On Sept 24th I made the journey across the state of Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh to see my first concert in forever.
I was very lucky: as opposed to the usual cadre of okayish, energetic, and ultimately unmemorable metallic hardcore bands that open Code Orange shows, there was a special treat for this home opener in Dying Fetus, one of the first death metal bands I bought a record from, some 20 years ago.
Handpicked by the left side of Code's brain, Reba Meyers, the Dying Fetus inclusion was likely made to motivate the headliner to prepare for their upcoming tour with Slipknot, and also reflect that much of the band loves death metal, hardcore purist fans be damned. Dying Fetus has to be one of the best, most professional, cleanest sounding live death metal bands in history. As primary support they entirely made up for the weak trio that went on before them.
Year of the Knife are the standard metallic core band that usually opens these shows. Energy and enthusiasm, not much talent or vision, only one speed.
Machine Girl's set I skipped entirely and talked outside to people about the metal vs hardcore worlds and listened to a lot of rants about Covid.
Show Me the Body at least has more than one speed, and feature mandolin play. Still they strike me as just ok. Skipped half the set for the outside comfort of conversations about government conspiracies and the nostalgic smell of cheap weed.
Finally ready for the two bands I came to see, I found a spot in the left corner as close the pit without going in, which also afforded me a clear line of sight on the bands. Perfect for old me.
Dying Fetus generate a massive yet precise sound from three guys, a true power trio. Code has opened for them before in the past and getting an equal sized and much older band to open for them might have been awkward, but John Gallagher was totally invested in being there, in talking to the crowd, and the crowd was mostly into his band. Afterwards I talked with a few people who had seen them before and who said they never miss a beat, they are a true live machine. Their sound guy must be fantastic because their is no comparison to some other death metal favorites like Nile who sometimes mix quite muddy.
Anyway, the mutual respect between bands like Dying Fetus and Code Orange across generational and scene lines is always nice to see.
CO was also very good but not quite the well-oiled machine of their predecessor. They have a lot of moving parts in their sound and the mix wavered early on before clearing up, also they were integrating a new live drummer, Mike Portnoy's son Max. The band's right side brain, Jami Morgan, also gave his first live performance in front of a crowd as a frontman, and the result was mixed. His enthusiasm was off the charts and often his crowd banter was great but without having to drum too he was clearly lacking enough to do and tended to overvocalize and drown out some of the instrumentals. I hope he learns to tone it down and pick his spots because they have such a massive and diverse sound that stands on its own, while their stage energy is unsurpassed.
As the concert ended my Oranssi Pazuzu shirt got a few compliments for representing such a great band, and I wrapped up the night by meeting some people I had only known online before. Definitely worth the wait
PS: Covid report, no vax or mask mandate per the venue (Live Nation owned). Some musicians had insisted on requiring it during September concerts anyway but CO did not. Since October most of the big venues in the USA, including Live Nation, have switched to proof of negative test or vax for entry.