Bands – Krisiun, Abysmal Dawn, Pyrexia, Gorgatron, Recorruptor
Venue – Sanctuary Detroit
Location – Hamtramck, MI
Concert Date – November 24th, 2025
Words & Photos – Porous
“Death Metal on a Monday night“. I think just about every band on the bill earlier this week uttered the phrase. Was it a sold out show at The Sanctuary? Nah. Were the people who did show up legit die-hards and bad-asses? Abso-fucking-lutely. I’d been to a punk rock show the night before, and as I’m writing this on Thanksgiving I’m thankful for the speed, fury, comradery and brutality these five bands, headlined by Krisiun and Abysmal Dawn, brought to the stage in Michigan that evening. The “Conquerors Of Armageddon” 25th anniversary tour was a sight to behold.
RECORRUPTOR
Invoked nearly a dozen years past, Recorruptor are a staple of the Michigan death metal scene. Their 3rd full length from this past summer is easily one of the best melodic death metal albums of 2025. I will refer you to Hayduke’s review of Sorrow Will Drown Us All for a more in-depth explanation as to why. But Recorruptor’s performance this past Monday at the Sanctuary was just as impressive. The ungodly speed and stamina that Josh must maintain to play drums on these songs is wiiild. Both Isaac and Seth, with their B.C. Rich and Jackson guitars drove those darkest of riffs deep into our cursed souls. All while Alex taunted the crowd with his devilish grins and mastery of the bass guitar. Clint’s vocals were of course, perfection. Strangling the life out of the microphone as he demonically screamed those incantations into this doomed world. The entire set was something incredible to behold. My only complaint is that Recorruptor’s instagram bio states, “No shirts“, so I was slightly disappointed that all were fully clothed. I get it though, it’s the end of November in Michigan.
GORGATRON
Bro… I was not at all prepared for how entertaining Gorgatron was. This death metal act from Fargo not only performed their music with absolute precision, the goddamn showmanship and antics on the Sanctuary’s stage would’ve captivated even my kids (who do not enjoy metal…yet). While Cam and Matt kept the low-end and drumbeats brutal, Karl (on vocals) and Coop (on guitar) not only played their parts to perfection, they also engaged the crowd in a way I’d not seen in a while. Karl looked absolutely menacing while spewing his death metal vocals all over us, but would then walk over to his counterpart on guitar and mess with Coop’s knobs (*ahem*) and whammy bar while trying to solo. Gorgatron’s set was heavy as fuck of course, but they didn’t take themselves too seriously and still had a good time. I love seeing performances like that. Can’t wait to see them again.
PYREXIA
“Aye! Oh!” As in The Sopranos, not The Ramones. Or more specifically, like Pyrexia from Long Island, New York. This was another death metal act from the Detroit show that not only destroyed the place with their unholy metal, but also put on a super energetic and engaging performance. Matt from Gorgatron was pulling double-duty on drums and still nailing every beat perfectly. As did Karl from Gorgatron, but this time playing the hell out of the bass. On electric guitar, Chris wielded it like a weapon and strummed every note with blistering perfection. And then there was Jim, who was out of his damn mind in the best way on vocals. From the moment he stepped out on that stage, to his taunting strolls through the crowd, and finally adorned with devil horns near the end, this guy was pure New York death metal swagger incarnate. Every single one of them in Pyrexia played their part perfectly. It was a damn treat to see.
ABYSMAL DAWN
I love these types of shows where the bar keeps being lifted higher and higher as each band performs. And Abysmal Dawn shot that bar straight up into space. These four have an absurdly impressive catalog of songs from which to draw upon, and played many from their most recent release Phylogenesis. The musicianship required to maintain this level of technical death metal is beyond words. If James hadn’t been visible upon that raised platform, I would’ve assumed they were using a programmed drums backing track. He was that tight. Watching Eliseo’s magical fingers flying across the neck of his bass guitar was pure talent. Vito’s guitar was like an extension of his body. Every chord and solo effortlessly picked. And founding member Charles maintained that same level of perfection, while simultaneously belting out those guttural growls and screams. Upon the completion of Abysmal Dawn’s set, I swear I could see jaws literally dropped, marveling at the epic death metal they had just witnessed.
KRISIUN
Hailing from Brazil, Krisiun graced us with their unholy presence this past Monday night. The tour itself was celebrating 25 years since their classic death metal album, Conquerors Of Armageddon had come out. It was not their first album, but one of a dozen, and this trio performed as if nothing but death metal has always pumped through their veins. Krisiun played with a level of energy, technicality, and heart that is usually reserved for playing to a sold out stadium. These guys gave every single fan their money’s worth and so much more.
Krisiun are literally family. Three brothers who started this band in the early 90s. Max is in charge of keeping the time, and holy hell did he ever. Towards the end of the set, Max blew us all away with a couple-minute long drum solo, the likes of which I’ve never seen at the Sanctuary. On guitar, Moyses shredded away on that axe like it’s what he was born for. He exuded both the expected intimidating death metal swagger, while also making every fan in attendance feel like they were partying with him. Similarly, Alex (on bass guitar and vocals) would address all of us as if we were all part of the same death metal family. When he wasn’t expertly performing those bass parts and roaring those death growls at us, he would express to us in his low, ragged, death metal voice an extreme sincere appreciation and gratitude for our support.
Krisiun played for around an hour and I think everyone in attendance would’ve stayed all night if they’d let us. Which would include wanting to see more of ALL the openers. There’s only a few more dates on this tour, ending on December 1st at Dingbats in New Jersey. If you didn’t get to spend your Thanksgiving around people who care about you, try to get to one of their remaining shows. You’ll feel welcome there. Especially if you mosh. It was a brutally wonderful time.
Special thank you to Spiral for assisting in photography that evening.
Follow @porousphoto on Instagram to see more photos from the show.
Biography: Porous has been possessed by heavy music for the vast majority of his life. For a good chunk of it, that love was exorcised by playing metal, punk, and hardcore with other musicians. Nowadays Porous writes/records music mostly on his own, but engages with the community by supporting/encouraging other artists, and one of those ways is through writing! In early 2025 he joined MoshPitNation to contribute album/show reviews, concert photography, and hopefully an infectious love for metal, punk, and hardcore. For more photography, visit his digital portfolio.
