Photo Credit: Tom Mis

Fresh off a run with Incantation and Skeletal Remains, death metal legends Suffocation quietly added a date to their itinerary – an intimate show at Dingbatz, New Jersey’s own quintessential metal dive bar. Suffocation has outgrown this space decades ago, but that’s never really seemed to stop them from rolling through. Since this show was a bit an anomaly, the lineup was eagerly rounded out by a trio of Jersey locals. Direct support came from underground favorites Final Girls, with additional support from Morbid Cross and Ways to the Grave. Riffs, slams, and chaos – all in a room small enough to make you question both your safety and your sanity.

Ways to the Grave opened the show – a brand new progressive death metal act, who wore their influences quite literally on their sleeves: Opeth shirts from various eras, which is generally a good sign. With only one single under their belts, these kids had quite a bit to prove to an inpatient crowd. They won the room over, despite closing with an eleven-minute number with multiple clean passages and interludes. This was both a surprising and welcome feat, considering how anxious the crowd was to start throwing down.

Ways to the Grave

Photo Credit: Tom Mis

Immediately ramping up the energy to ten, Morbid Cross lit up the room with their frantic brand of thrash, like they were raised on a steady diet of classic Overkill and modern Warbringer, with a bit of death metal thrown in for good measure. Morbid Cross is 100% here for the mosh and for a good time. Looking at the group on stage, you’d think you traveled back to 1983 and stumbled onto an early Los Angeles thrash band with the classic riffs (and the hair) to back it up. Though they’ve only been together since 2015, they played with the precision and swagger of a seasoned touring act. Frontman Zach Marcus was a spectacle all unto himself, a loose cannon ready to party. With a circle pit that barely cooled off between songs, Morbid Cross could barely be contained by the stage. Highlights from the set include “Disciples of the Goat” and “Nurture Turns to Torture” – and with no warning, the room was flying.

Morbid Cross

Photo Credit: Tom Mis

It’s no surprise to see Final Girls in the direct support slot, given that they can already pull a good crowd in a room this size. Grinding endlessly in the local scene for the past two years, playing bigger and better shows, the band has developed a reputation as one of Jersey’s new bands to keep an eye on. With a more focused stage show than ever, and new and heavier material for the discerning Suffocation slam fan, Final Girls put on one of their most exciting and engaging shows to date. The rhythm section of drummer Sofia DeMasi and bassist Sofia Albanese was locked in, providing the pulse for guitarist Ashleigh Hernandez and vocalist Casey Cruz to build on. Fan favorites “Lady M.” and “Guillotine” lit up the pit before closing the set with three new songs. Though the crowd was here for Suffocation, it was easy to pick out the Final Girls diehards in the audience – all of whom were now sufficiently warmed up for the main event. 

Final Girls

Photo Credit: Tom Mis

I can’t stress enough that Suffocation has outgrown this room – this is not a criticism; I love seeing big bands play in small rooms – but it’s essential to really paint a picture of the evening. The place was packed wall-to-wall on a Tuesday night and ambitious moshers were carving out space for the pit before their set even started. Throw in one of the most influential death/slam bands of all time, and you’ll be reminded immediately of how little is sacred in the pit, beyond the rudimentary etiquette of picking people up when they fall down. Suffocation’s live show is unpretentious and unrelenting, with all melody pushed aside in favor of chromatic riffing and blasts. What you see is what you get, and if you didn’t want a stranger to throw their body into yours, you were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Not simply satisfied to be a legacy act, no less than four cuts from their brand new record, Hymns from the Apocrypha, were thrown in alongside the classics, including “Pierced from Within” and of course, “Infecting the Crypts.” Despite being a full-time member since 2019, this tour marked the first time vocalist Ricky Myers would sing new material not previously done by the legendary Frank Mullen. Tracks from Hymns fit seamlessly into the set, and Myers has more than proved to be the right fit for the group. New song, old song, it didn’t matter – the crowd kept moving, and I walked away with the bruises to prove it.

Suffocation

Photo Credit: Tom Mis