For the second year in a row, I have had the privilege of covering the Decibel Magazine Tour for this website. Last year’s edition was solid, with really only the headliners disappointing. This year, with one less band, there was no disappointment to be found. This time around, the tour landed at the Magic Stick, a top two Detroit area venue for me, after only two shows there (lol). The crowd was smaller than last year’s Decibel tour and smaller than the sold out Brainsqueeze tour I saw there in February, but those who attended found themselves to be very engaged. All four of the bands were solid or better, with the best of them probably finding their way into my top ten all time sets (on a list that I’m sure includes hundreds of sets). 

 

Necrofier

 

Up first was Necrofier. I’ll start with the blunt statement that they were my least favorite band of the night, but that’s like saying lasagna is my least favorite pasta. I still like it a lot and consume it regularly. Necrofier placed themselves very firmly on my radar going forward with a solid set and flawless stage presence. I will be going back to their discography, as well as watching for whatever comes next. The only reason they were the opener is that the bill was so stacked. On most tours, they would rightly deserve to be higher in the lineup. If you get a chance, go see this band. (On a side note, they had the most…engaged…merch person hawking their wares I’ve ever seen. I felt like I was back at the carnival with my fellow carnies calling out to the crowd to draw people to their games. And I would have absolutely bought a record, if I hadn’t been flat broke.)

Worm

 

Do you remember how I said that one of the bands made it into my top ten sets of all time? Remember that? Well, that band is this monstrosity known as Worm. Not only was the music incredibly immersive and impressive played live, but the stage show was a ton of fun. The dark theatrics of it were the perfect blend of solemn vampiric evil, and tongue in cheek camp. First of all, the corpse paint was on-point for this band, especially the vocalist Phantom Slaughter. I give automatic bonus points to any band who brings a sword on stage, which Slaughter did. The ‘blood-drinking-from-a-human-skull-chalice’ was a nice touch too. It’s fair to say that none of this would have been as well received if the music wasn’t so devastating, but it was.

Devil Master

 

As someone who grew up on punk and has a recent love affair with black metal, I actually haven’t generally clicked with black punk. Devil Master made sure that wasn’t the case on this night however. Their set was raw and energetic, while still being professional. Their stage presence was top notch and their set was blistering. If a pit were to have opened up at any point in the night, it would have been during their set, but of course “no mosh, no core, no fun.” I had a buddy tell me at the show that Devil Master was their favorite band to see live right now, and I can understand why. They played a fast, tight set that was in-your-face fun. I will definitely be keeping my eyes on them as well.

Hulder

 

It’s fair to say I’ve been a Hulder fan for a while. Everything released by the project has been at least solid. In this case, I’m not going to be that guy and say that the demos are the best, because I actually think Verses In Oath is her best work yet. My buddy Steve Paseshnik, who is responsible for all of these amazing photos, would probably disagree. On this night, she and the musicians she was touring with, played an aggressive set which drew from across her discography. The atmosphere was bleak, as was fitting for the music. The band itself looked regally menacing. This was my first time seeing Hulder live, but will hopefully not be my last.

All photos by Steve Paseshnik at The Art of B Productions.

 

 

Biography:  Hayduke X has been writing for MoshPitNation since June of 2016. He is also a contributor to The Metal Wanderlust. Prior to joining the MoshPitNation team, Hayduke published reviews on his own blog Rage and Frustration. In addition, he has DJ’ed an online metal radio show of the same name as his blog, written for TOmetal.com, done interviews for Metal Rules, and collaborated with The Art of B Productions to create video interviews with a wide variety of bands.