EXHUMED, fresh off their latest release Red Asphalt (out now on Relapse Records), have been grinding their way across the blood-soaked highways of North America on their headlining tour with NO/MÁS and OXYGEN DESTROYER. Florida was blessed with not only one, but three tour stops (two of which feature Tampa’s own RAMTHA), something that seems increasingly rare nowadays. The crowd that filled The Orpheum was ready to prove that no one goes harder on a Sunday than Tampa metalheads.
The unsung heroes of every Sunday night show are the openers, and maybe no opener could get the crowd as rambunctious as the lovable hometown scamps and scallywags in RAMTHA. As they kicked into their first song, they hurled pool noodles into the crowd and, like fishermen chumming the water, sent the pit into a frenzy.
They blasted through their setlist with vocalist Ana Figueroa jumping into the pit midway through the set to join the chaos firsthand. RAMTHA closed things out with their latest single, “Infinite Energy,” released alongside an accompanying music video back in January. The video perfectly encapsulates what their shows are like: high-energy (one could argue infinite, even), technically impressive, and an overall rip-roaring good time.
Next on the bill was Seattle’s OXYGEN DESTROYER, kaiju-obsessed death-thrash whose namesake comes from the weapon that killed Godzilla in the original film. Monsters and metal are a classic combination, as timeless as chocolate and peanut butter, but OXYGEN DESTROYER proved there’s far more here than surface-level gimmicks.
They came out swinging with “Guardian of the Universe (The Final Hope)” and didn’t take their foot off the pedal until their closer “Exterminating the Ravenous Horde of Perpetual Darkness and Annihilation” (try saying that three times fast).
These guys were fast fast, toeing the line of thrash metal fast and almost teetering into black metal fast at times. All of the riffs were technical with mind-bendingly complex solos, and the crowd was loving every second of it. Their set was unrelenting. It’s always impressive watching musicians at the top of their game just destroy a room so effortlessly, about as easily as a giant reptilian monster destroys a city block, and these guys totally delivered that.
Up next were the D.C. grindcore heavyweights. Every band on this tour is fast, loud, and heavy as hell, but NO/MÁS kicked things into another gear entirely.
I could use plenty of adjectives to describe their sound, but I think they’re best summed up in one: blistering. Vocalist Roger Rivadeneira put on an absolute clinic on stage, while drummer Henry Everitt handled backup vocal duties that helped add depth and dynamism to the performance. The crowd went ballistic during their set, and the energy of the room was amplified even further.
NO/MÁS are all killer, no filler. Their music is relentless, with lyrics full of anxiety and rage fueled by a society and political system teetering on the edge of collapse. Their anger isn’t without a glimmer of hope, as the band urges listeners to look out for one another, stand together as a community, and protect its most vulnerable members.
They closed with a cover of fellow D.C. hardcore pioneers BAD BRAINS’ “Banned in D.C.,” a fitting end to their set. NO/MÁS were a relentless force and proved they are not to be ignored. Their new album, No Peace, drops later this week on Redefining Darkness Records.
Finally, it was that time of night for the true star of the show to make his appearance: Dr. Philthy. I’m not positive he has his medical license (or has ever been to medical school), but he sure seemed handy with a chainsaw. His antics set the tone for the rest of the night, and when EXHUMED finally took the stage, the crowd was absolutely fiending.
EXHUMED has been around for several decades now, but they are still full speed ahead. Originally formed back in 1990 in San Jose, the band has gone through many lineup changes centered around founding guitarist and vocalist Matt Harvey. The current lineup has all been around for almost a decade now, with bassist Ross Sewage (originally in the band back in the early 90’s) rejoining the crew in 2015. It is easy to see when the band performs that they are very obviously still having a ton of fun, which makes the grind of a two-month long tour all the more easier.
The band opened with “Unsafe At Any Speed” from their latest album and sped through a setlist that spanned their extensive discography. Dr. Philthy made appearances throughout the show to entertain and disgust the crowd, at one point getting into a guitar duel with lead guitarist Sebastian Phillips, albeit with an angle grinder that showered the crowd in sparks. The set was incredibly entertaining throughout, maybe one of the most entertaining sets I’ve ever had the pleasure to see. After the band left the stage, they returned for an encore that included a cover of KISS’s “Detroit Rock City” and a fan favorite, “Limb from Limb” as the finale, which featured Dr. Philthy dumping fake blood on most of those in the front few rows.
EXHUMED proved time and again that things often do get better with time and age, and at this point, they seem to be enjoying a well-earned victory lap.
The US leg of the tour is nearing its end (with an equally lengthy European tour to follow), but you would be hard-pressed to find a more entertaining tour to catch so far this year. All of the bands provide their own unique blend of brutality that complements each other well, and when these separate parts are mixed together, it adds up to a tour that you’d be crazy to miss.
