Traveling home one night, I wondered what my year in concerts is going to look like after seeing Cannibal Corpse hammer down Brooklyn Steel on 2/24 (tap this link that features five highlights from that brutally great night). I realized I needed another twist of motel metal goodness. The mighty Lemmy agreed, as I was by one’s side two days later for opening night at a ‘no tickets remain’ Kingsland Bar and Grill 2022 tour kick-off headlined by Omnium Gatherum, featuring support from Allegaeon alongside Black Crown Initiate. A triple threat bill with three superb bands throwing down the gauntlet for all one-hundred and fifty fans and newcomers for all three groups (read the review from that night here).
Primarily focusing on Colorado’s Allegaeon, a band I was equally excited to see in concert, and I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest, here are five high points of how they established dominance over Brooklyn on 2/26/22:
01) I had heard nothing but amazing things about how their stage presence played into what made an Allegaeon something special. I was stoked for them. Allegaeon presented great vibes to a sold-out room there as Allegaeon took advantage of the time they had to set an example of how it’s done.
02) Allegaeon didn’t mess around with their technical death metal, sounding fantastic with great charisma (in addition to how vocalist Riley McShane owned the room the whole time). There was no denying how locked-in they are as musicians.
03) They covered a variety of their discography from four highlighted albums, including three songs from, Damnum, Allegaeon’s new record. With eight songs to play, “Into Embers,” “Of Beasts and Worms,” “Metaphobia,” and all kinds of enthralling tracks were played. This was a great way to please the more plugged-in fans and introduce newcomers to the band’s back catalog.
04) Basically, Allegaeon’s set was brilliant. The band would pull you into their universe, and as soon as you could breathe, the next moment would smack you with more intense heaviness. Their mastery at performing technical death metal was received very well in Brooklyn.
05) Head-banging, moshing, riffs, tight playing. Modern metal champions. Beyond grateful to have seen them. Allegaeon were crushingly heavy throughout their set, keeping the crowd moving and ready for headliners, Omnium Gatherum.
