Gearing up for what is sure to be one crazy-ass metal show, the staff at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom at the Manhattan Center aren't sure what to expect. Audience members pass through metal detectors more than once, are frisked, and warned that there is no re-entry. The crowd, in turn, is a little bewildered by the thorough precautions -- most of them being the type of T-shirt- and tank top-clad every-dudes who don't actually pose any threat. But this is, perhaps, a testament to the intensity of the bands playing at such an historic, elegant venue: Meshuggah and The Black Dahlia Murder are huge by metal standards, but most definitely extreme acts, about to perform their extreme music in a massive space that's usually only played in small clubs. The venue is ready for anything, and the fans in tow are willing to deal with whatever it takes to see these guys play live.
The Black Dahlia Murder open the night with some much-needed melodic death metal, satisfying the itch for awesome macabre extremity before the barrage of non-Euclidian mathcore begins. The Detroit quintet look at home on the spacious stage, a testament to the near-constant touring and festival circuits they have under their belts these days. Frontman Trevor Strnad lopes excitedly from one side of the stage to the other, pumping his fists or conducting the band’s riffs with hilarious flicks of his hands. The band rip through a mix of fan favorites like Miasma and What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse and new classics like Jars and the title track from 2017's Nightbringers. The crowd eats it up, rallying excitedly around the slowly-tightening circle pit that dominates the center of the standing-room floor.