DESTRUCTION, DEBAUCHERY & SCARED TO DEATH
LEEDS RIOS – 12/12/08
Once again a Rios gig opens on time…not! As the opening band strike their first chord, my initial thoughts from scoping out the meagre attendance of what looked like two paying punters was that the venue had fucked up and weren’t letting people through, although as the night progressed through its early stages it struck me that this was simply to be a poorly attended gig. Having caught Destruction three times prior to tonight, I must say that in comparison to the relatively bustling crowds the Teutonic thrash titans have garnered in comparative shows in the area, tonight’s attendance was, for want of a better word, piss poor. Credit crunch, perhaps? Or pinching those pennies in the run up to the most expensive time of year? Or perhaps the scant turn out was more down to lack of known support acts. Who knows!
Anyway, I had to feel somewhat bad for Scared To Death who played to a modest assemblage of punters (crowd isn’t really an appropriate word to use at this point). This German trio had not been billed anywhere until tonight, and a reliable source informs that they were added fairly late on after hitting up Destruction for support slots. It’s an unenviable task for such an unknown band to open; there’s always that uncertainty from the audience and a touch of apprehension; and frankly, their modern brand of thrash does little to excite. There is certainly an element of ‘Extreme Aggression’ in the riffs and punishing drum foray, although this isn’t projected in their presence which sees the surrounding stage literally engulf them. I had to let out a chortle at the originality of naming a song ‘Holy War’ with its fattened, punked up bass line, although this was less Mustaine worship as you might expect, as they demonstrate an old school Iron Maiden flavour which is also evident in the galloping riffage on ‘Final Fight’. Vocals are thrown out in a two-pronged attack which mixes up modern hardcore aggression with a Hetfield croon. There’s a thrashy enough style to ‘Paint the White House Black’ that has a couple of enthusiasts won over like Obama in the US Elections, enough to buy a t-shirt and thrash about mentally, although sadly I hadn’t had enough to drink by this point to join them and, growing tired of the monotony, I escape to the bar. - www.myspace.com/youllbescaredtodeath
Tales of Debauchery warn me to expect a debauched (ha!) feasting of fake blood and scanty sluts and an overall messy stage show in a ‘Chainsaw Masturbation’ kinda way, although tonight there is an absence of any such craziness, which is a bit of a letdown. As much as I enjoyed their previous offering, I must admit to not being au fait with their newest material, but as they ‘Continue To Kill’, I am glad to hear a few familiar notes such as the pounding grooves of ‘Back In Blood’ which stomps in with a real sense of menace before launching in with a frenzy of blastbeats and a guitar riff that is strangely laid back yet bone-crushingly heavy.
There’s a real classic rock foundation to their sound that is particularly strong on ‘Death Metal War-Machine’ with its tasty licks and fluid solos which I’m guessing pound ten tons of crap outta anything on Chinese Democracy. With its bludgeoning riffs and guttural gurgles, ‘Warfare’ comes bristling in itching for a fight and finds one, as the absence of topless ladies on the stage is too much for one guy to take who throws off his shirt and tries his damnedest to start a pit. Too bad the rest of us were still comparatively sober and much too subdued to have any of it.
One part grind, the other all-out brutal death metal, these ‘Lords Of Battle’ carry out the task with a real dirty groove and a smidgeon of melody that does somehow capture the interest of yours truly, and at the very least, gets a fraction of the crowd fired up for the headliners. - www.myspace.com/debaucheryband
With tonight being my fourth time watching Destruction I had a good idea what I was in for, and just as I expected, they didn’t let me down! With an obvious sense of humour, the band make their way onto the stage to the boogie-down sounds of German pop music that has me…er…slightly worried about the sanity of our German freundes. Tonight we were in for a real treat as the Teutonic trio thrashed out for a full 90 minutes and yet even as the night drew to a close there was no sign of fatigue on their faces; proof that as they celebrate their 25th anniversary, they can still keep the pace.
While the venue was still disappointingly below capacity, the dance floor has filled up nicely by now, with a phalanx of headbanging maniacs and those stood, beer in hand, simply enjoying the show. There was no sign of a pit tonight, and after recent events I must say it was a welcome relief to be able to shoot the band (photographically, of course) in comfort with pint not splashed all over my camera.
These ‘Mad Butcher’s absolutely command the stage, and while I’m sure I may be echoing words used in previous reviews now, it must be said that the way Schmier and Mike Sifringer (who, by the way, I have decided is Ol Drake’s slightly senior doppelganger) strut from one mic stand to the other while trading riffs simply makes them appear as though they slid out of the womb with guitars affixed. Speaking of Drake, that silly (and currently silent!) scallywag from Evile who is currently laid up in a hospital bed with his jaw wired shut, it was rather nice for the band to give their well-wishes to him during the encore.
They steamroll their way through such old faves as ‘Eternal Ban’, the obliterating ‘Bestial Invasion’ and ‘Life Without Sense’, dedicating the latter to all the oldies in the crowd who have supported the band since the start. They equally acknowledge the new fans, dedicating ‘Butcher Strikes Back’ to all the youngsters, including one stood by the stage who had just turned 18. ‘Curse The Gods’ comes in with its angry, menacing stomp, as Schmier rings out his trademark shrieks on the chorus.
As we had to expect really, a good smattering of new tracks were thrown into the set including the rather melodic ‘Urge: The Greed Of Gain’ and title track ‘D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.’ and a Sabbath medley brings us nicely to ‘Last Desperate Scream’. It’s impossible to resist the urge to headbang to ‘Cracked Brain’ and the monstrous ‘Nailed To The Cross’ inevitably has me shouting along with the rest of ‘em.
A nice early finish means time to make last train home and even call off for one at the pub. One thing is for sure, those who couldn’t be arsed to go tonight missed out on a fantastic show! - www.myspace.com/officialdestruction
Luci Herbert
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