DEATH ANGEL + KATAKLYSM + KEEP OF KALESSIN
THE UNDERWORLD, CAMDEN - LONDON 28/06/09
A hot Sunday afternoon greeted us today, and I mean bloody hot. The size of the queue for this show was a little uneasy for me thinking it would be rammed, but thankfully the underworlds air conditioning units were all working today, but it was a rammed gig for sure. An interesting mix of Black, Death and Thrash metal presented itself as the “Summer Madness Tour”.
I had seen Keep of Kalessin a couple of months back with Amon Amarth and Obituary, and I was suitably impression by the step-up in quality of their live show compared to previous years. Tonight was no exception. Having gained massive crowd support right from their opening note, the band lap it all up and battle into furious tunes like ‘Winged Watcher’. The drumming from Vyl is tight and cohesive and the Underworld’s sound tonight is spot-on. Norwegian flags adorn the crowd for which the band is most appreciative of whilst they work the crowd like a headlining band. I cannot remember much about the live experiences past, but I am pleasantly surprised by the vocal harmonies and general intensity this brings to their music. ‘The Wealth of Darkness’ from their groundbreaking album ‘Armada’ sits right alongside recent tunes such as ‘Ascendant’ (which has already had over 1 million hits on you tube for the associated video apparently). Soul splitting sets are rare for me, this one had me transfixed and focused with extreme intensity. Their new album title track ‘Kolossus’ leaves both the crowd and myself in a state of musical ecstasy. One hell of a set, from one hell of a band.
Canadian bruisers Kataklysm are a bloody heavy band, and I would expect nothing short of utter brutality for this coming set. Boy was I right. There are bodies flying all over the place, people coming out of the pit with bloody noses and the poor stage hands trying to stop the stage divers…no chance! Vocalist Maurizio states “if you don’t know us, you will by the end of the night I am sure”! ‘As I Slither’ gets all the band headbanging, as they do throughout the entire set, if only for a short break to smile at the crowd mayhem they are causing. The sound samples used are perfectly executed whilst Max, the drummer, has a bloody good workout relentlessly braying the hell out of the double kick drums. At the beginning of the bands set there was not so many people in attendance as the previous band, but for what there was certainly made up for it in “movement”! ‘Crippled and Broken’ is an apt tune for the evening’s entertainment “here comes the pain”…dagga dagga dagga da…blast beat……..’In Shadows and Dust’ was expected and performed. I have to say thus far, this gig was a musical rampage on your soul with a double barrel shotgun, again an intense musical experience made better by the crowd’s enjoyment too. May these Canadian chaps return to these shores soon, please…?
The soundcheck that was done earlier was repeated prior to Death Angel coming on stage at 10pm (with only 30 minutes left to play if the Sunday curfew was anything to go by). Immediately grabbing his bottle of Bombay Sapphire vocalist Mark greets the crowd to a big round of cheers. New faces on Bass and Drums play right into the crowds hands and show how good additions they are. Not long into the set after ‘Voracious Souls’ ends the kick drums busts (apparently due to new drummer Will’s hard-hitting or maybe the Kataklysm assault?). But the band continued until they can do no other than wait for the skin to be changed. In the meantime there is a little chat, the usual “if it was not for you lot and London we would not exist” etc and the acoustic ‘Veil of Deception’ breaks the monotony of “the chat”. There was just not the same atmosphere for me after this point, although I doubt they could ever match the barrage of greatness that had previously played. Now with the drum skin fixed ‘Road Mutants’ is dedicated to Municipal Waste (not sure why now). The crowd once again come to life but it is all too late for some of the crowd and I included. They were always going to have a battle to outshine the competition from the support bands and the drum issues (that happen from time to time and cannot be helped) made it a low energy affair. Maybe that’s a little unfair, but the previous 66.6% (\m/) of the tour was enough for me. Still, these Bay Area legends did themselves proud and I still welcome their return to the UK, if only a little cooler weather next time!
Paul Maddison
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