Hardcore-crossover heavyweights Hatebreed brought their 30th anniversary tour to San Antonio’s Vibes Event Center on Saturday with a buffet-style bill serving up samples of extreme metal’s many flavors.
While it seemed like the bulk of the multigenerational crowd was there to see the Connecticut-based headliner, openers Carcass, Harm’s Way and Crypta offered varied yet similarly brutal approaches. If you didn’t like one style, you could always wait for the next.
Brazil’s Crypta — an all-female quartet that straddles death and black metal — ripped through its set with an infectious energy and surprising amounts of dynamics. Vocalist-bassist Fernanda Lira, a commanding stage presence, growled and shrieked her way through dark and winding compositions underpinned by surprisingly melodic guitar work.
The band’s secret weapon, though, was drummer Luana Dametto, who powered the performance with clockwork precision. Her arms were a blur as one hand hammered frantic blast beats on her snare and the other chimed out busy patterns on her cymbals.
After Crypta’s multi-faceted approach, it was clear the next band on the bill, Chicago-based Harm’s Way, had its work cut out.
While the metalcore act had power and abrasive riffs to spare, it failed to offer much in the way of melody, texture or variety, largely sticking to a single throbbing tempo overlayed with shouted vocals. The macho-man posturing of bodybuilder-slash-frontman James Pligge didn’t help seal the deal either.
Indeed, the set highlight came when Harm’s Way invited Lira back onstage to help sing a cover of legendary Brazilian band Sepultura. It offered a bright moment in an otherwise draggy, sound-alike performance.
Liverpool, England’s Carcass is credited with pioneering two different extreme metal subgenres — grindcore and melodic death metal — and the band’s thunderous set at Vibes showed its enduring strength at both.
Head freshly shaved, foot planted on a monitor, bassist-vocalist Jeff Walker unleashed his distinctive growl as the quartet pummeled through one song after another, barely a pause between. With a veteran frontman’s skill, he directed the audience to chant between riffs and clap along as tempos downshifted.
Despite Carcass’ bare-knuckle approach, founding guitarist Bill Steer and touring axeman James “Nip” Blackford imbued the set with a plenty of melodic moments. Steer’s bluesy, warm-toned solos have long been a foil for Carcass’ more extreme tendencies, giving its songs a certain amount of breathing room so they hit even harder when manic riffing cuts back in.
Halfway through the set, Walker paused to let the crowd know Carcass’ first visit to San Antonio came in 1990 supporting legendary extreme-metal pioneers Death. After he asked if anyone had been at the show, several hands went up.
“You, I believe,” Walker said pointing to a graybeard in the crowd. “But you there, you weren’t even born yet, ya fucking poser.”
It’s hard to look at Carcass’ performance as anything but the night’s highlight. It’s rare to find a band that, nearly 40 years on, can deliver such demanding material with a mix of energy, showmanship and fun. All hail!
Hatebreed prefaced its set with a video montage of scene luminaries congratulating the group on its 30 years together. While the clip seemed unnecessary, plenty in the crowd were willing to enjoy the headliner’s victory lap, cheering anytime a favorite musician appeared onscreen to bestow praise.
Video done, Hatebreed came out firing on all cylinders. The group ably delivered the speedy songs, thundering riffs and pissed-off vocals fans have come to expect. Frontman Jamey Jasta worked the front of the stage, hammering his chest, punching the air, his voice as defiant as ever.
For all the ferocity, the songs tended to blend together after a while — one of the downsides of Hatebreed’s hard-fast-all-the-time approach. Even so, the crowd’s enthusiasm certainly didn’t wane, nor did the lines at the band’s merchandise display.
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This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 15, 2024.