A Night of Classic Deathcore Metal at The Song & Dance
Bodysnatcher shows out for their fans in the heart of Syracuse, New York
Words by Liam Schillinger / Graphic by Michael Loya
On October 17th, I had the privilege of seeing Bodysnatcher with opening support from Distant live at The Song & Dance. As a fan of this style of music, Bodysnatcher, a Florida based death-core band, has easily been my go-to band to listen to because of their intense, heavy sound and deeply personal, emotionally charged lyrics. The band built their reputation by expressing themes on pain, mental health struggles, personal trauma, and anger. Therefore, seeing that the band was playing 10 minutes away from me was all I needed to buy my ticket.
If you are a fan of deathcore, Bodysnatcher is definitely a band you need to stream, and if you can, go see them live. It was clear when I arrived at the venue that Bodysnatcher had a very loyal and passionate fanbase; mostly everyone showed up in Bodysnatcher merch or was in the back of the venue buying some during Distant’s set. I on the other hand found Distant’s set to be amazing and was in front of the stage the entire time. Distant is a deathcore band from Rotterdam, Netherlands, known for their dark and crushingly heavy sound which really impressed me.
As Distant wrapped up their set, the vibe of the venue completely changed. Everyone who was either at the bar, merch table, or elsewhere, all crowded in front of the stage eager for the main event. Chants from the front to the back of the venue lifted the energy above the bar that I had expected, and I realized I was in for a great time. Bodysnatcher wasted no time walking out and began their set by surprising everyone with their most popular song, “King of the Rats”. When that first note was hit, the crowd erupted into an all-out frenzy solidifying how the rest of the show would go. From start to finish the entire crowd began stage diving and opening mosh pits, giving back the energy that Bodysnatcher gave us.
The aspect that makes bodysnatcher such a great live band is that every song is a classic to fans, so there's no such thing as a bad setlist. For the next 40 minutes they made sure to play every song from their newest ep, “Vile Conduct,” but also made sure to play fan favorites such as “Behind the Crown” and “Twelve/Seventeen”. After hearing these songs live, it made me appreciate the raw emotion and passion that these four guys give to us. From the band's engagement with crowd, to the emotional authenticity of the lyrics and music, it allows listeners to understand and relate any hardships of their life to the songs.
Although this show concluded close to a week ago, I remember the feeling of being in that crowd like it was only a few minutes ago. I’ve been to close to a dozen deathcore shows, and Bodysnatcher is easily in my top three because of the way they stirred up the crowd and made sure that we were all welcomed and free to express ourselves however we wanted. The band is currently touring the United States with bands such as Fit for an Autopsy, Distant, and Judiciary, and will continue their tour in Europe come Friday, November 22nd.