Nunslaughter Ravage West Philadelphia

A drafty warehouse decorated with band stickers and broken glass, surrounded by the kind of neighborhood one might charitably label 'sketchy,' the Where?House is one of the many illegal venues operating out of wild West Philly's concrete jungle, and -- judging by Nov. 7's show -- the best. The night kicked off with local thrashers Vulcan and Baltimore, Murderland death/thrash horde Marrow, to the black-clad, dreadlocked, patched, leathered and wasted crowd's delight.

Philly boys Hessian thrashed their way through a blistering set of '80s-inspired tunes with aplomb, but it was clear that the crowd was getting antsy for the main event. As true underground legends, Ohioan death metallers Nunslaughter have been spewing forth their blasphemous 'devil metal' assault since 1987. They only play a few shows a year, and the Where?House was packed to the gills with heshers waiting to catch a rare first-hand glimpse at the carnage to come.

We were not disappointed. As the unholy quartet tore through song after song of evil thrashing madness, the floor opened up into a sea of moshing, circle-pitting, headbanging maniacs that sent each other skidding across the beer-slicked floor and nearly crashing into the band. Fists were raised, beer cans peppered the air, blood was shed, and Philadelphia raged.

As drummer Jim Sadist rocked the 'sunglasses at night' look and regaled the crowd in a comically over-the-top 'evil' voice (think Crypt Keeper with a sore throat), Don of the Dead, Reaper and Zack Massacre were a blur of tangled hair and flying fingers, spitting out much-loved classics like 'I Hate Christians' and 'Midnight Mass' and doing their best to dodge the bodies shooting past their guitars. The show ended promptly at midnight (now that's punk-tual!) and afterwards, the band members made it a point to talk to every fan and sign every CD booklet and flyer that came their way before heading back off into the night.