On Wednesday night (May 23), Meshuggah concluded their North American Ophidian Trek with Baroness and Decapitated at the Terminal 5 in New York City. The combo of these three bands promised a unique and diverse night of metal throughout the tour.
Polish band Decapitated opened the set up with a tight, half hour set. The technical death metal band may have been the least known of the three bands, but their fans were up front in force, and you could almost see them gaining the approval of the crowd after each song. Their set was all too short, and left the near sold out crowd wanting more.
With a new double album coming out in July, this tour is the first change Baroness is getting to road-test their new material. After having spent some time with the album, we can say that the band definitely pulled off the new material well. Vocalist/guitarist John Baisley and guitarist Peter Adams’ guitars and vocal harmonies accompanied each other well, and bassist Matt Maggioni might as well have been in the band since it’s beginning as opposed to having just joined. That said, while the band were well-received by the crowd, they seemed a bit out of place amid the technical death of Decapitated and the precision riffing of Meshuggah.
When Meshuggah went on after trolling the crowd (Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” looped for half an hour? Well played, Meshuggah), the crowd lost their shit, and didn’t regain it until 90 minutes later. Drummer Tomas Haake is a fucking machine. That’s pretty much all that needs to be said about him. And while the band has been around for an incredible 25 years (!), their technical, polyrhythmic riffage still sounds ahead of its time.
Metal Insider contributing photographer Diana Lynn Ring was on hand to take photos of the entire evening. Check them out after the jump.
