Cannibal Corpse Bring Mayhem to l’Olympia

Cannibal Corpse, Mayhem, Gorguts, and Blood Incantation steamrolled through Montreal this past Thursday, playing to a sold-out crowd at l’Olympia theatre.

Controversy is the name of the game for this bill. Cannibal Corpse have been releasing some of the most offensive song titles and album covers imaginable since their 1990 debut Eaten Back to Life, which features artwork of a zombie scarfing down its own intestines. On the flip side, Norwegian black metal progenitors Mayhem are infamous for translating these horrors to real life; their ex-singer Per Yngve Ohlin (known as “Dead”) used to cut himself on-stage during the band’s live performances. When Dead committed suicide in 1991 via shotgun, bandmate Euronymous collected fragments of the musician’s skull to turn into necklaces. One of these skull fragments sold for $3,500 in an auction in 2018.

Naturally, this kind of lore tends to attract quite the fringe audience, with fans queuing hundreds of metres down Saint-Timothée St. adorned with battle vests, bullet belts, and some wearing Dead’s infamous “corpse” face paint.

Blood Incantation warmed up the crowd with their refreshing technical yet groovy sci-fi themed death metal. The show really got in gear however when hometown heroes (by 150-odd kilometres) Gorguts entered the mix. The Sherbrooke group’s 1991 debut Considered Dead is a hallmark classic within the death metal scene, and their performance tonight is their first show in Quebec since 2017. Gorguts rifled through classic tracks like “Disincarnated” and “Obscura” with high energy - which fans returned in double.

Mayhem followed, with frontman Attila Csihar storming the stage in a hooded cloak, armed with a makeshift cross made of two bones tied together perpendicularly. Opening with “Worthless Abominations Destroyed” off their 2019 effort Daemon, Attila’s vocals ranged from raspy howls to prophetic unholy chants, which echoed menacingly off the venue walls. The Norwegian act played a handful more tracks - eventually shifting off-stage in preparation for their epic: “Freezing Moon.”

As smoke lifted from the stage, Dead’s voice bled through the speakers. “When it’s cold, and it’s dark… The freezing moon can obsess you…” This infamous line, recorded during the band’s 1990 concert in Leipzig, has turned into a staple of Mayhem’s live performances, setting the atmosphere perfectly as the modern lineup broke into the fan-favourite cut.

This would however be the last taste of anything remotely “atmospheric” for the remainder of the night. In a blazing finale, Mayhem put together a collection of their most aggressive material. “Deathcrush” sent the crowd into a blurry frenzy, as the moshpit turned extra violent and combat boots flew left and right. Without as much as a breath, thrashers “Necrolust,” “Carnage,” and the aptly-titled “Pure Fucking Armageddon” nearly burned the house down, as the band and fans equally gave it their all.

This bombastic finale would be hard to top for any other band but Cannibal Corpse. Frontman George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher stepped into the spotlight wearing his signature t-shirt, which features a caricature of him headbanging with the text “RESPECT THE NECK” in all caps. The shirt is a not-so-subtle reference to Fisher’s famously wide neck - potentially rivaled only by Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor.

Fisher defended his title as Headbanging Champion in Montreal after egging the audience on. “This song is for anyone of you out there interested in banging your fucking heads,” Fisher said before the band blared into “I Cum Blood.” “Try to keep up with me - you will fail miserably!” The frontman proceeded to swing his neck in circles for 3 minutes straight, creating a propeller of hair that looked like it could’ve lifted him off his feet.

Iconic cuts “Disposal of the Body,” “Pit of Zombies,” and the charming “Stripped, Raped and Strangled” followed, turning the audience into a frenzy of sweaty bodies bouncing off each other. Predictably, Cannibal Corpse closed their set with “Hammer Smashed Face” - bringing every last bit of energy with it.

The sheer number of quality bands on this tour lineup made the night’s success no surprise. As 2023 begins to come to a close, this show may very well be Montreal’s metal concert of the year, as Cannibal Corpse and Mayhem once again prove forces to be reckoned with, even after 30 years in the business.

Feature photo by Guillaume Laberge