Live Gig Review and All Photos by Zenae D. Zukowski
https://www.facebook.com/zenaefilmz/
This past weekend, Venom Inc. kicked off their North American tour with Goatwhore, Toxic Holocaust, and The Convalescence in Philly on Friday, Sept 1st. We were lucky to make it to their second night of the trek on Saturday, September 2nd at New York City’s Gramercy Theatre. It was 2015 when the influential band, Venom, split into two different groups. Keeping the Venom name includes original bassist/vocalist Cronos while original members Mantas (guitar) and Abaddon (drums) teamed up with Tony ‘Demolition Man’ Dolan on bass/vocals and are known as Venom Inc. Over the past two years, the group toured across North America a few times playing Venom classics while giving the proper Venom Inc. introduction. However, on August 11th, these English legends have proven they are more than a nostalgic act, as they unleashed the new album Avé via Nuclear Blast.
The Convalescence started the night with an ample amount of energy supporting their latest effort, This Is Hell. Their performance progressed with darkened metal fury as they went into their latest single, “Burn.” It was evident that these Ohio deathmetal/deathcore warriors were giving it everything they got, assuring the crowd they aren’t going anywhere.
Toxic Holocaust picked up the evening’s mood adding their modern thrash flavor. Not only did they dig into a few songs from 2013’s Chemistry of Consciousness with “Acid Fuzz” and “Silence,” they also delivered a taste of their entire career especially with 2008’s An Overdose of Death. The crowd soared during songs “War Is Hell,” “Wild Dogs,” “In the Name of Science,” and “Nuke the Cross.”
The venue was packed for New Orleans metal titans Goatwhore, celebrating their latest effort Vengeful Ascension, which was released this past June via Metal Blade. They plunged into a handful of new tunes including “Under the Flesh, Into the Soul,” “Forsaken,” “Chaos Arcane,” “Vengeful Ascension,” “Drowned in Grim Rebirth,” and “Mankind Will Have No Mercy.” While fans embraced the fresh tracks, Goatwhore surprised the crowd with diversified tunes such as “Alchemy of the Black Sun Cult,” “Baring Teeth For Revolt,” and “Apocalyptic Havoc.” It was a set filled with obliterated chaos.
Finally, Venom Inc. metaphorically destroyed the stage as Mantas, Abaddon and Demolition Man were at the top of their game. While everyone was prepared to hear a handful of songs from Avé, especially with the backdrop promoting the record, they surprised all with merciless Venom classics.
Overall, it was an eventful evening of booze, moshing, and esteemed energy from all four acts. This is a tour well worth attending.
Venom Inc. Setlist:
“Ave Satanas”
“Welcome to Hell” (Venom)
“Metal We Bleed”
“Die Hard” (Venom)
“Live Like an Angel (Die Like a Devil)” (Venom)
“Warhead” (Venom)
“Blackened Are the Priests” (Venom)
“Carnivorous” (Venom)
“Dein Fleisch”
“Don’t Burn the Witch” (Venom)
“Leave Me in Hell” (Venom)
“War” (Venom)
“Black Metal” (Venom)
“Countess Bathory” (Venom)
Encore:
“Sons of Satan” (Venom)
“Witching Hour”(Venom)
About Author
