Rustbelt Rock Review

By: Z.M. Delgado

Rustbeltrockreview.com

Volume #210: Mutilation Barbecue, Dying Remains, Ovenhead & Casket Splinter

October 10th, 2025

No Class 11213 Detroit Road, Cleveland Ohio

How do you do, my friend and fellow Rock Enthusiast. It is I, Z.M. Delgado, here as always to guide you on a journey through the Cleveland Underground. This week I took in an evening of Death Metal at Cleveland’s rowdiest club, No Class. For me the evening began probably around 7:45, when I arrived before doors even opened… or so I thought. As it turns out the website had doors at 8pm, while the bands posted that they were at 7pm. As it turn as out, the latter was correct. Fortunately, I am perpetually early to shows, so I ended up arriving fifteen minutes early which was more than enough time to get comfortable. I ran into our old friend “Rolling Thunder” (Bass/Assault, Atomic Witch), as he was managing the Mutilation Barbecue merch table. We caught up and before long I bumped into all the members of Mutilation Barbecue. Before long my fifteen minute window expired and the music began. I checked in at the door, got my wristband and headed into the club side.

Gearing up and getting ready to rock was Casket Splinter. This is a five man, improvisational, instrumental, Metal group, comprised of two Guitars, Bass, Drums and a Slide Guitar. What that means is, they don’t have rehearsed songs, or preconceived song structures; they simply jam. They perform songs… well maybe perform songs isn’t the right choice of words. They create elaborate Heavy Metal soundscapes that grow and evolve before your very ears. Larry (Bass/Mutilation Barbecue) acted as a sort of conductor, directing the band members with his hand gestures, while playing the Slide Guitar with an empty High Life bottle. The songs mutated continuously as each member injected their own ingredients to the concoction. They would swell, shift and metamorphose eventually finding a groove that all five men could climb into. Then they would be off and running. Delivering an entire slew of heavy ass jams that really and truly Rocked. They would carry on with a piece for a while, before someone would change it up and like a bubble the Jam would burst. It would dissolve and the sounds would return to a musical exploration, questing for the next great riff to groove on. This would continue in a cycle that repeated for the entirety of the bands time slot. About a third of the way into the set, Jimmy “The Dook” Fedor arrived and joined me at the center of the floor. Together we drank in all that was Casket Splinter’s set and applauded heavily at the end of it all. And we were not alone. The crowd seemed to really appreciate the raw artistic fury that Casket Splinter managed to summon. With their set now finished The Dook and I adjourned to the patio to smoke a joint.

Second to the stage was Ovenhead. This is a four man Death Metal Band made up of Vocals, Guitar, Bass and Drums. They opened up incredibly heavy. They showed off good stage presence as they headbanged and Rocked out. Their style was wall of sound; calamitous and intense. The cymbals crashed as their Drummer displayed his skills. The Guitarist showed off some pretty intricate riffs while sporting a pair of vampire teeth. The Vocals were incredibly low, and I noticed the singer was using some sort of effects pedal or some other doodad. Whatever it was, it gave this dude the voice of a swamp monster. Like an avalanche of noise Ovenhead poured over the crowd and they loved it. The cheered and applauded at the end of every song. It was dark, visceral unadulterated Death Metal and that was exactly what we had come to hear. Everything was going fine until the second to last song, when the singer began goading the crowd, demanding some action. Well, three teenage girls took this to heart and began flinging themselves around, slamming into unsuspecting people. They began crowd killing; windmilling, punching and kicking in all directions. Most of the people who were digging on Ovenhead had to flee to the rear of the room to avoid being hit. Let me make this clear, this wasn’t moshing. This was three shitheads beating up random people who were trying to enjoy a show. The Dook got punched in the face hard and sustained a sizable gash to his lip. It was some bullshit. It escalated further after that, when the girl punched a second guy in the face, who was not as nice as The Dook. This dude had about enough of her bullshit and he shoved her off of him... and predictably all 90 lbs of her went flying. Well of course then the boyfriend and his homies had to get involved. Words were exchanged, and I heard the guy apologize for “pushing a girl.” Apparently that wasn’t enough though. Later I overheard her boasting about how she’d had the guy thrown out. I could go on and on about this BS. It was embarrassing. It just goes to show how childish, crowd killing, assholes can spoil a show for a lot of people. Anyways, after Ovenhead finished up we again adjourned to the patio where I smoked a joint alone, because The Dook was way too pissed off… and he didn’t want to get blood on the doobie.

Eric Stevenson: The Official Tattoo Artist of the Rustbelt Rock Review

Third to the stage was Dying Remains in from Calgary, Canada. They are a three man act made up of Bass/Vocals, Guitar and Drums. I see a lot of touring Death Metal acts, and most are solid, but generally unimpressive. Let me just say that Dying Remains is not one of these. They opened up and I could immediately tell they were a cut above the rest. They were heavy with good abrasive Vocals, great Drums and some excellent Guitar solo action. I also made multiple notes about the strength of their breakdowns. They had great stage presence, particularly their Guitarist who produced a lot of motion. The crowd was immediately into it, with action on the floor as fans began spinning in circles colliding with each other. There was also a lot of dancing and headbanging as well. Again, not moshing, but it was fun and no one was getting punched in the face. With the exception of a little technical difficulties with their drum stool, Dying Remains’ time went extremely well. My final notes read as follows: “Savage and very tight. You can see there is no slack in a set clearly sharpened by their time on the road. An excellent band.” On that note it was back to the bar to mingle and wait for the main event.

Finally closing out our evening was Cleveland’s Death Metal Powerhouse, the mighty Mutilation Barbecue. Made up of five men, Vocals, two Guitars, Bass and Drums, they are a force to be reckoned with. They have been busy recently and it has been a long while since I have had the chance to see them perform. This night also marks the first time I would get to see them do their thing with their new frontman, Tristan. I was excited, I was apprehensive. Also, I was stoned, but that’s not really relevant. What is relevant was that Mutilation Barbecue was jumping off and they were doing so with extreme force. Hitting us immediately with the title track from their latest release, they ramped up with “Amalgamations of Gore/Skin Display.” The stage presence was instantly through the roof. The band Rocked hard on the stage, hair flying as they headbanged and played hard. Meanwhile their frontman performed on the floor, pacing like a deranged tiger, down among the fans.

Next they brought “Necrophiliac Obsession” and a pit erupted. It was all crushing Guitars and vicious Drums as MutiBBQ brought the fire to No Class. Three songs into the set they dropped a brand new track. It was bad ass, full of ripping Guitars and a sick solo. “Hive Mind Homicide” was heavy as stone, and it saw the spinning fans resume their circulation. The room was buzzing with energy as a tangible electricity sparked through the air. “Auto Anthropophagy” was crushing with some excellent leads. “Trampled Under 18 Wheels” was a thing to behold. The pit exploded again as bodies flew in all directions. It was such raw force. My notes describe the moment as a “powerhouse band with a hometown crowd behind them.” They closed out with “Spontaneous Human Combustion” followed by “Acid Tub” bringing the beast of a set to a close. It was amazing. The crowd went wild and gave up a mighty cheer. I have to say I was impressed by the performance of the new frontman and I do believe him to be a worthy successor to the position.

With out headliner now complete, it was time to say goodnight. And so I did. To friends and musicians and anyone else who crossed my path. I said farewell to No Class and headed out to my car. I drove home listening to Exodus and enjoying the cool October evening. When I finally got home I sat in cat shit, but that is another story entirely. So I suppose that’s all for this week. As always thanks for reading, for rocking and for supporting the scene. Bang your heads, hoist your horns and always wear your earplugs!

Until next time, Rock on, Rustbelt,

-Z.M. Delgado

Rustbelt Rock Review

Rustbeltrockreview.com

10/11/2025

Links:

Mutilation Barbecue

https://www.facebook.com/MutilationBarbecue/

Dying Remains

https://www.facebook.com/p/Dying-Remains-100091308382555/

Ovenhead

https://www.instagram.com/ovenheadband/?hl=en