Deterioration could be heard a block away from the Riverside Municipal Auditorium, where I had parked, on Friday, Oct. 9. Inside, a small mosh pit was already moving, fans were lining up for merchandise downstairs, and the evening’s five-band bill was just getting started.
By the time Dying Fetus took the stage at 10:10pm, crowd-surfers were dropping into the photo pit before the second song even began.
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Headlined by Dying Fetus and Sanguisugabogg, with special guests Crowbar, Left to Suffer and Deterioration rounding out the bill, the show brought together fans for an evening of heavy music, flying hair and bodies held above the crowd. Along the way, the bands made a point of saying who belonged there: everyone.
Stephen Day
Deterioration opened with what the band describes as “Brutal Midwest Grindcore,” supplying enough volume to announce the show to approaching concertgoers well before they reached the doors. The main floor was still filling in, with a modest pit operating near the stage while the merchandise line competed for attention downstairs.
Stephen Day
The audience packed the floor during Left to Suffer’s set as the band sustained the intensity and volume of Deterioration’s musical onslaught. Fans settled in with plenty of encouragement from the stage to get the mosh pit circling and crowd-surfers flying over the rails.
Stephen Day
Crowbar brought a noticeable change of pace. The New Orleans sludge metal band’s slower, clearly defined rhythms gave the evening a different feel, and the audience responded with enthusiasm. Onstage, the bassist’s hair flew as he played; in front of him, a crowd-surfer rose above a sea of heads, bringing the action on both sides of the barrier.
Stephen Day
The response suggested Crowbar had drawn plenty of fans of their own. When the lead vocalist asked how many people had not yet been born in 1993, a sea of hands went up. Crowbar has recently seen a surge in new fans after Gen Z TikTok users "discovered" the band's ultra-heavy, slow, and crushing guitar riffs. The viral wave has launched their monthly listeners from around 80K to well over a million.
His farewell offered another moment worth remembering: “Brothers and sisters, and everyone in between.”
Stephen Day
Sanguisugabogg made that welcome even more explicit.
“All shades, all shapes, all sizes, all genders!” the vocalist declared during a speech about inclusion. He also delivered a blunt warning against groping women in the crowd, making it clear that crowd-surfing was no excuse for unwanted touching. Then towards the end of the set led the crowd in a chant of "Fuck AI."
Stephen Day
The band’s gruesome humor remained fully intact. A shoutout to newlywed friends from their hometown Columbus, Ohio, who had driven an hour and a half to attend led to an unconventional wedding dedication, a "song about fucking dead people," “Felony Abuse of a Corpse.”
Stephen Day
Dying Fetus then received an immediate physical response from the audience. Before the second song got underway, crowd-surfers were already flying over the barrier and into the photo pit. With a set list full of
Stephen Day
Across five bands, the night moved from Deterioration’s opening onslaught through Crowbar’s slower grooves to Dying Fetus’ eager crowd. And amid the volume and movement, Crowbar and Sanguisugabogg delivered a shared message: there was room here for everyone and everyone was welcome.
