THE LONDON DEATHFEST VIII
One thing that cannot be relied upon at this time of year is the weather but the Deathfest is a guaranteed feast that rain or shine has no bearing upon in the dank dark confines of the Underworld. This brutal affair of an all-dayer guarantees a line up of bands some new, some old and quite often some coming out of retirement and offering their first gig in years.
Someone always has to open up proceedings and it was up to Life Denied to do the honours today. Luckily for them there were plenty who had turned up for the early afternoon doors to catch them. This lot were from that breeding ground of all things metal Birmingham and the second they started we were reminded of that cities greatest musical export Napalm Death. Numbers such as ‘The Stench Of Rotten Lies’ set the tone, brutal and rampaging with a nice solid groove about them. ‘Why’ even went as far as having some backing shrieks accompanying the main gruff vocal growl. It was impossible to get away from the Napalm comparisons here from the singers in between song announcements in that great distinguishable Brummy accent down to a riff I could have sworn escaped straight from ‘Breed To Breathe.’ Still they were a highly enjoyable opener and deserved a stage diving invasion as they ground us into submission. (PW)
I was very much looking forward to seeing Crepitation today, as they had a full line-up for the first time in ages and I had enjoyed their recent show at the Purple Turtle. The first thing that can be said is that these boys do not mess around!! We are very quickly treated to some energetic windmill head-banging and some brutal death grunts from both vocalists! The sludgy wall of noise is quickly lapped up by the crowd inside the Underworld, who clearly enjoy what is on display here and join in the frivolity with some nice moshing activity in the pit – at one stage joined by a member of the band!
Even though there are some complaints from the band about the sound, Crepitation rip and tear through a set that include such wonderfully penned ditties as “Effervescent Sarcophagus Pump”, “Opthalmic Arterial Haemorrhage” and the popular “Gargantuan Emo Killer” and impress the crowd with their groove, brutality, energy and the banter between songs (especially the part when they admitted the lyrics to the next song were going to be made up on the spot!!!). Crepitation finish things off with “Equine Phallic Impalement.” A very impressive display, that has set a high standard for the rest of the day. (AD)
Embryonic Depravity were fast, they were bludgeoning and they were fairly technical but they were also singularly uninspiring. Their music came across as a one dimensional blur with all the songs sounding exactly like each other. Their brand of extremely brutal death metal was definitely played with a certain degree of passion, but the pig squealing style vocals did grate on my nerves after a while. The guttural vocals fitted the bludgeoning onslaught much better. The Cannibal Corpse cover, unfortunately, was the only track that really stood out from the bands set. (MH)
Sarpanitum are unfortunately the victims of a long break between bands, so that when they do hit the stage, the crowd present in the Underworld is a little sparse (who needs food anyway – drink Guinness!). When they eventually hit the stage, they treat us to the brutal, fast and technical “Dawn of Enthrallment”, which is taken from their new release “Despoilment of Origin”. These boys can certainly play, and their brand of metal comes across well, with some good changes of pace and a confident vocal assault from the shorn bassist/vocalist Andy who comfortably handles both duties to a high standard. In fact, the organisation and professionalism with which they play is very impressive considering their brief existence, and they quickly develop an appreciation within the crowd.
The unrelenting and technical assault in songs such as “Provocation of an Eternal Odium”, interspersed with some slower sections that contain crushing riffs cause some heads to bang in sync as the crowd show their appreciation to the band. The display tonight is very good, and the band clearly have a prowess for the style of music they are playing (somewhere between Morbid Angel, Immolation and Vader……not breaking new ground, but bloody good stuff!!). A very good display from an up and coming band that I hope to hear and see again in the future. (AD)
Having been slightly let down by Sarpanitum’s lack of passion and lacklustre performance, it was up to Screamin’ Daemon to inject some well received passion, humour and violence into the proceedings. This is exactly what they did as they produced the first real pit violence seeing as they decided to mosh around the central pillar for some considerable time. Only thing missing was a few ribbons for them to hold onto. Amusing as this was Screamin’ laid down some groove laden death metal introducing each track about some tyrant or murderer like Vlad, Stalin or Mengele. The bands stage presence was a definite plus point and accompanied with what seemed like a ten fold improvement in the sound department the band went down a storm with the moshing punters. There is no doubting the ability of the band to put on a groove laden death metal feast, but my reservations lie with the longevity of their material as at times it was very similar and difficult to distinguish one song from another. Despite this the set was excellent, accomplished and I would like to hear some new material from the band. (MH)
Make no mistake Abaddon Incarnate are positively feral on disc. Their last album 2004s’ Dark Crusade is testament to this fact and the Irish group can grind with the best of them. Today they just didn’t quite hit the mark for me, although numbers such as ‘Nihilist’ from their 1999 platter ‘The Last Supper’ seemed to invoke a violent pugilistic pit frenzy as the vocalists all screamed away almost encouraging the madness along. The technicality did shine through and the grinding frenzy of the instrumentation on the likes of the mystically tinged Hamunaptra City Of The Dead shone through but it was as though the band never got quite into their stride and there was a spark missing unlike the time I last caught them a few years ago (PW)
Cerebral Fix are the reason I’m here. Forget any other band. It’s about the Fix (erm….I would like to say, there is no illegal drug dealing in the Underworld…..to my knowledge!). These guys will always have a special place in my heart as the grinding band who can mix it with the best of them. So it’s very interesting to see how the years have treated them, both visually and if they can still do it live! Well, guitarist Gregg looks like your friendly family uncle and vocalist Simon is still…..well…..pint sized. However, tonight, they tear the Underworld a new one with the ferocity of a band re-invented.
Any idea of me jotting down notes is quickly lost as they steam into the Intro song to their excellent Tower Of Spite album, “Unity For Who?” The band have not lost any energy over the years, and the unique sound that Cerebral Fix have always had is lapped up by fans old and new alike (a point which was nicely pointed out between songs!). Cerebral Fix are on top form tonight and to say they impress is an understatement. Old favourites such as “Enter the Turmoil”, “Tower of Spite” and my personal favourite “Circle of the Earth” are all pounded out with a passion that lights up the Underworld. Always affable between songs, this is the sort of band that leave you begging for more, but with the wonderful feeling of having enjoyed an excellent display of metal! More please!!!! (AD)
If you’ve never witnessed an Avulsed live performance then you are really missing an aspect of your life that you should rectify at the earliest opportunity. The band is like a death metal mutilation machine. The only disappointing aspect about the night was the lack of playing time which was limited to 30 minutes. An extra 15 minutes would have made their show that much more intense and brutal. Typically kicking off their set with the very melodic intro from “Stabwound Orgasm”, the band catapulted the crowd into a frenzy. Dave Rotten is the consummate death metal front man, windmilling his head whilst singing, standing close to the crowd, as did all the band members adding to the ferocity of the performance and bringing that sense of danger that extreme metal should have. There was no time for breathing as the band relentlessly bulldozed through a handful of tracks which the frenzied maniacs in the pit relished. “Gorespattered Suicide” was quickly and clinically despatched and standing at the front is no easy task, especially when you’re trying to take photos as well. Indeed I lost my pint (not the first or last by the end of the evening), as the exuberant nutters in the pit launched themselves forward during “Powdered Flesh” and battered me into the stage. Dave decided it was his time to get into the crowd and promptly launched himself into it on his back while roaring. The riffing and songs have that fine balance between melody, groove and outright pummelling that many death metal bands seem to forget about. A brilliant performance as always from these guys.
By the time that Gorerotted hit the stage, I was suitably inebriated, but ready for more bludgeoning death metal. I waited patiently at the front of the stage with my camera at the ready and my pint on the stage. But I should have known that staying at the front was a mistake as once they started up it was bedlam from start to finish. The moment “Fuck Your Arse…” was rammed into your face and the first diver got on the stage I had to kiss my pint goodbye, again. These buggers never stood still for a moment which was a pain when you’re trying to get half decent shots of them. With the event running slightly late there was no time to lose as ”Gagged…” (you know its title by now), quickly rattled me and quite a few others into “Nervous Gibbering Wrecks”. “Only Tools And Corpses” did nothing more than to propel the crowd into more of a frenzy and at this point Ben realised that the stage was soaked in ale and queried who’s it was. Yes it was mine. After trying to obtain some photos I retreated to the back to watch the carnage from afar and see the band rampage through various sweet little ditties such as “Cut Gut Beaten Eaten” and “Stab Me Till I Cum”. Musically I found the Gorerotted set probably slightly less intense than some of the bands of the day, but hell they pack a punch like a 10 ton sledgehammer on your skull. A great performance and one fitting for their 10 year anniversary. Subsequent to the gig I read that Matthew (Guitarist) has left the band and that the guys are continuing as a four piece until a replacement is drafted in.
All in all Deathfest 2007 was a vast improvement on the previous year, with every band playing to a good crowd. The organisation, as always, was impeccable with only small delays, the band variation was good and I look forward to Deathfest 2008 tremendously. A great day. (MH)
Andy Duke, Martin Harris & Pete Woods
LONDON UNDERWORLD 19/06/07