Spread the metal:

Detherous CD Release Party

w. Illyrian, Snake Pit & Stench Of Death

Calgary, Alberta. Saturday, January 14th, 2023.

Photos by Kurt. Article by JP and Kurt

My first show of 2023 and it was a heavy one! All local Death Metal! It was a nice Saturday night but as soon as I walked in I knew it would be a bit sloppy. The doors opened an hour late and when I got in, the first band had not even set up their gear yet! Normally, I would not mention it but I had to leave at 11:30 pm to go do my Metal radio so I knew instantly I would miss the headliner. The delay was mildly annoying but I have seen Detherous a number of times so I wasn’t so bad…until I later earned they open a night the a classic cover of Demolition Hammer’s ‘Skull Fracturing Nightmare’! If things had been on time I could have seen a good chunk of the headliner! Oh well, it was a Saturday and that is rock and roll. By the time the four band bill got going at 9:00 pm there was a decent crowd of about 150 death metal maniacs.

STENCH OF DEATH

This was the band I was most interested in only because they were the only band on the bill that I had not seen them before. They had done a split EP with headliner Detherous, a few years back but I had not heard it yet. The band kicked off the night with a batch of slower, groove oriented Death Metal, not unlike Obituary. The singer was pretty soft-spoken between sets and there was not too much head-banging coming from the band but everyone was having fun. They were crushingly heavy but at the same time brought a nice old-school, ‘easy-listening’ type of Death Metal. Most of their set was drawn from their recent, independent, 2022 CD, AETERNUM ATER’ It was a great start to the night!

SETLIST

Grotesque Procession

Spectral Horde

Eons Nestled in a Black Obsidian Obilesk

Pillars Drenched in Gore

Twilight Era

Forever Whispering Ash

Stench

SNAKEPIT

Snakepit has been around a few years but do not seem to be as active. The quarter hit the stage at 10:00 pm and started to rip it up at a faster tempo than Stench Of Death. The vocalist had a nice deep guttural delivery and he was accented a lot by a higher back-up growls from the drummer. Watching a drummer sing is always fun. I couldn’t do it! Even the bassist contributed back-up vocals fro a nice three-prong vocal attack. They had good energy a nice mix of tempos. The second last cut ‘Flesh No More’ was a highlight for me. The band had an album (ETERNAL CONFLAGRATION) a couple of years ago, but we were treated to two new (as of yet untitled) songs! Did we see and hear a world premier? Only the band knows for sure! I’d like to see them play more often.

SETLIST

Untitled new song

Eternal Conflagration

Greed

Sewer Spawn

Untitled new song

Enduring Abyss

Concrete Wasteland

Flesh No More

Death’s Embrace

ILLYRIAN

Illyrian, formerly known as Hellborn Death Engines, were the veteran band of the night, and have been on the scene for well over a decade. They also had tons of cool merchandise too! The quartet are probably the most traditional band with an excellent mix of thrash and death. More thrash than Death I’d say and they were maybe the fastest band of the night. The solos were a real highlight for me. Overtime the band seem to be getting a little more darker and serious lyrically, and played tracks from across their career. They always entertain!

SETLIST

Xanthous
Age of Chaos
A Lecherous Defalcation
Age of Fire
Headless
The Foolish & Delirious
Age of Chaos

DETHEROUS

This next section of review is by Kurt! As mentioned I’m sorry to the band that I had to miss their gig!

On this charmingly no-nonsense Death Metal deluge at Calgary’s Dickens Pub, we were treated to the deranged yet endearing aural assault of the fourth and final local death metal act of the evening – the celebratory onslaught of Detherous in what was the official release party performance for their latest offering, the exceptional “Unrelenting Malevolence” record released late last year.

Ever so slightly touching upon the Brutal, challenging the Bay Area crossover, and revelling in Florida OSDM, our arguable hometown heroes of Death Metal left an indelible impression to top off an already excellent string of likeminded artists who delivered their own fresh takes on the genre. A raucous crowd not needing to be won over were charged up further than normal as the band ripped through their tight set with little banter and loads of riffing, growling, and pummelling percussion.

It’s no wonder why their latest LP has them garnering the attention of almost every reputable metal review blog and mag out there, and for those that missed this event, it’s an absolute must that you venture out to see them as soon as possible; their notable recent addition to Vancouver’s upcoming Modified Ghost festival (as support for Ohio’s rising stars Sanguisugabogg) is perhaps your next chance. Do not miss them the next time they come stomping down the block.

SETLIST

Skull Fracturing Nightmare (Demolition Hammer cover)
Interminable Mutilation
Gruesome Tools Of Torture
Hacked To Death
Suspended In Agony
Wretched Formations Of Flesh
Encased In Gore
The Saw
Practitioners Of Pain