GIG REVIEW: Undergang @ Nambucca (3rd August 2019)

While revisiting cherished gig memories from this year, I thought I would follow my write-up of Midnight with this incredibly show from the start of this month.

Starting off the night are England’s CRYPTWORM who play a crushingly slow and rancid slab of Death Metal with gorgeously doomy atmospherics coming through and some of the tastiest bass tones I have heard. The crushing assault not only welcomes in the pungent stench of the night to come but shows that not all of the English bands go to the slam side of things. These guys play a pummelling half hour of guttural and filthy sludge that hits hard and immediately gets things rolling. A wonderful start to the evening.

Next up are main support and fellow Danes DEIQUISITOR who follow in the Old School Death Metal traditions but then add some utterly mental and flamboyant dissonant guitar riffs. The energy of their drummer was captivating as he furiously pummelled away with an unrelentingly forceful speed and mind-blowing skills that really did strike awe into me and those around me. Their live show was not only a glorious rendition of their fierce abilities but showcased a very unique atmosphere for a Death Metal show that was exhilaratingly inhuman and technically impressive while refraining from any obnoxious progressions, just taking a ridiculously epic sound that hit like a freight train.

Now for the main course, meaty riffs and stomping drums fill their air alongside vomited gurgles from UNDERGANG. Surging out a cavernous blend of odious Death Metal, these guys are clearly not only experienced but have one of the most densely devastating live sounds that nearly levelled the building. A reek of blundering savagery came from the speakers that got everyone going crazy and pumping their fists in time to the slow grooves that putrified the crowd. For me the mid and slow tempo hooks are what makes these Danish titans so damn heavy sounding, akin to the sludge of openers Cryptworm, something I get from them every time I play the records but they pale into insignificance when you realise just how hard these guys hit live. Not only did their headline set come through gorgeously and offer a really good time but this gig just felt like a proper Death Metal show with bands not just thrown together, these guys all worked well on creating a truly marvellous stench of classic brutality as a full lineup. Kudos to Crypt Of The Wizard and Me Saco Un Ojo for putting together this trio of delightfully disgusting music and to all the bands who played. Undergang are certainly not a band to miss.