Cryptopsy, 200 Stab Wounds, Inferi, Corpse Pile
Cryptopsy, 200 Stab Wounds, Inferi, Corpse Pile
22/01/2026
Manchester Club Academy
Live Review by Oli Gonzalez
January is the quietest month of the year for live music, right? You clearly wouldn’t believe that if you were in Manchester on this Thursday night for one of the heaviest line ups the city had seen in recent memory! A blend of hungry youth in the shape of Corpse Pile, 200 Stab Wounds, and Inferi aimed to provide a glimpse into the future of the death metal genre. A death metal genre that a certain Canadian band helped to shape. Cryptopsy. One of the most respected names in the brutal death metal world, they had arrived in Europe to celebrate the release of their seminal album “None So Vile”. All of these factors lead to the show selling out, speaking to the love of extreme metal in Manchester.
Corpse Pile
Despite being perhaps the smallest on the lineup, Corpse Pile demonstrated that they’re not here to make up the numbers! Their music blunt and on the nose, there was nothing aesthetic nor was their any intention of being. This was brutal death metal played the way it should be. An old school feel much like that of Suffocation characterised their sound with songs like ‘Stacking Bodies’ and ‘Where The Sidewalk Ends’, causing the pits to open within the first song! Vocalist Jason was charismatic with the crowd easily warming to him, though he spoke with a passion and anger about the shape of the world in a way that felt genuine, an anger that was channelled through his ferocious vocal performance. We learned that this was amongst the band’s first ever shows in Europe; it won’t be their last.
https://www.facebook.com/CorpsePileTXDM
Inferi
Bringing a more melodic and technical death metal edge, it felt as though these elements struggled to shine through at first. Maybe because the stage sound was catered for the other bands on the lineup, with a more brutal and dirty bass heavy sound. Though these issues seemed to disappear during ‘Eyes Of Boundless Black’, with the guitars sounding bright and full. We were treated to new songs, such as ‘Rapture Of Deadlight’, from the upcoming album. Old, new, it didn’t matter. The crowd clearly loved them and showed their appreciation by going airborne and handing Inferi the title of having the first crowd surfers of the evening. Vocalist Stevie seemed to like the idea and decided to join in too, whilst still resuming vocal duties in a highlight of the set!
https://www.facebook.com/Inferimetal
200 Stab Wounds
Having pulled one of the largest crowds of the weekend during their last visit to the city at Damnation 2024, the array of their t-shirts within the crowd should have been a nod to their highly anticipated return. Tonight was no exception as it felt the busiest and most packed out when it was time for them to take to the stage. With every strike of the snare drum, every time a plectrum smacked the guitar strings, and from every single vocal utterance, it’s clear to see why. They’ve carefully studied the foundations of death metal and injected new life into the genre with a blistering hardcore edge dripping in primitive angst! This clearly resonated with the younger crowd this evening, and this may be the last time we see them perform in such a small venue again!
https://www.facebook.com/200StabWounds
Cryptopsy
From the future of death metal to one of the forefathers of the genre in the shape of headline act Cryptopsy. Getting us all ready for a sing-along as the iconic ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ by Metallica rang out on the PA wasn’t on my bingo card. As Cryptopsy is anything but a sing-along! This is amongst the gnarliest of gnarly extreme music. A band that simply doesn’t care if you like them or not. They play brutal death metal in their own fierce style. Slamming blast beats played at neck-breaking speeds incited circle pit after circle pit, with more crowd surfers keeping the security staff busy (and they did a great job at keeping everybody safe despite the carnage). Despite being a celebration set for “None So Vile”, the introduction of some newer songs seemed unusual, but worked. Again, the people in the pits really wouldn’t have cared what songs they played! The level of chaos would have been exactly the same. Once the last note had finished ringing out, the tsunami of fans that descended towards the merch stand would have meant a nice, fat payday for the bands. By god they deserved it!
https://www.facebook.com/cryptopsyofficial
Another fine gem brought to us by Tapestry Promotions!
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Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Oli Gonzalez and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
