Morbid Angel, Watain and Incantation November 22, 2019 @ The Gas Monkey Bar and Grill, Dallas, Texas

Florida death metal veterans Morbid Angel has embarked on their 2019 USA Sickness headlining tour which includes main support from Sweden’s Watain and fellow death metal veterans Incantation. The tour which consists of 26 – dates began in Houston on November 21 will conclude in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, December 21, 2019 thus closing out the decade in grand death metal fashion.

Only five months have passed since Incantation last graced the Gas Monkey Bar and Grill stage. The band was supporting its 2017 Profane Nexus release through Relapse Records.

As with their previous appearance in June, Incantation fronted by founding member John McEntee once again delivered to the healthy gathering of supportive Dallas fans.

Unfortunately, on-stage mobility was extremely limited but McEntee did work both sides of the stage to the Incantation faithful during their short set. The allotted time was the only disappointment once Incantation left the stage.

Due to issues with a random US Customs officer involving guitarist Pelle Forsberg, Sweden’s Watain was forced to cancel their set the previous night in Houston. Due to the entry denial of Forsberg, the band will be forced to perform as a four-piece for the entire tour.

Even though Watain had minimal time to rehearse and prepare as a four-piece instead of a five-piece, the band easily primed the crowd with their brand of Swedish Black Metal. An ideal and fitting tour slot for their evil and intense presentation.

Fresh off opening night of the tour, Morbid Angel rolled into Dallas at the Gas Monkey Bar and Grill for a second consecutive night of fresh sickness supporting their Kingdoms Disdained release. The album which released in 2017 features bassist and vocalist Steve Tucker who returned back to the Morbid Angel camp in 2015.

The temperature which was creeping downward in the low 40’s by the time Morbid Angel took to the stage but that didn’t seem to faze the members of Morbid Angel at all. It was the first time that the band graced the stage at the Gas Monkey outdoor venue.

To Tucker, the chill was a more of a greeting that Hell Froze Over as he told the crowd while founding and lone original member Trey Azagthoth sported black cargo shorts and flipflops.

With their heavy, thick death metal sound, Morbid Angel proceeded to treat the dense crowd to “Piles of Little Arms,” “D.E.A.D”. and “Garden of Disdain,” the first three tracks off Kingdoms Disdain and then Architect and Iconoclast, the fifth track.

As Morbid Angel made their way through the set, the band was instantly greeted with approval.

For the majority of the night, Morbid Angel relied on material from earlier in the band’s career. Albums like Altars of Madness, Blessed are the Sick, Covenant, as well as Gateways to Annihilation and Formulas Fatal to the Flesh contributed to the 14 – song set, steady and straight forward.

Tucker’s voice was full of strength and had that death metal gravel sound as he addressed the crowd throughout the night. Azagthoth’s playing was solid, tight and technical with unique offerings such as the utilization of a fishing bobber attached to the nut area of his seven-string, black Ibanez Mo Nukes guitar.  

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To Tucker’s right, guitarist Dan Vadim Von dressed in all black including a long-sleeve Morbid Angel logo shirt with the sleeves pushed up and Morbid Angel wrist bands commanded his side of the stage. Von stayed anchored near his pedalboard but at times would move back closer to the cabinets adding to that heavy Morbid Angel live sound. Nothing fancy was needed, just pure heaviness with that death metal edge is all that was needed.

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For the second night of a lengthy tour, Morbid Angel presented a solid set to the Dallas crowd. The return of Tucker is a welcoming sight to the Morbid Angel fans.