South American heavy metal innovators Max and Iggor Cavalera grabbed the Summit Music Hall by the throat last Saturday night with the help of New York heathens Immolation and Maryland death dispensers Full of Hell.

The Cavalera duo, who formed the oft-cited influence Sepultura in the mid-80s, tore through a 20th anniversary set of their 1996 release Roots. The record was performed from start to finish, but not before the openers pitched their searing noise to the crowd.

Opening the evening were sets from The Medina Grooves and Denver’s Eye of Minerva.  Eye of Minerva performed their lauded mile high death metal and The Medina Grooves showcased a blend between reggae and metal (interesting, I know — check it out here.)

  
Full of Hell vocalist Dylan Walker and drummer Dave Bland

Perhaps the name Full of Hell gives listeners an impression of what flavor of dark music they are about to hear. The Maryland quartet is a singular breed of young bands who are also one of the most exciting and one of the most powerful on stage. Full of Hell teeters between frantic grind sections and sludgy drones drowned in stifling waves of noise. Frontman Dylan Walker gives a writhing, pained performance as he delivers bowel-churning growls into the mic. The group keeps the audience on their toes using crunchy guitar tones, feedback, blast beats and electronics. It’s this marriage of pain and the brevity of aggressive cuts that has made FoH a worthwhile live act.

  
New York death metal act Immolation

It has been almost five years since New York icons Immolation last performed in Denver and this return to the stage was worth the wait. The band maintains their regard as top tier musicians both in the studio and in a live setting, as they are among the tightest in metal. Lead vocalist Ross Dolan exacts a thundering, strangely decipherable growl while providing crushing low end breaks on the song “Fostering the Divide.” Ross looks the part of Cousin Itt as his hair shrouds his body, the neck of his bass and hangs on the mic stand like cobwebs.

Immolation hones sharp chords and oddly timed leads throughout songs like “Majesty and Decay” and “Destructive Currents”. The verse work is heavy on pinch harmonics and the solos heavy on the wails thanks to lead guitarist Rob Vigna. Vigna employs jazz-hand dexterity when soloing, swinging the fretboard wildly through the air and giving new meaning to the Flying V. Their live musicianship is truly remarkable and superior, shown best on the cuts “Immolation” and “A Glorious Epoch”.

  
Max Cavalera playing a Berimbau before the song “Attitude”

Saturday became colder, the streets became crowded and the Cavalera brothers returned to the stage to return to their roots. Vocalist and guitarist Max Cavalera and drummer Iggor received a big response from the crowd upon entering the stage. The Cavaleras (both donning Full of Hell t-shirts), guitarist Marc Rizzo and bassist Tony Campos launched into the lead track from Roots and the crowd proceeded to lose it.

“Roots Bloody Roots” saw heavy crowd participation as Max screamed “Roooooooots! Bloody Roots!” into the mic. The audience continued to respond heavily to more well-known cuts from the album such as “Attitude” and “Ratamahatta”. Max Cavalera continuously requested the audience to scream along with the lyrics, to which they obliged and took it upon themselves to expand the circumference of the pit. “Breed Apart” and “Spit” garnered a big response as well.

Though Sepultura continues to record albums and tour without these two founding members, many metalheads would favor to see a reunion of the classic lineup. Some fans even claim that seeing Max and Iggor perform in their newer group Cavalera Conspiracy is the closest one can come to a true Sepultura performance. This return to a classic Sepultura release awarded fans with a unique performance, regardless of the current lineup performing.