200 Stab Wounds – Manual Manic Procedures Tour
Venue: Hangar 1819, Greensboro, NC Date: September 18, 2024
Cleveland's Death Metal Monsters Unleash Hell in Greensboro
The air inside Hangar 1819 turned thick with dread as 200 Stab Wounds took the stage under a sea of blood-red lights, casting a sinister glow on what would be a night of pure, unrelenting carnage. These Cleveland death metal beasts have long perfected their craft of sonic annihilation, and with their latest album, Manual Manic Procedures, they’ve only sharpened their tools of destruction. Having witnessed their gruesome glory during the Slave to the Scalpel tour, I couldn't resist the chance to capture the madness again.
The night kicked off with "Hands of Eternity," a brutal opener that immediately set the tone for what was about to be a sonic bloodbath. The crowd was whipped into a frenzy from the first note, with thick riffs and guttural growls crashing over us like a wave of blood-soaked violence. 200 Stab Wounds doesn’t give you time to breathe—they just hit hard, fast, and without mercy.
Midway through the set, the band unleashed "Gross Abuse," a track that feels like being bludgeoned to death with a blunt instrument. The relentless groove and crushing breakdowns had the crowd tearing into each other in a sea of bodies. Steve Buhl’s roar of "Switchblade slides into the skull / Brain seeps out onto the floor" echoed through the venue, painting a scene of gore that could only be matched by the band’s sheer sonic brutality. Every riff was a gut punch, every lyric a stab wound to the senses.
As the night descended deeper into madness, "Ride the Flatline" signaled the beginning of the end—a scathing, thrash-infused attack that was inspired by real-world horror: a chemical spill in the Ohio River. The song’s intensity was like watching a city burn in slow motion, with scorching riffs and feral drumming hitting like a series of chemical explosions. The crowd gave everything they had left, bodies flying as the band delivered a performance that bordered on apocalyptic.
They sealed the night with "Fatal Reality," a crushing finale that left no survivors. As the final notes rang out, it felt like the room had been laid to waste. 200 Stab Wounds had completed their sonic massacre, leaving the audience physically and mentally shattered—but exhilarated.
Setlist:
Hands of Eternity
Masters of Morbidity
Skin Milk
Tow Rope Around the Throat
Drilling Your Head
Gross Abuse
Defiled Gestation
Ride The Flatline
Fatal Reality
Final Verdict:
By the end of the night, it felt like we'd all been gutted, brutalized, and left for dead—but in the best way possible. 200 Stab Wounds has proven once again that they’re not just pushing the boundaries of brutality—they’re obliterating them. If you haven’t experienced this ferocity live, do yourself a favor and grab Manual Manic Procedures, catch them on tour, and prepare for your face to be melted off by the next kings of death metal.
Rating: 10/10 – Blood-soaked perfection.