Chaos & Carnage levels Los Angeles with a sold out tour stop that reveled in brutality

Posted by Corinne Westbrook in Culture on May 2, 2023

Old school and new blood joined forces on one of the most versatile touring showcases of heft of the year.

Shit was indeed bonkers for the first night of a SoCal double header that kicked off at the Belasco Theater as Chaos & Carnage descended on Los Angeles to begin their final weekend of the 2023 edition.

Old-school and new-school once again joined forces on this year’s edition of the tour and the coming together of the cross section of metalheads was something to behold. The pit alternated between the crowd killers and the circle pitters, each giving the other a chance to take the theater floor to get their aggression out. Young bloods and old hats locked arm in arm, headbanging in unison as each band raged on the stage.

This invitation for everyone from different walks, old bands and new coming together, is the highlight of Chaos and Carnage. When legends like Dying Fetus and Suicide Silence are propping up the new flesh in the game like Slay Squad, Crown Magnetar and Sanguisugabogg, it is inspiring and makes for a healthy, albeit highly aggressive atmosphere.

And not just old and new, but death metal and deathcore coming together is enlivening. If I wanted to stomp, I stomped. If I wanted to kick, I kicked. If I wanted to run around in a circle, there was that too. At Chaos & Carnage, there was a place for everyone as long as you were there to have a brutally good time.

See the gallery of images from photographer Shaun Vizzy below.