With music as unapologetic as their name, Black Fucking Cancer has no shortcomings in the realm of stage presence. As one would expect from a band with a name that can’t be repeated over mainstream radio stations, Black Fucking Cancer peppered their set with subcultural catchphrases such as “HAIL SATAN!” and “GRRRAAAAHHHH”

Completely mosh pit friendly, Black Fucking Cancer’s setlist was fast, technical, and diverse in tempo. As a bonus, their drummer and guitarist looked like fucking zombies.

“This one is for the ladies in the crowd… it’s called… BLOOD STAINED WHORE!”

Weapon

After concluding Black Fucking Cancer’s celebration of all that is unholy, the crowd was greeted with a positive and upbeat “We are Weapon! From Canada,” upon which, they began to rock.

Halfway through the set, Weapon either had technical difficulties that prevented the vocalist from participating, or performed a stage stunt that involved the vocalist storming off the stage in what appeared to be frustration.

However, the remaining musicians appeared to stall with a instrumental jam session. After receiving a healthy amount of praise from the crowd for their impromptu demonstration of skill, the singer returned and announced that “he was back, and hopefully it will actually fucking work this time.”

>Withered

Withered’s bassist, who only plays bass and does not sing, acts as the physical frontman for the band. This nonconventional approach seems strange at first, because it is actually strange, very strange, in person. While there is nothing inherently jolting about the presence of a bass player at the front of the stage, this particular musician happened to portray one of the most “lost in music” personas I have ever witnessed. Sweating profusely, he would regularly contort his face, allowing his eyes to roll to the back of his soul, such that one would easily be convinced that he was either possessed by a demon, or under the influence of powerful hallucinogens.

While the band’s configuration was a bit heavy on the out-of-control distortion side, it did the trick, and I had a wondrous time headbanging in between the times where I was attempting to hold the camera still.

1349

With a pure-metal vocalist of infinite endurance, 1349 was by far my favorite performance, and they played for a long time. Not only was their music awesome, but their outfits held a theme that made them not only look metal, but like magic-wielding badasses, too.

By the time 1349 started playing, I felt a sense of relaxation knowing that this was the type of metal I was looking for. The experiences were 100% demonic, and no moment went by that I didn’t feel that I was in an environment of worship. I looked forward to buying the CD, and listening to it in a dark room lit only by a small wax candle. Even at this very moment, I’m having trouble writing this article, because I keep going back to YouTube to watch 1349’s latest video, Sculptor of Flesh.

Marduk

Marduk was simply awesome, so awesome that the crowd was compressed to the point that I couldn’t get close enough for photos. So, I put my camera away, and resumed the process of destroying as many brain cells as I could in as little time as possible through the process of violent drinking, headbanging, and moshing.

Overall

If you don’t already know that skipping a Swedish Metal Concert is a terrible mistake, please take note that any time you see a metal show that features multiple bands from a country other than your own, consider how this tour might have come to be. In most cases, these bands on an international tour for a reason. If a band sucks, it isn’t likely that a professional business would pay for them (and their equipment) to be shipped all over the world over a span of 30 days.

One could argue that terrible bands are sent places all the time, but would eventually need to realize that this isn’t the kind of thing that Sweden would allow.

…nor the fans of the most pure, raw, and genuine forms of satanic worship that would slit their own throats before headbanging to a concert that didn’t fully evoke the divine, death-worshipping darkness that filled their blood-hungry souls.