The Black Dahlia Murder Bring Spring Fling Tour to Hartford
A Friday night in Connecticut brought metal fans to The Webster in Hartford for The Black Dahlia Murder and its Spring Fling tour. Anytime you see a four-band card, you know it’s going to be loud and unforgiving. And totally worth it. TBDM brought along their friends from The Acacia Strain, Disembodied Tyrant and Corpse Pile and crammed onto the small stage. Gear was everywhere, barely leaving enough room for the first band to move around.
CORPSE PILE
Corpse Pile opened things with a quick, but heavy set. Between songs, they touched on their recent run through Europe before shifting into a blunt take on the state of American politics, making it clear this Texas band doesn’t aligning with either side. The message received a positive reaction from the crowd. And to their credit, they backed up their talk with their performance.
DISEMBODIED TYRANT
Disembodied Tyrant followed with an equally heavy set. There was a relaxed confidence in how they carried themselves on stage. Well, except for guitarist Dominic Petrocelli. He’s that one friend who you know is a bit unhinged, but the party wouldn’t be the same without them!
You could tell the band was road-tested. Small moments like troubleshooting gear mid-song or exchanging cues with the drummer, it all felt second nature.
THE ACACIA STRAIN
By the time The Acacia Strain took the stage, the room at The Webster had filled in completely. It was great to hear them live for the first time and defintely would recommend to anyone looking to add new rotation into their playlist. Frontman Vincent Bennett is a veteran at crowdwork, letting fans sing into the mic or giving his bandmates are hard time while playing. He did stop at one moment to talk about going through a lot of loss in the last year and gave the crowd a reminder to check in on their mental health and to stay here.
By the time The Acacia Strain took the stage, the room at The Webster was full. For my first time seeing them live, it is clear why they have such a loyal following. Frontman Vincent Bennett is a veteran at crowdwork. He kept things loose by messing with his bandmates while playing or letting fans take the mic to sing.
He did slowed things down for to speak candidly about the amount of loss he has experienced over the past year. It was an important reminder to on your people, take care of your mental health, and to stay here. The band dropped into the next song and it was back to the crowd surfing and chaos.
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER
Now with the stage finally clear of all the extra gear, The Black Dahlia Murder had plenty of room to take control of the room. Frontman Brian Eschbach was dressed to impress — in a tuxedo t-shirt! The band tore late into the Friday night with a massive 22-song set. At a certain point, when you settle into that flow at a metal show, you stop keeping track of songs. It all starts to blend into one long, heavy, therapeutic thrash session. The band left no doubt why they are considered a major influence for today’s deathcore bands.
For lot of people in the room, the headbanging didn’t end there. The next night meant making the trip down to New Haven to catch August Burns Red and The Amity Affliction. This was just the start of a full weekend of metal and moshing!
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