Thrash at the Buzzard

Corpse Gutter, Mortal, Bastards of Satan, Ancient Räge

First Church of the Buzzard
2601 Adeline Street, Oakland

February 27, 2026

When I stood between Seth Harris and Sam Bryson for a photo, I was dampened by the duo’s sweat. Kind of gross, yeah; but the two musicians that comprise the band Corpse Gutter had warned me of their sweatiness beforehand. And I’d seen how energetically they’d performed guitar and percussion under the hot lights. As openers for an intensely thrashy, sludgy, guttural night of four bands at West Oakland metal venue First Church of the Buzzard, Corpse Gutter killed. I was amazed that the sounds they produced were from just the two of them. But nearly every band who played on Friday night blew me away.

I love metal and had been looking forward to this particular show for weeks, mainly to see headliner Ancient Räge, playing their first Oakland gig of 2026. When my partner and I arrived, I was pleased to see a crowd of metalheads loitering outside the entrance. It was an unusually warm, springlike night for February so jackets were off (except for some leather ones), black-clad folks milling about smoking and chatting. I spotted Ancient Räge drummer Matt Squinton hanging out and said hello before heading into the intimate venue.

Decorated with giant skulls, taxidermy, candelabras, and grisly laugh-at-death art, kinetic multicolored lights flashed across the Persian rug-covered performers’ space, a smoke machine ready to be activated.

After Corpse Gutter’s ferocious set—their rasping, gravelly voices each taking turns—I gabbed with the pair. They told me that they’ve been a two-piece band for about 8 months. (Drummer Sam is also the bassist for Ancient Räge.) They said their “more serious project” is the four-piece band War of Knives which just released a 5-song EP, and has a single, “Holy Conquest,” on Spotify.

Sam told me that ‘Corpse Gutter’ has a double meaning: “For a gutter you find corpses in, as well as a person who guts those corpses.” He said “The band was started as a trash can to put the songs I was writing about when I spent my time riding trains, dumpster diving and tanning hides of roadkill I picked up. But now we have songs about all kinds of dumb stuff.”

Mortal, from San Jose, was up next, filling in for Piss Baptism who had cancelled a few days earlier. They brought it old school style, reminiscent of ‘80s and early ‘90s death metal—right up my alley. The thrumming drumbeats were menacing and deep, and the coordination between guitars, bass, and drums was excellent. They were super tight and probably my favorite set of the night. Percussionist Angus Fong was superb, his animated expressions revealing the joy he took in performing music he loves. There wasn’t much in the way of vocals, but I liked that they were more instrumental, almost like fierce classical music by their squared-away symphonic sophistication. There were flashes of Slayer and maybe a little Mastodon with traces of The Sword. Fantastic stuff. Aggressive and unified, Mortal was razor sharp: heavy, fast, furious, and cohesive.

On a smoke break outside I talked with three of the four members of Mortal who were loading their equipment, telling them how impressed I was. Knowing that they were filling-in last minute, Angus said “We practiced like hell for this show.” It showed. I’ll be listening to their album “As Life Leaves the Body” for a while.

A little tiff happened somewhere while I was outside, a commotion where someone yelled that someone else was a Nazi. I stayed away from the brief fray, going back inside to chat with Rebecca and her husband Kent (“no last names, please”). They’ve been running First Church of the Buzzard together since 2006. They’re a friendly, lovely, self-possessed couple.

On third was Bastards of Satan, all the way up from San Luis Obispo. They were the sludgiest band, with a bleeding, punk-adjacent sound that was messy and raw. Although not quite my cup of metal, I appreciated their energy. Some band members wore long spiked leather bracelets and corpse paint à la Celtic Frost or King Diamond. Their set was surprisingly short, just a few songs. But by now the mosh pit was in full force.

Finally it was time for headliners Ancient Räge. I’ve been listening to them ever since I saw frontman Phil Geck’s band LUV at Stay Gold Deli. Their eponymous album is great rock-and-roll and I’ve enjoyed it immensely. And Geck was typically explosive: bounding around in emphasis of the lyrics he belted out. Despite the fiery delivery, Ancient Räge is accessible metal in the most musical of ways. Its fury is in its genuine love of thrash. Their song “No Justice” brought down the house as their blasting finale.

Invigorating? Yes. Tiring. Yes. High on metal? Check.

As my partner and I approached our car, a group of dudes I immediately recognized as musicians were chilling out. They recommended a Columbian band called Tumba when I inquired about a tee shirt. And they gave me a beer and a flyer for an upcoming show. I’ll definitely be checking out Obscura Muerte.

The Oakland metal community is alive and thriving, my friends.