May 17

May 17 Show Review: After The Burial and Thy Art Is Murder Kick Off Co-Headlining Tour to Sacramento

After The Burial
Thy Art Is Murder
w/ Currents, Brand of Sacrifice
Ace of Spades
Sacramento, CA
May 10th, 2022

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was at Ace of Spades covering the kickoff date of another heavy metal tour with Suicide Silence and Carnifex. The entire tour was comprised of deathcore artists, eviscerating the stage with every blast beat and breakdown combination you could think of. While there weren’t as many acts on the lineup as the Chaos & Carnage tour, there was no lack of brutality as After The Burial and Thy Art Is Murder kicked off their “Back To The Gulag” co-headlining tour in Sacramento.

The room began to fill with fans as Toronto-based death metal act Brand of Sacrifice took the stage for an absolutely crushing opening set. You may recognize the band’s name, as they recently collaborated with We Came As Romans on a “reimagined” version of their song “Darkbloom”. If you heard that song and thought they were heavy then, it’s even crazier live, featuring an onslaught of breakdowns and guttural vocals. Currents followed with a first-rate metalcore set. Both bands brought something a little bit different, yet all within the same “metal” wheelhouse, proving to be great openers for the tour.

It felt like things were moving along rather quickly, because before I knew it, Thy Art Is Murder was up. I hadn’t seen the band since 2015 when they played at the final Mayhem Festival, and they’ve released two captivating albums since then, with 2017’s Dear Desolation and 2019’s Human Target. Vocalist CJ McMahon, donned in a black hoodie and standing behind one of the most “metal” looking microphone stands I’ve ever seen (see photos below), roared his way through a set comprised of deathcore breakdowns, dark lyricism, and sludgy guitar riffs galore. The band, made up of rhythm guitarist Sean Delander, lead guitarist Andy Marsh, bassist Kevin Butler, and drummer Jesse Beahler, were perfectly in sync with one another, and their musicianship is quite outstanding.

After thirteen ferocious songs, the band cleared the stage for the evening’s second headliner, progressive metalcore act After The Burial. While I don’t listen too much to progressive metal, I’m always enamored with the technicality that the musicians in these bands bring to their live performances. It’s one thing to hear it; it’s another thing entirely to see it live. After The Burial hails from Minneapolis, but their Northern California shows have become somewhat of a homecoming affair, as bassist Adrian Oropeza is from the San Francisco Bay Area. The crowd was filled with family and friends at this date (in addition to the following nights performance in Santa Cruz), and the band played through an impressive collection of tracks from throughout their nearly two decades as a band. A good chunk of the band’s setlist was comprised of material from their Dig Deep album, which was released through Sumerian Records back in 2016.

Much like the Chaos & Carnage tour, there was no encore, no leaving the stage and then returning to play a couple more songs. What you see is what you get, and every band on this bill delivered a commendable performance. The metal scene is definitely going strong.

After The Burial set list

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In Flux
Exit, Exist
Behold The Crown
Deluge
Laurentian Ghosts
Quicksand
Lost in the Static
Mire
A Wolf Amongst Ravens
Neo Seoul

Thy Art Is Murder set list
Death Squad Anthem
Make America Hate Again
The Purest Strain of Hate
Human Target
Eternal Suffering

Dear Desolation
Fur and Claw
Holy War
New Gods
The Son of Misery
Puppet Master
Reign of Darkness
Chemical Christ