Dying Fetus
Aug 2nd 1996
Backstreet Bar, Montreal, PQ, Canada
I found the poster by complete accident..." Dying Fetus, Live In Concert". Already the proud owner of their CD, I immediately made plans to attend the concert. The crowd at Backstreet bar in Montreal was at least 100 people, which might not seem like a lot to you people used to big concert venues, but the fans were lively, and ready for a great concert.
After three opening bands (one of which went on for almost 90 minutes, which was way too long in my opinion), Dying Fetus finally took the stage at almost midnight. Their sound was more powerful than any of the opening acts, you could feel the guitar/bass sound pounding at your chest the whole concert. The sound was also very tight, when the band cut off a note, the only sounds in the room were from the crowd. Unfortunately, the drums were way to low in the mix, and the double kicks, while fast and furious on the album, were almost impossible to hear at the concert. Also, the solo guitar was tough to make out from the rest of the band, which was disappointing. But Dying Fetus is really about the riffs, and they were heavy, tight, and in your face. The real killer part of the show were the vocals. The two vocalists, John Gallagher (Guitar) and Jason Netherton (Bass) traded off vocals all night. It was interesting to see a band with dual vocalists, Jason took the middle road with a mid-range growling style, and then John would pipe in with his ultra-low, grunting style of vocals, followed by the occasional high pitched scream. It made for a very entertaining time. They played most of the stuff off of Malevolence, and a few songs off of the new album, which my local record store hasn't received yet. They ended the show with Eviscerated Offspring, one of their biggest songs.
The band was really happy with the crowd, and they cheered on the moshers, who were getting pretty violent, so I stayed more to the back and just listened to the music. For a $10 concert, it was well worth the cash. Catch these guys when they come to your city.