It’s A Godless Affair At Fremont Country Club And Backstage Bar And Billiards On April 13th

All Photos By Rocky Kessenger/Through The Metal Lens

Las Vegas has always felt like the kind of city that would still be glowing at the end of the world. The neon on Fremont hums like a false sunrise, flickering against the desert night as if it refuses to die. On most nights, that light sells temptation, bad decisions, and stories people swear they’ll never tell again. But on this particular night, tucked behind the chaos of downtown inside Backstage Bar & Billiards, that glow felt more like a warning beacon. This off-date, from the Godless IV run, wasn’t just another stop between larger rooms. It felt like the portal itself had opened in the middle of Sin City, and through it came three harbingers of the apocalypse. Standing there with my camera, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of the journey that brought me here, because for me, this story started long before the first note rang out.

That journey began when I was a teenager first discovering death metal, and at the center of that discovery was DEICIDE. I still remember hearing “Once Upon the Cross” and “When Satan Rules His World” for the first time and feeling like I had stumbled onto something forbidden. Back then, Glen Benton was larger than life, to a young metalhead. The controversy, the interviews, and the mythology around him all fed into the music. It felt dangerous, rebellious, and, to my teenage mind, the most metal and evil thing imaginable. Those songs opened a door that led me deeper into the genre and eventually into a life built around heavy music, photography, and storytelling. So being here now, years later, in the pit with a camera, waiting for DEICIDE to step on stage, felt like walking back through that same doorway.

The first crack in the portal came from IMMOLATION, and it felt like the earth splitting beneath Fremont. They didn’t just hit the stage and tear through the set; they took time to talk to the crowd, let everyone know who they were, where they came from, and how grateful they were to be part of this run. Ross Dolan made it clear they understood what Vegas represents for the underground death metal world, and that landed hard in a city where so much of the local culture is carried by the guys in MORTICIAN and the crew at Primitive Recordings.

One of the coolest moments of their set came with “Attrition,” which felt like a direct nod to the hometown MORTICIAN guys and everything they continue to do for the scene, here in Las Vegas. It wasn’t about it being a cover; it was about the acknowledgment and respect for the local death metal bloodline that keeps this city moving long after the Strip goes quiet. In a town with a real underground culture, that moment meant something. Alongside “These Vengeful Winds,” “Swarm of Terror,” “An Act of God,” and “The Age of No Light,” it made their set feel bigger than an opening slot. It felt like the first seal breaking, the out-of-town legends tipping their horns to the local heroes before the night fully descended into darkness.

Then came the ritual. ROTTING CHRIST didn’t simply take the stage; they took over the room. I had seen them at Milwaukee Metal Fest, but this was the first time I truly got to absorb their set. Sakis Tolis carried himself like he was guiding the room through a ceremony; every few songs he made sure to let us know what song was next and which album it came from. For someone still learning their catalog, that was a brilliant touch. By the time they moved through “Pro Xristou,” “Dies Irae,” and “Apage Satana,” it felt like they were friends with every single person in that building. Fists were pumping, horns filled the air, and Sakis’s eccentric guitar work turned the room into something almost spiritual. Then “Non Serviam” hit, that was the moment I knew I was leaving a much bigger fan than when I walked in. By the time they closed with “Grandis Spiritus Diavolos,” the portal was wide open, and my wallet was already a little lighter from the merch table.

And then the devil himself walked through. When DEICIDE hit the stage, it was the final piece of my teenage journey coming full circle. He looked out over the room and gave us exactly what Sin City needed to hear: “We finally made it back to Sin City… and tonight we are going to crush you.” That wasn’t banter. That was prophecy. They opened with “When Satan Rules His World,” and from there it was exactly what the younger version of me had always imagined. No flash, no elaborate visuals, no need for any of it. Just four guys going absolutely feral with dark, evil death metal. “Carnage in the Temple of the Damned,” “Serpents of the Light,” and “Homage for Satan,” came one after another like blows to the chest. But the moment that truly completed the story for me, was hearing an entire room scream along to “Once Upon the Cross” ‘Fear him, fear him, fear him… Satan.’ There is nothing more death metal than that moment.

When the lights came up and everyone spilled back out onto Fremont, it honestly felt like stepping back into the world after watching it end. For a few hours, that room had become the portal where my past and present collided: the teenager discovering death metal for the first time, the lifelong fan still chasing that same darkness, and the photographer now documenting it all through a lens. IMMOLATION cracked the earth, ROTTING CHRIST summoned what lay beneath, and DEICIDE stepped through the flames to bring the apocalypse home.

In Sin City, it somehow felt exactly right.

IMMOLATION

ROTTNG CHRIST

DEICIDE