Brutal Truth + Macabre + Devourment + Malignancy 081808 @ Rebel

I had an opportunity to see Brutal Truth around 1994. They were playing The Graffiti in Pittsburgh with Pungent Stench - I'd snagged a flyer from Eides, the longstanding underground record shop in the Strip Distirct and couldn't wait for the date to arrive. The catch was, I didn't have my driver's license and although the girl I was dating at the time promised that she would take me, at the end of the day, little goodie-two shoes chickened out. I never forgot that day, particularly since they grew into one of my favorite bands of all-time. This, my friends, was a dream come true because Brutal Truth is the fucking shit. I yelled 'We love you Danny!' after the set was over to a few laughs. Still not loud enough, still not fast enough! Also, I gotta give it up to Macabre, Devourment and Malignancy for top-notch performances.

Texan Babykillers, Devourment opened things up and they were a very fine example of the US underground death metal scene.

The bass player was a little crazy...after rockin the horse head for most of the set, he unexpectedly dove off the stage, flying over everyone and crashing headfirst on the floor. He crawled back on stage in a daze. I got a pic with him and the singer after the show...he still looks pretty wacked-out.

Devourment's setlist:

I'd rented the Macabre DVD from Netflix ahead of this totally by coincidence, so I pretty much knew what to expect from Chicago's serial killer-obsessed crew, Macabre. They played a whole lotta songs from the Dahmer album this time around, but managed the trademark 'Mary Bell' opening that had the crowd singing in unison.

Corporate Death actually drove to, and sat in on the Dahmer trials for inspiration for his lyrics...is that weird? Fuck yes it is. But I think we should give this honors student an 'A' for effort.

Nefarious growling through back-up duties...

Macabre's setlist did not include 'White Hen Decapitator' (my personal fav), but did include a ton of other gems:

OMG, this is really happening! Here is Brutal Truth's setlist...I brought it home, but snapped this pic before they started to make sure they were playing all my favorites They were!

Kevin Sharp, sans cowboy hat but still barefoot (you'll have to trust me, I wsn't taking picture of his feet, weirdo).

Gurn and Richard Hoak really helped to define the whole dirty, dizzying , destructive sound that became a cult favorite of grindcore fans everywhere.

Evolution Through Revolution (or was it Revolution Through Evolution)...really, I don't remember.

Danny Lilker is like a heavy metal superhero with an impressive resume including Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, S.O.D. and Exit-13, among others...

What can I say? This was like a dream come true. Thanks boys! We love you Danny!

I caught Malignancy's technical set from behind waaay too many tall people, but Danny and Ron were nice enough to chat (mostly about Asian porn) and get a pic...