WWW.METALSETLISTS.COM - Summer Slaughter -- Atlanta, GA -- July 27th, 2010

So the one great thing about this fest was that I had no expectations coming in- I had barely listened to any of these bands. I was going because it would be a fun time and all.

My brother and I got into the venue minutes after the doors opened. There was a pretty long line getting in. This was good because the place was mostly full for [B]Vital Remains[/B], something which surprised me. The bros were really into them, too.
Vital was really good live. They did not disappoint. Good, because they were the main band I came to see.

Dechristanize
Savior to None, Failure to All
Hammer Down The Nails

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Next was [B]Animals as Leaders[/B]. They got a great crowd response. I mean, there wasn’t moshing, but I didn’t expect any. The crowd just really liked the band.
I haven’t listened to them much on album but they were great live; they had a lot of heavy parts, but it was mostly a groove, which was cool. The black guitarist was grinning the entire time, which was nice.

Wave of Babies
Tempting Time
On Impulse
CAFO

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[B]Carnifex[/B] up next. If you read my Warped report, you may remember that I thought Suicide Silence was really good live. Carnifex was similar- they weren’t as good as Suicide Silence, but they were godly compared to their albums. I was in the back but I’m pretty sure I saw a lot of hardcore dancers. No surprise there.

Entombed Monarch
Hell Chose Me
Lie To My Face
Sorrowspell
The Diseased and the Poisoned
In Coalesce With Filth and Faith

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Then there was [B]Decrepit Birth[/B]. This is going to get me flamed to hell, but honestly I thought Carnifex was better than these guys. It’s not that Decrepit was bad live, it’s just that their live performance didn’t make me forget how much I hate their albums. Decrepit exemplifies everything I hate about brutal death metal and everything I hate about technical death metal.

Anyways…

Of Genocide
The Living Doorway
The Resonance
Prelude to the Apocalypse
Polarity
Symbiosis
The Infestation
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After Decrepit Birth was [B]Veil of Maya[/B]. I hate these guys on album but they really surprised me live. Great performance.

[id]
Unbreakable
Crawl Back
Dark Passenger
Pillars
Namaste
It's Not Safe To Swim Today
(maybe a song in between Pillars and Namaste)

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[B]Cephalic Carnage[/B]!!! One of the two bands I came to see. They did not disappoint live- in fact, they exceeded my expectations! I love when bands do that. By far the best band of the night. They were so heavy and grind-tastic.

Endless Cycle of Violence
Lucid Interval
Kill for Weed
Dreaming in Dog Years

They may have played “Divination and Violation” and “Hybrid” as well. They played two new songs- one of them was fully grind, for us “grindfreaks.” It was 30 seconds long too so you know they’re not fucking around.

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[B]The Red Chord[/B] was next. See Veil of Maya.

Demoralizer
Bone Needle
Floating Through The Vein
Hour of Rats
Nihilist
Black Santa
Dreaming in Dog Years
Antman

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[B]
All Shall Perish[/B] came on next. And now I must confess that I like these guys on album. However, their performance made me wonder why I ever thought that. If their albums hided the shitty elements, their live show exposed those elements full frontal. Goddammit these guys sucked. And the vocalist did only pig-squealing. It felt like it, anyway. I don’t remember their album having so many pig-squeals…
Strangely, they had the weakest pits of the night. There was one guy hardcore dancing and that’s it.

No Business To Be Done on A Dead Planet
Stabbing To Purge Dissimulation
When Life Meant More
Gagged Bound Shelved & Forgotten
Never...Again...
Herding the Brainwashed
Eradication
Wage Slaves

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And then it was time for [B]The Faceless[/B]. Holy shit these guys were one-dimensional. I never liked them on album- didn’t change live. Tied with All Shall Perish for Worst Performance of the Day.
I know they played “Planetary Duality” and that’s it.

Shape Shifters
Coldly Calculated Design
Sons of Belial
Xenochrist
Horizons of Chaos: Oracle of the Onslaught
Planetary Duality I (Hideous Revelation)
Planetary Duality II (A Prophecies Fruition)
An Autopsy

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[B]
Decapitated[/B] closed the show. By this time many of the bros had left- just real death metal fans now. The beginning of their set was very dramatic- they just walked out on stage and hammered out the first song just like that. They didn’t do the soundchecks or anything.

I had to leave early, which was unfortunate- these guys were really good. The last song I saw was “Visual Delusion.” This was about the third or fourth song in and the best one I saw.

The vocalist was pretty cool- he bellowed in his loud voice, "Stop standing around like pussies! I want to see some heads banging!"

# A Poem About an Old Prison Man
# Day 69
# Post(?) Organic
# Visual Delusion
# Invisible Control
# Winds of Creation
# Flash-B(l)ack
# Mother War
# Spheres of Madness
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Ranking from Best to Worst:

Cephalic Carnage
Vital Remains
Decapitated
The Red Chord/Veil of Maya
Animals as Leaders
Carnifex/Decrepit Birth
All Shall Perish/The Faceless