Michael Mullenix
This year’s Milwaukee Metalfest brought the return of the long-dormant Oppressor, pioneers of the Midwestern Death Metal scene in the 90’s. With the stage primed and ready, Tim King let loose the audio attack in the form of their defining hit “Gone,” bringing Wisconsin’s Death Metal community to a fever-pitched mosh.
Oppressor’s time on stage was refined, not necessarily a spectacle, but a well-oiled machine of solid Musicians coming back to the spotlight to deliver some brutal Skull-crackers like “Eclipse Into Eternity” and “As Blood Flows.” This was more than a long-broken-up band getting back together, this was a bridge between generations. A snapshot of a subgenre’s critical years, and the group from Chicago that gave it a distinct regional identity.
Singer Tim King and guitarists Jim Stopper and Adam Zadel have remained active in metal, but hearing the struggled cries of “Passage” sung live again reinforced to everyone why this was the anticipated gem of the festival’s Second Day. As Tim King even remarked between songs, “[Jamey Jasta] told me he wanted Oppressor for Metalfest, and I told him I would make it happen.” For 30 minutes on the mainstage, Oppressor packed in a solid reminder of where many of these bands derive their roots.
Check out the Oppressor concert photo gallery below:
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