Seattle speed metal warriors Vanishment released their latest album, “…And Now We Die” on January 23 (read my review!), and to celebrate they held an album release show on January 31 at Baba Yaga in Seattle, WA. The show was a full-on speed / thrash showcase of local talent, featuring 3 local support bands along with the headliner Vanishment. The only band I had seen live was Acerbity, and I was quite familiar with the brand new Vanishment album, but I had not even heard of the other 2 bands (Violent Insurrection, Ursawrath). I love supporting the local scene and also getting exposure to bands I previously did not know, so I was looking forward to this show!

Seattle local thrash / death metal band Violent Insurrection kicked off the night. They are a 5-piece with dueling guitar action, thick bass, crushing drums, and an aggressive growly vocal attack. Musically it reminded me a lot of Slayer, just with a more death metal vocal approach. The songs were fast and furious and super technical, and they brought a ton of energy to the stage as an opener should!

Violent Insurrection played a 5-song set, all of which will be on their upcoming album release currently slated for June. The songs were:

1. Chaos
2. Misinformation (The Lie Is the Truth)
3. Dead in a Ditch
4. Broken on the Wheel
5. Arson

The second band of the night was local Seattle quartet Ursawrath, self-described as progressive thrash. They brought a variety of influences to the table, including thrash, speed, and even some doomy sludge. All the musicians were great, but I was particularly impressed with the drummer. His playing definitely fit the progressive tag, and I would love to see him truly let loose!

Ursawrath played a 6-song set, with 4 from their latest album, “Emergence,” as well as two brand new songs. The setlist was:

1. Thrive in Destruction and Death
2. The Radical Hatred Will Fall (new song)
3. Kill with a Clean Hand (new song)
4. In the Abyss
5. Glass Tower
6. Rot

Local thrash trio Acerbity played third. I had seen them once before, at Hail Santa in December, and I was impressed with their energy and technical skill. For a band of 3, their sound is big and heavy, helped by the ridiculous technical prowess of the bass player to drive the rhythm. His fingers never seem to stop moving, enabling the guitarist, who is pretty incredible himself, to just go off consistently. It turns out this was the drummer’s last live show with the band, and he had a lot of crowd support as he ripped through each song. The show was a lot of fun and a great lead-in to the headliner.

Setlist

Acerbity started with a drum intro and then proceeded to play 5 songs, including a brand new single that was being released the next day. The setlist was:

1. Intro / End of the Line
2. Suits (new single)
3. L.O.L. (Beer Song)
4. Casualty of Conformity
5. Guilty Conscience

Seattle speed metal band Vanishment finally took the stage as headliners, celebrating the release of their sophomore album, “…And Now We Die.” I had never seen them perform before, and honestly, I didn’t become familiar with them until January of this year. I follow Acerbity on Instagram since seeing them at Hail Santa in December, and they made a post for this show that I took note of. In parallel, the Vanishment album showed up in one of the upcoming album release lists I am tracking that I consider for reviews. This combo made it an obvious choice to check out, particularly since the new album had me hooked! They carry a lot of that 90’s speed metal attitude, with occasional thrash flourishes and odes to traditional heavy metal. Live, they were incredible, blending their speed and technicality with a ton of energy and incredible stage presence. Lead vocalist Rob is a great frontman, with a powerful delivery, great interactions with the rest of the band members, and superb crowd engagement (evidenced by some of the pictures below!). It was such a great show, and what a way to celebrate the release of a new album!

Vanishment played their entire brand new album, which I really appreciated since, at least to me, that is the entire point of an album release show (though so many bands don’t do this!). The first half of the set mixed up the album order a bit, but the backhalf of the set exactly matched the album track order. They also incorporated a handful of samples to serve as song intros in a few spots that added some nice atmosphere during the set. I loved hearing these songs live, and they translated perfectly from the album. The setlist was:

1. War Crow Intro / Die in My Shelter
2. Darkened Innocence
3. How I Bleed
4. Steel Demise
5. Scarred in Reverse (Sample) / Scarred in Fate
6. Engraved Under Skin
7. Storm Coming (Sample) / Unleash the Storm
8. Conviction
9. Ellipsis Edit / Ashes and Bone

Vanishment was the reason I came to this show, and I am so glad I did, but top to bottom it was a very fun concert. Vanishment was easily my favorite, and the command they had on stage was incredible. My most pleasant surprise of the night was opener Violent Insurrection, and I am definitely curious to see how their new album turns out this coming June!

Also of note, this was the first time I had ever been to Baba Yaga and did not know what to expect. They have a bar upstairs and a basement where the stage is. It is a small venue area-wise, but the set up is great, and the sound was amazing. I was quite impressed and will definitely plan on seeing more shows here in the future!