The Decibel Magazine Tour 2017

Another year, another Decibel Tour. This year's addition brought us back to House of Blues. I hadn't been to this venue for a few years and had always wondered why people complained about it. Sure it wasn't Reggies or any of the cool venues in the city, but I had never had a bad experience there. Well, now I know what all those people were talking about. Apparently, there's no such thing as a sell out at the HoB because they oversell as much as they can. There were way too many people in the venue to the point that I had to end up moving to the back because the main floor was so overcrowded.

Another disappointment (besides the venue itself) was Kreator. The set featured way too many 2000s songs. I guess this can be understood considering what a massive resurgence Kreator went through here in the early 2000s, but regardless, there were enough old school fans present who left shaking their heads at the tiny handful of 80s material included.

Obituary was the best of the night. Unlike Kreator, their set consisted of mainly all classics and some new songs. But even then, the new Obituary album absolutely kills and I think it's much better than the last Obituary record. The opening acts were Midnight and Horrendous. I was supposed to see Midnight open for Autopsy a couple years back, but missed it because I was sick. They did not disappoint! Their unique style of "black thrash rock n' roll" got the crowd going and I'd definitely go see them again. Kicking off the whole event was Horrendous. This is a band I had heard of but never listened to until the show and I was not disappointed. Their set was representative of all the reviews I've read about them. These guys are taking the classic sound of death metal past and shaping it into their own, paving the way for death metal of the future. I'd see them again too.