Though the 2026 edition of the Chaos & Carnage spring tour encountered a major hurdle just a month prior to launch, the resilience of the run proved the underlying theme on the second to last stop of the annual trek.
With a medical emergency sidelining Thy Art Is Murder, deathcore pillars Carnifex proved more than capable of taking on the heavy lifting as the tour's headliners for a bill that brought together generations of brutality from across the heavy music spectrum.
Brandishing an arsenal that spanned the last two decades, Carnifex leveled The Wiltern with a set bookended by two of the most foundational tracks from Dead In My Arms with "Slit Wrist Savior" and the deathcore anthem, "Hell Chose Me." From the band's title track of their most recent full length in "Necromanteum" to their modern era single in "Roses & Rotting Corpses," the veteran Scott Lewis dominated the night with a showing that reaffirmed his rank.
Setting up in a major way, Florida deathcore collective Bodysnatcher proved compelling as the genre's spiritual successor. Trekking in support of their 2026 full length, Hell Is Here, Hell is Home, the band's clobbering brand of hostility incited bedlam in the pit from start to finish. Tracks like "Plague of Flies" and "Survive or Die" laid down the gauntlet and emphasized how Bodysnatcher was more than ready to step into the spotlight.
At the core of Chaos & Carnage, the ensemble cast is part of what drives the tour. The night's first half delivered some of the highlights as the likes of 200 Stab Wounds and UK death metal stalwarts Ingested launched an onslaught that flexed, speed, technicality and sonic savagery. Along with opening sets from new school aggressors in Gates to Hell and Bodybox, the 2026 edition of Chaos & Carnage set the pummeling precedent while amping the excitement for next year's run.
Check the gallery of recap images from the Los Angeles stop of Chaos & Carnage 2026 below. All images by Maurice Nunez.
CARNIFEX
BODYSNATCHER
200 STAB WOUNDS
INGESTED
GATES TO HELL
BODYBOX
