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- May 3, 2023
The Beautiful Pandemonium of Chaos and Carnage 2023
On their second to last show, photographer Helana Michelle and I had the privilege to be invited to and go see the beauty of mayhem that is Chaos and Carnage 2023. Some of these bands like Aborted and Dying Fetus haven’t toured together in nearly 15 years and they were more than excited to back together again.
At the UC Theater in Berkeley, opening the night were bands Slay Squad, Crown Magnetar, SANGUISUGABOGG, and Aborted. Slay Squad opened the night strong with their 2021 single “Seighin” and other popular songs like “MONGO” and “BEAM”. Amping up the energetic night was SANGUISUGABOGG with songs from their newest album “Homicidal Ecstasy”. Crown Magnetar’s singer, Dan Tucker, stirred up the crowd, continuing to egg on the crowd to crowd surf and “keep that spinning” to the ever growing mosh pit. They played songs from their 2021 album “The Codex of Flesh” and 2022 EP “Alone in Death”. Aborted reminisced about their first time touring with Dying Fetus and shouting out to all the previous bands that they wouldn’t be possible with the “founding father of this sh*t”, Dying Fetus. Playing their popular and older songs like “Necrotic Manifesto” and “TerrorVision”, it led to an upheaval in energy and moshing. All the bands continued to rile up the crowd with “Stir that sh*t up”, “Keep it circling” and even going as far as throwing a football into the middle of the pit stating “Whoever bring this to me by the end of our set, will get a bunch of free sh*t from the merch table.” They all played with intense sound and passion, vibrating the ground with rapid drum beats and guitar solos and thunderous growling.
Born of Osiris was definitely the second biggest band most of the crowd was waiting for. As they set the stage for them, a wave of shirts bearing the band’s name and/or logos stood up among the balcony crowds and VIP seating sections. They were the only band to set up a keyboard with a soundboard, making them stand out amongst the bands. Joe Buras is not only their keyboardist and synthesizer but it also the other vocalist next to Ronnie Canizaro. Starting off strong with “Bow Down” from one of their popular albums, “The Eternal Reign”, they ripped into guitar solos and electric rhythmic beats, with songs like “Poster Child” and “Under The Gun”.
Sucide Silence had to have been the hype of the entire night. The moment they stepped onto the stage, the crowd went wild. The theater roared with excitement , even getting the people in the VIP seats to stand up and raise their fist into the air. As they played all their old and very well known songs like “Fucked for Life” and “Disengage”, the crowd sang but mostly screamed every lyric, passionately pumping their fist and head banging to the pounding beats of the drums. Even while lead vocalist, Eddie Hermida, was dealing with possible food poisoning, even stepping out to puke in between songs, he finished off the night strong with “You Only Live Once” and “No Pity for a Coward.”
Ending the tumultuous night was headliner, Dying Fetus(a personal favorite of mine). One of the founding fathers of death metal, as confirmed by Aborted, they had quite the strong presence on stage. The drums pounded loudly, beginning their first song “Justifiable Homicide” and the crowd took off. The mosh pit grew and grew, more people began to stand up again, rocking their heads to the beat, swinging their hands left and right as they played classics like “Subjected to a Beating”, “From Womb to Waste” and even their newest single “Unbridled Fury”.
The whole show was one of the most lively and beautifully chaotic concerts of its time. Through sickness and through health, they all brought grandiose sound and energy. Go and check out all the bands, and keep an eye out for the next Chaos and Carnage Fest and other concerts like it, you won’t regret it!
