There are many genres of music in the world, and the public’s taste could vary from the talentless hip-hop to the technical classical. There is a reason why people do not listen to the rock metal genre, because they cannot understand the lead singer.

Another reporter and I attended a speed/death metal show featuring bands such as Cattle Decapitation, Psyopus, Gigan and local bands at the Dome on Jan. 22. The challenge was to see if we could stand the music, people and environment. Personally, I have attended rock shows like System of a Down, Slayer, Lamb of God, Korn, Antagonist, In this Moment and even Immortal Technique, but nothing was as extreme as the Cattle Decapitation show.

There is no way to explain how insane the bands performed because there was so much aggression and intensity.

By this I mean that the last three bands were musically talented, but the local bands literally killed the show. The local bands (except one non-local) tried so hard to be brutal and do a good show, but they sucked. Their performances were awful, the yelling was pointless, their sound sucked (which was probably the sound tech guy’s fault), their energy was dull, their riffs had no talent and the audience was clapping! I practically yawned the whole time as these four bands humiliated themselves. I kept an open mind because they were local, but after a while I could not stand the music. Even when they introduced themselves, they mumbled their name, yelled their name or didn’t even introduce themselves. So these four bands really put me in a bad mood.

These shows traditionally attract 15-19 year olds and some middle-aged adults. The mosh pit is male dominant, but occasionally the females would enter the pit and get out right away. My biggest recommendation is to never go into the front of the stage mainly because these shows usually attract jerks who like to run into you while you are trying to enjoy the show.

Mosh pitters really destroy the mood since the old-school slamming is not here anymore. These kids do these new “hardcore” moves which involve swinging their arms around and doing some ninja kicks. I really miss the old-school pits where there is a hole in the center of the audience, and anybody who would like to enter the hole would enter at his or her own risk and push each other around. People would not run into anybody outside of the hole or people who are not expecting it. Now people make a hole in the pit, and only five people swing their arms around and dominate the pit. This was a speed/death metal show, not a hardcore 2-step show. I refused to enter the pit because I didn’t like what those kids were doing.

But the remaining bands, Gigan, Psyopus and Cattle Decapitation, did an incredible job performing musically. That’s it, though. Usually a lead singer will make the band or completely destroy the band, and, in this case, the bands held themselves up.

Gigan was an interesting band to watch because there was a girl bassist, a left-handed guitar player and interesting sliding guitar techniques. The show was pretty good, and I started to nod my head because the music was starting to make sense. Great energy by the bands, but the lyrics were still a mystery.

Some hate this genre because they believe they are worshipping the devil or because they are just yelling to the audience. But look at it in the musical way. The music may be too extreme for you but appreciate the effort to make the music.

A live performance has many open spaces for mistakes, especially if the songs involve a lot of sudden stops by the band. While Psyopus played their songs, they would repetitively do sudden stops with their music because that’s how their songs went. It was very interesting to see them do that and keep the melody going.

Cattle Decapitation is by far one of the most talented bands and intense bands that I’ve seen. I’ve seen Slayer live and survived their pit. But Cattle Decapitation did an extreme performance musically. The singer ruined some of the awesome solos, but the band still did great.

As a recommendation people should research the band they are going to see. Usually they save the best for last, and if you are there to see the last band, make sure you know what the other bands sound like. Now I am going to do that because I don’t want to waste my time with these local bands and just be there to enjoy the bands I like or the bands that just sound good. I doubt I would attend another speed/death metal show, but if I do my research first and actually dig the music, then I’m down.