So on Saturday, October 11, 2025, I was able to catch a tour called The Carnival Of Death Tour. This tour featured Vader, Kataklysm, Malevolent Creation, and Skeletal Remains. I had seen both Vader and Kataklysm before and both were great and this took place at the Whiskey in LA. So let’s take a look……..
I will say I feel like I have a love-hate relationship with The Whiskey. The problem with that venue is that it’s just so freaking small so if you don’t get there at a good time, it’s gonna be really hard to see the band and for someone who is short like me, it can be frustrating. The annoying thing about small venues is that sometimes people have no spatial awareness. It’s like if you see someone short that is trying to watch the show and you’re a much taller person, try not to stand directly in front of that person. The flipside to that is seeing the band that you want to see in such a small place such as The Whiskey is that there’s more of an intimate connection. So I guess it’s one of those you gotta take the good with the bad. And other positive for this venue is that if you’re over 21 you are able to go in and out and if a band is not selling a bag for your merch, you can walk back to your car put it in there and then go right back in.
By the time I got there Skeletal Remains had already played, but I’ve seen them a few times before and they’re fine. There are nothing really mind blowing or anything and as I said they’re fine. They’re just your regular run of the mill death metal band. I had never seen Malevolent Creation before and I got to say, they were actually really, really good. They’re just a solid death metal band who I’m pretty sure I’ve been around for a good while (think Cannibal Corpse or Morbid Angel). Like some of the other bands that I’ve seen this past year I wasn’t too familiar with any of their songs but the ones they played were all bad ass and brutal. I would definitely see this band again and hopefully they come back sooner rather than later.
OK now it’s time for Kataklysm and I must say if you are into extreme music and you have not listened to this band finish reading this review and put on any of their albums. They are absolutely bad ass and I freaking love watching this band play live. They’re one of those bands that sound just as good as they do on their albums and that is kind of a hard thing to do in death metal. Both times that I’ve seen them, they have absolutely killed it and this time was no different. Right when they started until they ended, they just didn’t let up. They are absolutely one of those bands that I will always do my best to see live and if you have not seen this band next time, they tour her do yourself a favor and go see them!!
Ah now it’s time for the main event!! I think I read somewhere that before the band Behemoth became as big as they are these guys were one of the biggest bands to come out of Poland. Let me just preface this by saying I feel like this band has a thing with going on at 11 o’clock because if I remember correctly the last time I saw them they also went on at around that time but because there were venue issues they didn’t end up going on till like 1130 and for those that have to work early the next day it’s incredibly annoying!! I always said that because I only stayed for a few songs the last time that as soon as they come through, I will be seeing their entire set, no matter what. Once they started playing it was on!! I forgot how bad ass this band is live. They’re just so precise and tight and as I’ve said about the other bands on this review, if you have not seen them, go do so. This definitely made up for the last time/lack there of. I wanna say they played for a little over an hour or so, but it definitely didn’t feel like it. There was one glaring omission and that is they didn’t play the song Prayer To The God Of War. I freaking love that song, but I guess at this point it’s a bit of a deep cut.
Overall this was just a really fun show and my only real complaint is that I wish it was at just a slightly bigger venue. All of the bands sounded great, and I would definitely love to see all of them again hopefully sooner rather than later. Both Kataklysm and Vader pretty much played the songs that I wanted to hear and again both were worth going to see alone. They’re still on tour with this bill so anybody that’s reading this and is able to go catch this tour. See if you can try because it was definitely a great package.
Final Grade: A
Vader Setlist:
- Wings
- The One Made Of Dreams
- The Calling
- North
- Xeper
- Cold Demons
- Forwards To Die!!!!
- The Final Massacre
- This Is The War
- Lead Us!!!
- Dark Age
- Carnal
- Shock And Awe
- Unbending
- Sothis
- Triumph Of Death
Kataklysm Setlist:
- If I Was God….I’d Burn It All
- The Ambassador Of Pain
- Goliath
- Die As A King
- Narcissist
- Guillotine
- The Rabbit Hole
- Bringer Of Vengeance
- In Shadows And Dust
- As I Slither
- Manipulator Of Souls
- Push The Venom
- Crippled & Broken
- The Black Sheep
Malevolent Creation Setlist:
- Eve Of The Apocalypse
- Premature Burial
- Slaughter Of Innocence
- Coronation Of Our Domain
- Dominated Resurgency
- Infernal Desire
- Living In Fear
- Homicidal Rant
- Carnivorous Misgivings
- Multiple Stab Wounds
- Kill Zone
- Alliance Or War
- Slaughter House
- Manic Demise
- Blood Brothers
Sinister Reviews 