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The Absence took the stage to a huge ovation from rabid fans ready for a night of metal. They didn't dull the enthesiasm with their blistering 25 minute long set. Their singer, who looks similar to Jimmy Bowers of Eyehategod, was a great bearded frontman. His voice sounded great and he kept the energy level up as the musicians surrounding him were impressive. I was especially awed at how fast their drummer played. The singer tricked the crowd towards the end of their set by separating them, making people think a Wall of Death was coming. Instead, he had one side scream "Fuck" and the other side scream "Yeah" three times before going into a song (this did lead to a pretty brutal pit though).
The first verse and chorus of Goatwhore's set sounded absolutely terrible, with the drums and vocals drowning everything out. The soundman quickly got his act together, and they sounded great after that, surprisingly full for a being a metal band with only one guitarist. The drummer was especially fun to watch (most metal drummers are), making good use of his huge kit. The singer had a wicked cool narrator type talkign voice that I enjoyed almost as much as the songs themselves.
The Red Chord may very well be the most fun band in metal. Granted, their songs are flat out brutal and heavy, but they always play with a smile and seem to have a great time on stage, which rubs off on the crowd. In addition to that, they are also one of the best live metal bands out there, something they again proved during their set. I came to the realization that they sound so good live that their recorded material (which is still enjoyable) pales in comparison. They have so much energy and sound so full onstage that it was hard to blame the guy next to me for continously headbanging (though like he was listening to hip hop) throughout their set, whether they were playing or not.
The Black Dahlia Murder were fast. Every song featured quick riffs and a machine gun blast beat. They had the crowd in a tizzy from the moment they took the stage, leaving them begging for one more song after they finished their set. They played a good mixture of songs from their three Metal Blade albums, with them playing the most off of Miasma. The new songs sounded good, with Trevor Strnad's high voice being more screamy than it is on Nocturnal. Everything they played was super fast and super tight, a lot of fun to watch.
I didn't stay for much of Cannibal Corpse's set due to something that happened, but I did like what I saw. They made good use of their long hair on stage, constantly headbanging and doing the long hair twirl (or just having the hair cover their faces). Corpsegrinder's deep voice was so deep at times taht it almost blended in with the bass, which I thought was awesome. They played some old songs, including "Vomit the Soul," the last song I heard before I left the very satisfied venue.