On Thursday, May 12th, legendary death metal band Deicide came to the blazing desert of Arizona. They were on their headlining tour with support from Season of Suffering. The show took place at Joes Grotto out in Phoenix. It was a scorching hot day as it was about 105 degrees outside, but besides the heat, they packed the house. They haven’t been back to Arizona since October 2014, so there were lots of eager and excited fans at the show. This was their last American run for the ‘In the Minds of Evil’ tour, promoting their album of the same name which was released back in 2013.
If some of you aren’t familiar with this venue, it’s quiet cozy and small; a more intimate setting for fans to be up close and personal. It has a very dark and dingy type of atmosphere. The show was opened by two local bands from the Valley of the Sun. Dirt Over Lime and Atoll set the mood for the show, with their nitty, gritty death metal. Both bands seemed very eager and energetic on stage. It’s good to know that the scene is still alive in Arizona and that we have a bit of local talent.
The opening local bands did a good job entertaining the crowd, until it was time for Season of Suffering to play. This being the first time I had ever seen them, they were pretty great. They had a very intense sound to them and captured many viewers’ eyes. All the guys were excited to play, and did a killer job.
Deicide finally hit the stage. and as always, they were amazing. This would be probably my fifth or sixth time seeing them live, and they never disappoint. For an old-school death metal band, they are still as intense as ever. Their set list was jam-packed with a lot of great tracks from start to finish. They included among others, “Homage for Satan”, “Dead by Dawn”, “Once Upon the Cross”, “Scars of the Crucifix”, and “When Satan Rules His World”.
The pit was crazy; a mixture of older and younger fans just running and hurting themselves. It’s awesome to see that Deicide still has that type of strong presence in the metal scene to draw such a rowdy crowd, and that there is a younger generation still discovering the band. I remember Glen Benton saying onstage, “This is my vacation right now. It’s nice to spend it with people who like good music.” It goes to show that after 20-plus years in Deicide, he still loves what he does and appreciates the support of his fans. What’s left to say, other than it was amazing to see such a classic death metal band still be incredible! It was a great show, and Arizona awaits their return!