Text by: Rust Machado
“You must really like death metal, my friends,” said Steve DiGiorgio during the first few songs, “to come celebrate these songs on a Tuesday night.” The audience's euphoria said it all: on January 20th, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul packed the Opinião venue to see Death to All . Scheduled for 9 pm, the legends Gene Hoglan (bass), Steve DiGiorgio (drums), Bobby Koeble (guitar), and Max Phelps (vocals and guitar) took to the stage to relive the glories of Death .
If one day the "metalhead gauchos" (words invoked by DiGiorgio, and in Portuguese!) lamented the impossibility of seeing the great Chuck Schuldiner , at least our generation has been graced by time, which has refined perspectives, reorganized affections, and broken taboos. Death To All is coming to Brazil for the second time, and this time bringing the album Symbolic (1995) in its entirety, in celebration of its 30th anniversary. The Symbolic Healing also takes the opportunity to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Spiritual Healing (1990) , but what it delivers in practice is a string of classics to make grown men grimace and lose their minds.
The quartet appeared before the audience to the sound of “Infernal Death” roaring through the PA system, reminiscent of the legendary Scream Bloody Gore (1985), and then the band launched into “Living Monstrosity” and “Defensive Personalities,” absurd songs, but which honestly served as a prelude to what was to come. The band impressed greatly, bringing all the rawness of the group's early days and showing great chemistry. DiGiorgio told us: “This is a tour to celebrate Spiritual Healing and, especially , Symbolic …”, and here he received a great response from the audience. “But we will play songs from all eras of Death!”, he added, paying due honors to Chuck's name, interacting with a fan who carried a sign with the words “Chuck Lives,” while the set continued with the highly anticipated “Lack of Comprehension.”
Steve DiGiorgio takes charge of communicating with the audience, dominating the action like no one else. His presence is physically and metaphysically gigantic, and his persona, almost irreverent in the Death Metal universe – he has long adopted a hippie style, even playing bangers like “Altering the Future” and “Zombie Ritual” in sandals at Opinião, wielding a strangely imposing three-string bass, where he navigates the notes with extreme technique, showing fluency and intimacy with the sounds he co-created.
The band followed with “Within The Mind,” the highly anticipated “The Philosopher” which inspired the mosh pit at Opinião, and closed the first act with “Spiritual Healing.” Here, the audience's satisfaction, which was already immense, reached historic levels. DiGiorgio announced that they would begin a complete performance of Symbolic , and that some of those songs hadn't even been played live during the album's tours. The hypnotic riff of the immense classic “Symbolic” moved those present, and at that moment everyone realized they were experiencing something that transcended expectations.
The band played 'Symbolic' in its entirety
Max Phelps handles the frontman parts with a stoic and curious modesty. Coming from the underground, fronting bands like Cynic and Exist , what Death fan wouldn't feel fulfilled playing "Empty Words," "Sacred Serenity," and "1000 Eyes" alongside their idols? Things grew more and more in scale, violence, and sonic mass as the album progressed. It's necessary to say that Gene Hoglan, with his unbeatable technique, shines like no other in the execution of the tracks, bringing to mind his memorable combinations and furious transitions amidst a wonderful chaos.
From this repertoire, the double feature of "Without Judgement" and "Crystal Mountain" received a quick response from the audience, who increasingly embraced the violence conveyed by the songs, whether through the brutal pauses and breaks or the extremely inviting vocals: "Without judgment, what would we do?" / "In the Crystal Mountain, evil takes its form." Everyone felt that we were approaching the end of the album, and in the mosh pit, the less violent began to give way to ever-growing circles. "Misanthrope," with its long pauses, and "Perennial Quest" brought the album to a close, and the band said a temporary goodbye.
The four musicians delivered a standout performance in the metal universe, including Bobby Koeble. Less famous than his colleagues, the guitarist recorded Symbolic , and this tour showed his satisfaction in bringing it back to life after three decades. Bobby has the look, the style, and the passion that define the genre. The band returned for an exceptional rendition of "Spirit Crusher," the most rhythmic song of the set, and also another crowd favorite, while the grand finale was "Pull the Plug," one of the great classics from Death's early phase. The fact that none of the three recorded the albums "Sound of Perseverance" (1998) and "Leprosy" (1988) strongly sealed the spirit of tribute to Chuck in this meticulous performance.
Individual Thought Pattern were missed – after all, it's not every day that we have two of the legends who recorded it together on stage. Who knows, maybe they're saving up for a future return, bringing original guest Andy LaRocque (from King Diamond ) along for the ride? It's just a distant dream, but if there's one thing Death to All is giving us, it's the joy of seeing an old dream shared by generations of metalheads around the world on stage.
Check out the photos by Alessandra Felizardi:
