Obituary / Magefa – European C.O.D. Summer Bash´25

08.08.25, Batschkapp, Frankfurt, Germany

As a bonus to their current tour, Obituary are playing the C.O.D. European Summer Bash ’25, a special series of concerts to mark the band’s 41st anniversary and also celebrating the 35th anniversary of the classic death metal album ‘Cause Of Death’.

Normally, Obituary would get the Batschkapp to overflowing, but the holiday season and festivals taking place at the same time (Party San, Brutal Assault) were probably the reasons why a smaller fan crowd than usual found their way to the cult location in Frankfurt.

For local heroes Magefa, it was a great opportunity to make a name for themselves as Obituary’s support act and increase their profile. Accordingly, there was excitement and curiosity about the performance of the likeable death metal act at the Batschkapp tonight… When the band led by guitarist and singer Kevin took to the stage, the audience had grown a little, but unfortunately most fans preferred the back rows of the venue. Magefa were very energetic and impressed with their tight and varied interplay. The ultra-deep growls skilfully rounded off the overall impression and Magefa received a lot of applause.

Singer Kevin tried constantly to engage with the audience and attempted to lure more fans to the front of the stage with his atmospheric announcements. He succeeded as the set progressed, and the mood in the audience rose considerably. Deservedly, the guys from Magefa received a lot of applause after their 30 minutes set, and the audience was now well prepared for the Florida death metal band Obituary.

We will certainly be hearing a lot more from Magefa in the future. An impressive and promising act, a win for the German death metal scene – thumbs up for the Frankfurt band!

Setlist Magefa:
Back To The Front
Rotting Away
Pathology Calls
Exenteration
Bombs Over Europe
War Paradise
Instrument Insinde
(Fasciitis Necroticans)

Interactive gallery or click on an image and enjoy the photos in full size via Flickr!
photos: Hanzi Herrmann

Now the stage was set for one of the biggest and most influential death metal bands ever:
Obituary opened their set with the melancholic ‘Redneck Stomp’ and were enthusiastically welcomed by the Frankfurt audience. The cheers erupted again when, shortly afterwards, frontman and exceptional shouter John Tardy took to the stage and performed this awesome Obituary song in the best possible manner together with his bandmates. Obituary were loud – very loud, but with a crystal-clear sound, offering fans in the now well-filled Batschkapp a first-class listening experience. The band harmonised almost perfectly, showing off all their skills and putting on a very good stage show. John Tardy was constantly on the move and kept contact with the fans, while guitarist Trevor Perez banged away for all he was worth and, like his colleague on lead guitar, Ken Andrews, impressed with powerful riffing. The rhythmic foundation provided by Donald Tardy and Terry Butler performed tightly, forming the perfect basis for Obituary’s killer songs.

The Americans really added momentum, especially during ‘Threatening Skies,’ and got the audience moving. The fans thanked them with loud applause right at the beginning of the set. As the set progressed, they naturally had some killer songs up their sleeves with ‘Infected,’ ‘The Wrong Time’ and, above all, ‘Cause Of Death,’ which won over the fans and set off a death metal fireworks display at Frankfurt’s Batschkapp. The song selection left nothing to be desired, and the fans’ reactions made it clear that everyone was really happy with the sound and the song material. The highlight of the Florida death metal band’s career to date came at the end of the set when John Tardy announced the absolute cult song, ‘Slowly We Rot’. This once again created a great atmosphere among the fans, who cheered the band loudly.

A great concert evening with satisfied faces all around was unfortunately somewhat impacted negatively by the fact that Obituary left the stage after a bit over 1 hour, which led to some expressions of displeasure from the fans. I don’t know the reasons for this, but with a ticket price of over 50 € for two bands, the audience would have deserved one or two encores. Be that as it may, Obituary put on a great performance as usual, and are still a force to be reckoned with on live stages. Magefa also impressed and established themselves further in the underground scene.

Setlist Obituary:
Redneck Stomp
Threatening Skies
By the Light
The Wrong Time
Cause of Death
Infected
Body Bag
Dying
Find the Arise
Cause of Death
Circle of the Tyrants (Celtic Frost cover)
Chopped in Half
Turned Inside Out
Kill for Me
I’m in Pain
Slowly We Rot