Exhumed kicks off the week with a brutal Bottleneck show

September 12, 2023

Nick Spacek,

Exhumed. // photo by Nick Spacek

Exhumed
with Incite, Bleed the Victim, and Blood Scent
The Bottleneck
Monday, September 11

On Monday, an off day from the Cavalera Conspiracy tour, the Bottleneck got two of that package’s opening acts to bring area metalheads some joy after a rainy day. After opening sets from Topeka’s Bleed the Victim and Blood Scent, as well as tourmates Incite, California deathgrind band Exhumed took to the stage to musically pummel the absolute fuck out of a black t-shirt clad crowd.

The show was small, but mighty—the numbers made up for by enthusiasm from attendees, who crammed up near the stage rather than hide in the back, as well as the performers, who played as though the Bottleneck was packed to the gills.

When a band walks onstage to the intro for Alfred Hitchcock’s Music to Be Murdered By, you know things are going to be brutal. When their amps have video screens playing a series of images from horror films, you know things are going to be brutal. But when Exhumed starts playing, you’re still not prepared for just how pummeling this band is going to be. I don’t recall the last time I saw Exhumed, but it was long enough ago that I’d completely forgotten just how fast and loud and ow fuck my tinnitus the band is.

It’s a physical experience, it’s a musical experience, and mother of all that’s holy, it’s a great way to end a day and kick off your week when you get to have your hair blown back and ass thoroughly kicked by Exhumed. They took an angle grinder to their guitar strings and shot sparks everywhere, y’all. You need to be prepared.

Incite. // photo by Nick Spacek

Thrash/groove metal act Incite seemed to whip up just as much enthusiasm among concert-goers as the headliners. Their insane level of low end combined with double kicks made for an intense experience, regardless of whether you were in front of the stage or back by the bar.

They told a story of waking up that morning with a busted alternator 200 miles away. Thanks to a “cool as fuck” towtruck driver and a mechanic named Norman, they made the show. Seemingly still fueled by whatever adrenalin they’d likely felt hours before, Incite played a set which felt as though they were getting out a week’s worth of frustration, rather than a day’s.

Bleed the Victim. // photo by Nick Spacek

Topeka’s Bleed the Victim is a powerful foursome who are just as great on the mic as they are musicians. “Let’s keep this fuck shack rolling” as a song intro might not work for every crowd, but the back-and-forth heckling from crowd to band and back again showed just how much these Top City metalheads are beloved by their friends and peers. A plug for Torn the Fuck Apart’s forthcoming album was par for the course, as well.

“This is for some booty shakers” was the intro to “Slaveless Mind,” which swung harder than it had any right to. “Within Us” previewed Bleed the Victim’s next EP by slowing things down in its intro before turning into a sleekly-efficient number which cut furiously between thrashy tech metal and hooky grooves before a spiraling instrumental middle. It spun my head right around and I wanna hear more.

Blood Scent. // photo by Nick Spacek

Openers Blood Scent, also hailing from Topeka, went for brutality in riffs, rhythms, and vocals, but weren’t afraid to engage in lengthy instrumental passages which opened up their sound. This isn’t all fretwork and speed–the quartet knows how to perform and mix things up. They kicked things off about 15 minutes before the show was officially listed as starting, so their first few songs playing to a scant audience, but as fans made their way in, their progressive metal drew folks near the stage. It was especially impressive given that this was only their third or fourth show.

Exhumed

Exhumed setlist
Drained of Color
Rank and Defiled
Defenders of the Grave
Necrocracy
Guitar Doodle
Ravenous Cadavers
Playing With Fear
Dysmorphic
Decrepit Crescendo
As Hammer to Anvil
Lysergicide
Coins Upon the Eyes
Limb From Limb
Utter Mutilation of Your Corpse
Utter Mutilation of Your Corpse (yes, they played it twice, because the crowd demanded it)
Open the Abscess