Article and Photos by: Linda Carlson

Cincinnati, OH – On April 24, 2018, Bogarts hosted an evening of death metal bands headlined by Morbid Angel, with enough head-banging energy to satisfy the staunchest metal enthusiast.  Not your ordinary Tuesday night fare.

Five bands performed on this stop of Morbid Angel’s Kingdoms Disdained Tour, beginning with Cincinnati’s Verment.  Inviting a local band to open for a touring band is a tremendous opportunity for up-and-comers to enjoy the spotlight on the main stage.  Verment’s death metal foursome of Dustin Stockhoff (guitar), Alex Hooper (drums/vocals), Eric Payne (bass/vocals) and Nick Moeller (guitar) did a fine job of firing up the audience with their aggressive, hard hitting set.

Next was Hate Storm Annihilation, a trio hailing from Chicago.  Promoting their 2017 album, Following The Path To Eternal Fire, this band’s performance was largely instrumental, a death metal jam session, with periodic guttural vocals.  Members Craig Schmuhl (guitars/vocals), Spencer Metela (bass) and Konstantin Dermendjiev (drums) hit it hard, setting the stage for the next band, Dreaming Dead, an all-female band from Portland.  These women kicked-ass!  Members include Elizabeth Schall (vocals/lead guitar) and session artists Teresa Wallace (guitar), Tamara Tadic (drums) and touring bassist Roehnna Velasco.  They were true pros onstage, exhibiting profuse metal energy and musical prowess.

Next to entertain the fans was Baltimore’s Misery Index, with Jason Netherton (vocals/bass), Adam Jarvis (drums), Mark Kloeppel (vocals/guitar) and Darin Morris (guitar).  The death/grind metal band took its named after the economic index based on the level of unemployment and rate of inflation – the band performs with the powerful impact that its name implies.

Headliner Morbid Angel took the stage next.  The band has had its share of line-up changes since it first formed in 1984 but this tour brings together founding member and guitarist Trey Azagthoth with lead singer/bassist Steve Tucker, who rejoined the band in 2015.  Rounding out the lineup was Dan Vadim Von on guitar and newcomer Scott Fuller on drums.

Tucker, a Cincinnati native, greeted the crowd, stating that it was terrific to be home.  What followed was pure, intense death metal, with Tucker’s signature growling vocals intermingling with the powerful, resonating metal instrumentals.  Tucker spoke to the crowd frequently, his speaking voice as gritty and deep as his singing voice.  After announcing their final song (“To the Victor The Spoils”), Tucker exclaimed that this was indeed the last song of the night, that there would be no presumptive encore.  “We’re not fucking rock stars!”  The crowd cheered.

Morbid Angel is touring nearly daily through May 17.  You can check their tour schedule at http://www.morbidangel.com/welcome.html.