On their day off from the Obituary tour they were supporting through Germany and Europe, Macabre decided to kidnap the two other support-bands on the tour and give old Denmark a visit.
Try and guess if we were thrilled about this decision…

Macabre were playing at Konfus, a youth activity centre in the old tobacco factory in Esbjerg. I’ve been to the tobacco factory before for a concert, but it wasn’t in the Konfus part, so it was in a way a first for me, and I can only say I recommend the place; very welcoming staff, and very, very reasonable prices!
But enough about that, it’s the show we’re interested in here, right? Damn right it is.

The place had been alarmingly empty at the beginning of the evening when the two support bands had played, but when it was drawing nearer Macabre’s time to hit the stage, more people were filling in by the minute, and after a while the small concert room was getting crowded and warm. Luckily, the bar was nearby to quench the rising thirst in our throats.
The rising thirst in our ears was to be quenched in something quite different though, as the Chicago based murder metal band took the stage.
Well, took and took, actually it was more like loafing about really, but that’s just part of the charm with Macabre. When you see them, you really don’t think much of it; they are far removed from any type of make up wearing and/or excessively dressed guys, like you might find in the glam or power metal genres, and neither are they all dressed in black leather with pentagrams and inverted crosses all over. No, these guys show up just the way you’d expect to see them on the street, in well-worn jeans and simple t-shirts, and then they catch you completely off guard just like the monstrous people their songs are about would do if they had a chance. Only, Macabre won’t kill you, they’ll only show you a really, really good time during the time they perform! And they’re hospitable people off stage as well, but that’s another story...

The setlist, which had been lengthened quite a bit compared to the rest of the tour due to Macabre’s recently gained headliner status, began with a treat from the Dahmer album, Dog Guts, and through the night we got a good mix from all of the bands full-length albums as well as a short visit to their debut Grim Reality in Serial Killer, and even that one wondrous EP Morbid Campfire Tales by the wickedly addictive Macabre Minstrels, with the humorous yet deadly song The Cat Came Back.
Macabre also proved how present they were and how willing they were to adapt to the wishes from the crowd; thus after several lengthy shouts from a guy wearing a Grim Reality t-shirt and a seriously patched up vest, we also got the Venom cover Countess Bathory, a song which had not been written on the setlist for the evening.
Had it not been for Countess Bathory however, we would only have gotten two songs from the Grim Scary Tales album, and even though they were both excellent choices, it was still a shame that this album went a bit neglected compared to the rest of their discography.

Looking away from the set for a minute to cast an eye on the technical stuff instead, it seemed like Lance ‘Corporate Death’ Lencioni had quite an issue with the sound issuing from his monitor speakers. Either that, or he was extremely nitpicky with how things should sound, as it took about five songs before the sound-guy got it right, or Corporate Death simply gave up asking...
It should be mentioned here though that outwards the sound was very good, and the only thing I would have changed, if anything, was to bring the vocals up just a little. Other than that things came through very clearly, and we really got to hear what good musicians we were dealing with here.
Macabre aren’t just good musicians though, they are also performers of god-given grace (if such a term can be applied to a band like this). They work with minimal tools, but use them perfectly to create an atmosphere; avid readers probably remember me mentioning an active performance being preferable to an inactive one. Well, Corporate Death and Charles ‘Nefarious’ Lescewicz aren’t exactly running around the stage or jumping all over the place, and neither is Dennis ‘The Menace’ Ritchie for obvious reasons; what we do get is a large set of fitting facial expressions, a great contact with the crowd, and I’ve mentioned this earlier, a superb presence! Whatever happened in the crowd, the musicians were right there with it, absorbing and reacting to what was happening. Once you’ve seen enough shows which play out on pure routine (and you know a lot of them do, even some good ones), you’ll learn to appreciate improvisation as part of the show all the more.

Part of the show was classic Macabre though, and here I speak of the speeches that Corporate Death make as an introduction to each and every song they play. The last time we saw them, these speeches were skipped, and they were sorely missed as my review from that time can tell you. Here at Konfus they were back in however, and Corporate Death didn’t skimp out on the gory details!
Now, just because the band members didn’t move around all too much, it doesn’t mean that they didn’t get warm, and as a part of battling this the band had to drink a lot; so much in fact that partway through the evening the concert had to be put on a temporary hold as the band called for more beer to be brought to the stage! Dennis The Menace suffered the worst though, and could between many songs be seen diving after a towel, or simply hunching over on his stool to catch his breath; he had a sincerely thankful expression on his face when Mary Bell and The Cat Came Back were played, as drums aren’t part of either of these. I also noticed about the former of these, that the live version had an extra verse in comparison to the album version. It seems it has always been this way, and I can’t say why I haven’t noticed before...

The band members weren’t the only ones getting sweaty though, as the frontline of the audience was wildly swinging its long hair along to the music. Behind this act of air-conditioning things were a little bit let physical, but that’s not to say people didn’t look like they were enjoying themselves. In fact, some people were possibly enjoying themselves a bit more than is advisable. Remember the guy in the Macabre t-shirt and the patched vest? Well, he was in the front-line... Some of the time... When he wasn’t falling over, or staggering onto the stage to speak to the band!
Nothing bad that doesn’t bring something good with it though; he got Corporate Death to advertise for the upcoming release of his bands’ debut album! (if interested, the band was Bone, and Metalmoments have reviewed one of their concerts)
I do believe that the amount of people in the concert room had diminished nearing the end of the show, but this could simply be on the count of people going out to the bar to get a refreshment before coming back in. When the show was done however, people were mostly quick to leave the place, but not without visiting the merch table first, which provided a score of interesting items. For those who stayed behind just a little bit longer, the band soon joined the party, and were happily handing out autographs and posing for pictures. It felt both odd and warming when Nefarious wished us a safe trip home upon leaving...

My, or I should actually say ours as Lunah (Lauridsen, our photographer) shares my opinion on this one, feelings about this show can’t come as a surprise to you after the review – I loved every second of it!
This was well worth driving all across the country for, and even being half-dead at work the next day due to lack of sleep, and I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Do I regret Obituary, the actual headliner of the tour, not taking part in this? Certainly not, I would much rather have the extra time with Macabre!

Setlist:

Dog Guts
Nero’s Inferno
Trial
The Iceman
Night Stalker
The Wüstenfeld Man Eater
Serial Killer
Mary Bell
Zodiac
The Bloody Benders
The Cat Came Back
Fritz Haarman Der Metzger
Scrub A Dub Dub
Countess Bathory (Venom cover)
You’re Dying To Be With Me
Hitchhiker
Vampire Of Düsseldorf