DEAD INFECTION, AMPUTATED, BEEF CONSPIRACY & CEREBRAL BORE
No. There were no black cats, no walking under ladders and none of all that load of crap, even though it was Friday 13th. And even if Jason had turned up, he’d probably have been like a pig in shit, and moshing out in the tiny yet cosy venue (although I was most perturbed at the lack of draught beer.......hmmph).
Neckbrace who were due to be on first, had, apparently split up, so after a delayed opening, it was Glaswegian quartet Cerebral Bore who took to the stage first, and I was particularly excited as all the Glaswegian’s I’d ever known were fucking hard!! Opener “Onslaught” kicked in nicely and any concerns over possible stage fright or inexperience from these guys are quickly subdued with a confident display of technical death, with an impressive foray of vocal attack. “Entombed in Butchered Bodies” impresses further with Cerebral Bore managing to vary the songs well, but still linking them together to form a catchy, coherent whole.
“Flesh reflects the Madness” continues on from where the previous song left off with pounding, unrelenting metal. These boys have this style down to a tee by changing the tempo just when it’s about to get samey, and many of the heads in Bar Monsta nod with appreciation. The vocalist varies the attack well sounding like an early stages Benton with the variety purveyed, and the arrangement of the songs is excellent!!
Basically, these boys have played their hearts out tonight and the crowd have respected that. I hope to see them again soon and it’s refreshing to see a band so humble. I’m sure they’ll go onwards and upwards!!
Now, Beef Conspiracy excite me. We’re not talking woodies here. But it’s close. Actually...they make me hard. They’re that good live. Am I lying?? Well, on tonight’s performance......no!
The Friday 13th Intro leads into the first song which pummels the audience’s ears. “Cerebral Minge” (nice.......I often have that female area on the brain...hence the large credit card bill this month). The change of pace in the middle of this song totally kills and the vocalist provides such visual delight, it’s kindalike watching Tales of The Unexpected meets Joey Deacon via a pissed Downs Syndrome patient who’s just dropped a ten pence piece . Just awesome and totally hypnotic to watch!!!
Other choice titles of the night include “Spunky Beefcake”, “Beef Denied” and “Beneath the Skin”.....which I guess is about the gorgonzola type effects of non washing the old boy.
But with all the fun part of the band aside, these guys play bloody good music, they’re brutal, technical to the point of a high prowess level, have a good change of pace, capture the interest for the entire song and are a fun band to watch and let’s be honest....how many bands are really good to watch nowadays. The display reminded me of the fun of watching extreme metal from the late eighties and early nineties and surely that’s what it is all about? These guys are special.....and if you can catch them in the future, then watch them because in the live environment, they are nigh to untouchable! Roll on the album and more beefy mischief!
Ah....Amputated......ever since the “Gargling with Infected Semen” release, I had been looking forward to some more goregrind action.
Tonight, they don’t disappoint. The band are tight and the vocals sound exceptional. We see the first display of moshing within the tiny venue, egged on by the band with some interaction to add to the fun!! “Love em and Cleave em” and “MDSPT” (oh....can I please, please say the full name??? Please???) (Well, if you cant I can, it’s Molesting Downs Syndrome Pre-Teens, Pete) carry on the brutality and tightness and I for one are very impressed with the performance that we’re seeing tonight!
New track “Wading through Rancid Offal” goes down very well and the pounding, crushing riffs, somewhat reminiscent of Cannibal Corpse show a growing maturity of a band that can pen increasingly catchy yet brutal tunes.
“Raped with a Jackhammer”......cryptically introduced as.....”Someone who has been been raped with a Jackhammer” and “Gargling with Infected Semen” end an impressive set and despite the bands urgings for more action in the pit, the band are very well appreciated. If anyone was in doubt whether this lot were substance or just sick tunes, then that had surely been laid to rest tonight with a powerful performance
I had never seen Dead Infection and was intrigued as how to this long running band would perform tonight. Well. They were certainly not short of support, and despite the lack of groove that the previous bands had earlier on in the night, Dead Infection relied on a more straight forward Grindcore approach that focuses on short punchy songs rather than the blasphemy of venturing over two minutes!!
Now, Dead Infection are certainly professional and the music tonight is delivered in a tight manner, but after Beef Conspiracy and Amputated, it is a little flat. Not bad......just flat. I guess after two hours of warped Brit humour....someone trying to purvey straight ahead metal is kinda tough!! Probably just me though........!!
But although the first half of the set is a little vacant, Dead Infection start to kick in during the second half with tracks such as “Flying Sheep form outer Space” and “Xenomorph”. Overall, an impressive performance form a band that had a lot to compete with and I wasn’t sure whether earlier possible disjointedness could come across well, But I was wrong! A good performance and a good night.....money well spent and I hope to see all bands in the near future!!
Andy Duke
LONDON BAR MONSTA 13/07/07