11 feet. The crowd surfers could touch the ceiling. The Rave rushed down more security to catch the crowdgoers. A small pit also broke open by the open doors leading to the hallway.
Four crushing songs in and Dying Fetus had found their groove. Trey Williams’ massive double kick drum set up stood on a small riser. The blast beat aficionado raged through the performance. The drum riser shook and every bass kick was a shot to the chest. The guttural vocals of Gallagher and bassist Sean Beasley slashed through the ear drums. It was a perfect description of what death metal should be. The packed Rave 2 room knew this as well.
All in all, Dying Fetus performed thirteen songs from six of their nine full-length releases. Their most recent release Make Them Beg For Death and Killing on Adrenaline from 1998 encompassed half of the setlist. Gallagher screamed, “Milwaukee we love you!” before tearing into the finale. Two of the final three songs performed came from the Killing on Adrenaline album. It was a true full-circle moment. Their distinguished careers appear to be healthy. No matter how much more brutal and genre-bending the music becomes, Dying Fetus’ live show remains incredible to lay eyes on. Leaving the historic venue, it was pretty easily confirmed that this billing had some of the best bands the scene has to offer.
Check out the Dying Fetus concert photos gallery:
Check out the Full of Hell concert photos gallery:
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