Rustbelt Rock Review

By: Z.M. Delgado

Rustbeltrockreview.com

Volume #233: Acid Bath, Midnight, Amigo the Devil, Nunslaughter & Radian

Friday 13th, 2026

Hello Cleveland, Ohio, America and Beyond. I hope you are well. I am great, having just come from one of the hottest shows in the world right now: The Acid Bath Reunion Tour. When this bad boy was announced I acted with all haste and took necessary steps to secure tickets. I’m glad I did, because as I am sure you are aware, these shows have been selling out all over the country, and this one was no exception. Many months have passed as I have stared at this date on my calendar with the utmost anticipation. So when Friday rolled around, I was chomping at the bit, staring at the clock and begging for my day to end, so my night could start. It all finally began with my escape from the Shiteater factory. I fled home with all speed, where Joha and old boy Kinney were waiting for me. We headed inside where I immediately packed a pipe and set about preparing for the show. In good time we loaded up and headed out. Joha had procured some THC infused beverages and along with our gummies, vapes and joints we were ready to Rock. So we rolled west, bumping Cypress Hill and in high spirits. When we arrived I met my comrade Jimmy “The Dook” Fedor of ROXXXSTARRADIO, outside at the smoking pit. There he slip me an autographed poster, which I hustled back out to the car. Only then did we finally headed inside and begin our night officially.

We made our way to the floor which was already thick with people; there we met up with The Dook. It was cool to see so many heads had turned up for the first performers. We found a nice spot down near center stage and settled in for our premier offering of the night: Radian. Up from Akron, OH, Radian is a Doom/Stoner/Sludge Metal band. They are built from four members, Vocals, Guitar, Bass and Drums. They took to the stage, there singer wearing a Hockey mask, which he quickly removed. They opened up bringing some Doomy, Sludgy shit. Initially the Vocals were clean, but the shifted to growls before too long alternating back and forth throughout. The music was heavy and pulsing, with a big fuzzy sound that I really dug. Their Drummer was impressive, hammering the skins and delivering an apocalyptic atmosphere for the entirety of the set. All in all, they had good stage presence, particularly their singer who was quite active. I believe they played seven songs before their time expired. The crowd cheered enthusiastically, sending Radian off with plenty to be proud of.

Second to perform was Cleveland’s own Nunslaughter. This is a four man act made up of Vocals, Guitar, Bass and Drums. The room was a wash of red light. The band took to the stage clad in black, adorned in spikes and smeared in paint. On either side of the Drum kit stood a large inverted cross. I noticed the Bass player drinking blood out of a chalice and letting it spill down his face and chest. The vibe was demonic before they played their first notes. Then they began. The music was heavy as stone; hard, fast and nasty. Nunslaughter is like a monster made from pieces of dismembered Death Metal and Hardcore bands. It is a sound all their own that can only be described as “Devil Metal.” They tore through their early set with fury and a relentless tempo. The crowd ate it up as they rolled into the classic “Raid the Convent.” I quickly noticed as the first moshpit of the night jumped off. Nunslaughter drove the fans wild with their satanic style and their continuous on stage action. The singer menaced the crowd from behind his mic stand. The Guitarist headbanged and rocked out at all times. The Drummer windmilled his head in continuous circles and their Bass player was a certifiable wildman. The set was intense, vile and blasphemous. They drove the fans crazy with bangers such as “Looking into the Abyss,” “Red is the Color of Ripping Death,” and “Midnight Mass.” They unleashed all of hell and had a big finish sending the fans into a frenzy of appreciation. Nunslaughter desecrated the Agora, tearing through our ears without mercy.

Third to the stage was a serious change of pace, namely San Francisco, CA’s Amigo the Devil. This set began with a lone man with a banjo. He performs, what I would call Dark Folk music. His set began with the song “Perfect Wife” and immediately the crowd was into it. Midway through the first song he was joined by a Guitarist, Bassist and Drummer which kicked up the intensity and got the room Rockin’. Next, after an anecdote about a house fire, he broke into “It’s All Gone.” This song was powerful and was delivered with passion. I was taken by how hard the Drummer hit for being behind a Folk act, it was awesome. On the third song, “Murder at the Bingo Hall,” he put down his Banjo and picked up a Guitar. This song was amazing live and it was then that I realized this wasn’t a concert anymore, this was a story telling session. This man was not singer, he was a narrator. He had come to spin yarns and he was damn good at it too. As he broke into “Hungover in Jonestown” the crowd began to really get involved. The fans sang along with great enthusiasm through this whole song and the band took notice. They stopped playing and let the crowd take over. Our voices rose and shook the rafters as we sang out together. It was amazing. Up next he played the hilarious song where he proclaimed his body was a “Dive Bar.” This track was great and warranted even more crowd participation. Swapping the Guitar for his Banjo again, they told us the tale “Once upon a time in a Texaco Pt. 1” Finally closing out the set he broke out “Hell and You” which created yet another raucous singalong. This was followed by an enormous round of applause. And I mean enormous. All the bands got their love that night, that is to be sure... but for me Amigo the Devil truly stole the show.

Up next was yet another Ohio band, Cleveland’s most beloved smut peddlers. The Black Speed with all the Sleaze: Midnight! This is a three man band consisting of Bass/Vocals, Guitar and Drums. Coming out in leather, denim and their trademark black masks they took the stage by force. Opening up with “Satanic Royalty” they tore into the set. Their stage presence is unbelievable, I mean, it’s pure energy. They run riot across the stage like men possessed. The crowd fed off of this and was into it from the very beginning. A pit exploded at once. Huge applause followed and they dove right into “You Can’t Stop Steel.” Next was “Rip This Hell” with it’s murderous tempo. The pit grew and grew, doubling in size by the time “Necromania” arrived. Beach balls began to fly around the room during “Black Damnation.” Bodies continued to collide as the pit raged through “Lust, Filth and Sleaze,” and on into “Violence on Violence.” “Savage Dominance” was received about as well as you might think and the madness on the floor continued to rage. “Holocaustic Deafening” was followed by “Shock til Blood” which brought the “Satanic Royalty” album to a close. We all assumed Midnight was finished, but not quite. They still had one last blast to hit us with before they called it a night, their new anthem “Cleveland Metal!” This summoned a huge pit and sent bodies flying and colliding in every possible way. It was utterly epic, and had that been the end of the set it would have been fitting. But that’s when things got a little weird. Athenar, Midnight’s frontman, returned to the stage with a whole raw chicken in his hands. He then proceeded to shove his guitar up the chickens ass repeatedly, before smashing the Guitar to bits. He subsequently bit chunks from the chicken and I was certain he was about to hurl it into the crowd, but thankfully he refrained. Taking his chicken he left bringing a bizarre end to Midnight’s time.

Then at last the hour was upon us. The moment we had all been waiting for. The time we thought would never come. The return of the mighty Acid Bath! For those of you who do not know Acid Bath is a five man band originally from the swamps of Louisiana. They are made up of Vocals, Guitar/Vocals, Guitar, Bass and Drums. They are resurrected and reformed and by the grace of all the Gods of Rock, they were headlining the Cleveland Agora on Friday the 13th of all days. It’s the stuff of legends. Anyway, the floor was packed tight and the expectations were high as we all waited anxiously. The lights dropped and “Black Sabbath” began to play over the PA. We began to sing along as we felt locked in time, waiting and waiting. I knew the pit was about to explode, and as such I decided I wanted to keep my head on a swivel. I put away my notebook and chose to live in the moment. When the Sabbath number ended, “The Beautiful Downgrade” began and the crowd roared. The cryptic and haunting poem played out and one by one we saw the band enter the stage. Our voices rose and rose again as each subsequent member came into view. First Zack on Drums and Shane on the Bass. Then founding members, Guitarists Mike Sanchez and Sammy Pierre Duet. Finally Lead Vocalist, the enigmatic Dax Riggs. Then, as the poem ended, the band broke into “Tranquilized” and the room exploded. The Pit raged and the floor became a sea of surging bodies. Next they played my favorite fucking song, “Bleed me an Ocean.” Seeing this performed live... hearing Dax proclaim we should “Let the blackness roll on,” well, it’s a near religious experience for me. The beautiful “Venus Blue” came next followed by the haunting “The Bones of Baby Dolls.” After that they picked things up a bit with their electrified version of “Dead Girl.” “Old Skin” played over the PA as an intro to “New Death Sensation.” After that was “Graveflower.” This led up to another song that I was really looking forward to: “Scream of the Butterfly.” This song is like magic to me, black magic for sure, but magic none the less. I simply adore it and, much like “Bleed Me an Ocean” it was a bucket list event to see it played live.

Putting down the melodic stuff, Acid Bath decided it was time to get heavy again and they broke out “Paegan Love Song.” The pit erupted with titanic force as the Metalheads threw down with glee. Finally closing out the set the dropped into the legendary Sludge Metal classic, “Dr. Seuss Is Dead.” This was devastating. The feedback scraped out ear canals and the bottomless Bass dropped in, shaking the floor. The grating snarls of Dax and Sammy together, as they initiated this brutal track, is unlike anything else you’ll ever hear. It is bestial. It is monstrous. It is Acid Bath! The slow start almost lulls you into a false sense of security. Then as the tempo picks up the pit begins to swirl with deadly force. This song is manic depression, bi-polarity incarnate. It is highs and lows, speed up and sloooow down, both ends of the spectrum with a menacing quality that is unrivaled. The climax of this song brought the house down. Rage swept the floor and nowhere was safe. Sweaty, intoxicated demons raged all around me and screamed together in one voice the “Dr. Seuss is dead!” The pit wasn’t just brutal, it was terrifying. The Metalheads moshed like there was literally no tomorrow. And then it ended. Just like that it was over. The concert some of us had waited nearly thirty years for had come and gone. Ten songs. That was it. Ten songs is all we got... but they were ten excellent songs. They were ten songs that needed to be played live again. Songs that an entire generation of fans deserved to hear. Songs the following generation may have nearly missed out on. Now that Acid Bath is back this magnificent music gets to spread it’s mighty black wings and fly again. And when it does, it absolutely soars.

So we headed out. Back to the cars. Back to our homes and back to our lives. We had to go back to our worlds and act like we weren’t forever changed. We had to pretend we hadn’t just looked into the abyss and seen the unspeakable horrors that dwell beneath. We have to act as if we have not just watched Acid Bath play. In this world there are now two kinds of people. Those who have and those who have not seen Acid Bath. Forever there will be a divide. There are those of us who have heard the band live; we who have now sacrificed a portion of our own sanity to the gods of Rock N’ Roll. And the there are those who have not. Those who will never truly understand what happens when the kite string pops. And that my friends is the reality we are all facing from here on out. Whelp, that’s all for this week. Thanks for reading Cleveland and beyond. Let the Blackness Roll on!

Until next time, Rock on, Rustbelt,

-Z.M. Delgado

Rustbelt Rock Review

Rustbeltrockreview.com

3/15/2026

Links:

Acid Bath

https://acidbathofficial.com/

Midnight

https://www.midnightviolators.com/

Amigo The Devil

https://www.amigothedevil.com/