Death to All: The Regent - Los Angeles, CA - 6/28/24
Death to All is a tribute band that celebrates the music of Death. Death is considered to be one of the pioneers of the death metal genre and one of the most influential metal bands of all time. Sadly, Death mastermind Chuck Schuldiner passed away in 2001. In 2012, the surviving members of Death formed a tribute band called Death to All to celebrate the music and memory of Schuldiner. The band features various musicians from Death’s various lineups with the constant member being Max Phelps who handles vocals and guitar. This year, Death to All set out on a special tour. The dates were a mix of having Death to All perform Death’s debut album Scream Bloody Gore + Greatest Hits from their early albums and other dates, they were performing Death’s final album, The Sound of Perseverance + Greatest Hits from their later albums. On a few dates, they were performing classics from every Death album. The tour would be called The Scream of Perseverance Tour. The second to last stop on the tour was the Regent in downtown Los Angeles. Death to All had two shows back-to-back and, in classic Los Angeles fashion, both dates were sold out ahead of time. For this review, I will be focusing on the second show which featured The Sound of Perseverance album. Even before doors opened, fans lined up around the block just waiting to see one of metal’s finest bands.
As Death to All prepared to go on stage, the venue was packed to max capacity. The lights went out and the sold-out crowd cheered with excitement as the members made their way to the stage. The first song performed was The Philosopher, one of Death’s best songs. Right away, the fans started moshing and even crowd surfers started to make an appearance. A few more greatest hits were performed which included Overactive Imagination and Symbolic. Once those were over, bassist Steve Di Giorgio spoke to the audience on how for this show, they would be playing The Sound of Perseverance in full. Now was that time. The first song performed from the album was the first song, Scavenger of Human Sorrow. The fans continued to mosh and went wild. Some of the songs on this album hadn’t been performed on tour since the album’s release in 1998. So, for most, if not everyone in attendance, it was their first-time hearing some of these Death songs live for the first time. Some of the best songs played from the album included Bite the Pain, Flesh and the Power it Holds and Story to Tell. Fans were given an even better surprise when it came to the album’s finale. It was a cover of Painkiller originally performed by British heavy metal legends, Judas Priest. The pits were wild, and the crowd surfers were plentiful. That song featured its live debut on this tour. The show came to an end with DTA saying their goodbyes, then leaving the stage. Everyone in the venue stayed put and yelled out, “Death to All! Death to All!” After a small break, Di Giorgio came out to speak to the audience once again thanking the audience for their support and keeping Schuldiner’s music alive. Now, it was time for some encores. Di Giorgio made note on how they left out one song from the album and, after the audience guessed correctly, it would be the first encore. The song was Spirit Crusher, another one of Death’s best songs. To end the show, Di Giorgio thanked the audience once again and introduced the final song of the night which would be Crystal Mountain. The fans cheered and continued to mosh as DTA had played each and every song beautifully and with precision. This band and tour are the perfect way to honor Schuldiner and hopefully they come back again soon to deliver classic death metal to the masses.
