Tonight the crowd arrived early at the Observatory in Santa Ana, CA. Lines started forming in the early afternoon and rightfully so as tonight's event was Sold Out. Obituary was here to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of their debut album, Slowly We Rot. Tonight would prove to be a wild night of pure metal and mayhem.

Things got started with Devil Master who recently made their LA debut when they opened for Lucifer. These guys have a strong buzz going after releasing their first album earlier this year. These Philadelphia natives stake their claim as one of the most venomous, twisted entities in the underground with their hellish debut album, Satan Spits on Children of Light. These guys blast through some killer songs which are a mix of metal, punk and music that would make any parent cringe. If you plan to see this tour, definitely recommend getting their early and checking them out.

Next up were the hooded masked trio known as Midnight.  The band is Cleveland based and just released the single, "Rebirth By Blasphemy", this month along with instrumental B-side titled "Afterbirth." This is their first release on Metal Blade Records with their new album due out early next year. If you've never seen these guys play, you are definitely missing out. Tonight they played fan favorites like "You Can't Stop Steele," "Satanic Royalty," "Endless Slut," "Black Rock N' Roll", just to name a few.

Some folks from the crowd started to make their way on to the stage and that's when bodies started flying everywhere. Stage diving and jumping into the crowd was now the norm for the evening. What a killer performance from these guys who only get better and better. They concluded their set with the infamous "Unholy and Rotten."

Abbath took the stage next. This was my first time seeing these guys. Abbath is a black metal band that formed back in 2015 by former Immortal guitarist and vocalist Abbath Doom Occulta. These guys came out with their black metal stage gear and corpse paint. They look like they came straight out of the dark depths of hell. A heavy set of Norwegian black metal with songs like "Count the Dead," "Bridge of Spasms," "Harvest Pyre," and "Outsider." They also played two Immortal songs, "In My Kingdom Cold" and "Tyrants." Another set you don't want to miss on this tour.

Next was time for Obituary. They came out and started their set with the brutal instrumental song "Redneck Stomp." This got the crowd ready for the brutal set that consisted of fan favorites like "Threatening Skies," "By the Light," "Chopped in Half," "Straight to Hell," and "Suffocation".  The crowd was just as intense as the band as the moshing, headbanging, and stage diving never relented. Obituary's set definitely had an old-school 80's underground metal vibe to it. The band concluded their set with an encore that included "A Dying World" and "Slowly We Rot."

Be sure to catch this tour if it comes your way. This is a must see. Click HERE for tour dates.