Meshuggah Invade and Crush New York City with Baroness + Decapitated

A devastating earthquake hit New York City last night. It affected somewhere between 2000-3000 people by a fault line created underneath 56th St. and 11th Ave at the Terminal 5 concert venue. Geologists believe that the earthquake was caused by sonic brutality unleashed by Meshuggah at their May 23 concert date. All concertgoers survived, but none will be the same.

Veteran Polish band Decapitated opened up the show with their brand of brutal death metal. It's not easy to be the opening band, even on a massive tour like this, but Decapitated warmed up the crowd in a flash, with a whirling circle pit of metalheads opening up the floor. As the band closed their set with 'Spheres of Madness,' the circle pit turned into an all-out swarm of black shirts and beat up bodies.

Progressive metal outfit Baroness switched up the atmosphere of the venue after following Decapitated. The band commanded a very different breed of attention from the crowd, as they were now standing still in awe of Baroness. Their performance was hypnotic, captivating and mesmerizing as the Georgian quartet went from song to song without talking in between, while their stage lighting reflected which of their color-themed records a particular track came from. (Stay tuned for our exclusive backstage interview with Baroness.)

And now a special message for the fine people at Terminal 5: Please stop infinitely looping horrible dance music in between sets. The last thing we want to hear before Meshuggah take the stage is 30 minutes of "Iffff you want my booooddy / Annnd you think I'm seeexxxy..."

There is one word that Meshuggah fans use to describe the band's sound -- crushing. Meshuggah put on an insanely punishing live show. For nearly two hours, the band tore through fan favorites such as 'Bleed,' 'New Millennium Cyanide Christ,' and 'Future Breed Machine.' The bass tone of Dick Lovgren was teeth-gindingly crunchy, which filled the entire venue with a clanking tone comparable to Suffocation's Derek Boyer, who was in fact in the crowd last night.

The combination of all three bands in one building made for a mentally exhausting night. All three acts command the energy of a headliner, and justly, all three received the response of a headlining band. This is one of the most purely heavy tours of the year, and it will provide metal fans with a unique dichotomy of absolute sonic quality.

Check out Photos of Meshuggah, Baroness and Decapitated in New York City