VANCOUVER — Cannibal Corpse performed on a Wednesday night at the Commodore Ballroom and brought Behemoth as their co-headliner.

But first, Sweden’s Tribulation started the night off right with a mixture of old and new metal. It was kind of like a rock and roll/death metal/progressive mix and I dug it. The band played songs from their most recent album, The Formulas of Death.

Aeon, also from Sweden, was the second band up onstage, and they gave their dose of death metal to the crowd but not before a lengthy sound check. Aeon’s vocalist, Tommy Dahlstrom, jerked his mic off throughout the set between his depthless growls.

There are many bands that one wants to see throughout their lifetime and for me, Behemoth was one of them. Excitement grew within the crowd as the stage was outfitted with occult stage props. Vocalist Adam “Nergal” Darski graced the stage with two torches on fire and the band performed “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel”. Halfway through Behemoth’s set a surprise guest helped Zbigniew “Inferno” Prominski on the drums, and the two of them were getting their groove on. The Commodore Ballroom stunk of testosterone, body odour, weed and beer and then Behemoth played their popular “Ov Fire and Void” and the place went a little hazy. It was lovely.

Finally, Cannibal Corpse brought their standard dose of aggressive growls and death metal. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, or maybe it’s because I got thrown on my ass in the pit, or maybe it’s because my taste in metal has evolved but I wasn’t digging Cannibal this time around. They played their popular songs to the crowd’s delight and I sat back and watched the young folk have their time in the pit.

By Serena Navarro

Thanks to Beatroute for the opportunity to review this show.