Dying Fetus Make It to the Capital With Reissues on the Way

On Nov. 21, one of the biggest death metal tours of the year made it's way to Washington, D.C.'s Rock and Roll Hotel. Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Vital Remains and Devourment brought the brutal, and their fans brought the mosh.

"That was a good, ugly pit. I love that s--- man!" Devourment frontman Mike Majewski said to the nearly-sold-out venue. It was almost as if Maryland Deathfest came a little early this year -- and moved 45 minutes south.

The bands had to play on a very tiny stage. When Rock 'n' Roll Hotel was built, the owners must have been thinking acoustic players, punk bands and DJs, because there is no way they were thinking death metal bands -- with huge stacks and giant drum rigs -- would ever play on a stage that size. While it must have been a hellish experience for the bands, it was awesome for the crowd. No matter how far back you were from the stage, you still felt close to the action.

Aside from Cannibal Corpse, the most anticipated band of the night was Dying Fetus. Founder John Gallagher grew up just outside of D.C. in Prince George's County of Maryland, giving the show some hometown pride. A big "fetus" chant started as the trio set up, however the repetition made it sound more like "feed us, feed us, feed us."

Then they busted into 'Praise the Lord' from 2000's 'Destroy the Opposition' without an intro, and not one human was standing still. You were either dancing, headbanging or having someone crash into you.

"Thanks for coming out and supporting f---ing brutal death metal," Gallagher said. Like most Dying Fetus shows, they played a variety of songs from their discography. And while that can be cool for people who have never seen the band before, this writer wished Fetus would play more song's from their latest album, 'Descend into Depravity'.

In 2011, Relapse will be reissuing the band's earlier efforts. 'Infatuation With Malevolence' and 'Purification Through Violence' become available Jan. 18, and 'Killing On Adrenaline' and 'Grotesque Impalement' are released March 1. Dying Fetus will be on tour throughout Europe in early 2011 as well.