GIG REVIEW: UK Deathfest @ The Electric Ballroom / The Underworld / The Black Heart (London, UK)

Spanning 3 days and 3 venues (plus a pre-show), this is my report of England’s biggest Death Metal extravaganza this year. Although not an exhaustive review of every single band I saw, I tried to pick some highlights from each day and give a short run-down of the show. So with that said, let’s get into what 4 days of Death Metal does to a person…

Pre-show

Vacuous deliver claustrophobic, crushing and maniacal Death Metal. Hot on the heels of announcing their debut full-length (which is utterly amazing for reference), these 5 youngsters destroy with their firestorm of savage riffing, crazed drumming and hideously mangled vocals. There is definitely a uniqueness to their brand of emotive, but relentless and abyssal Death Metal that must be witnessed.

Friday

Morta Skuld open the main-stage with crushing Death Metal brutality, playing a set mixing classic pieces of rotten meat from the early records with their equally vicious new material. Bludgeoning us, the sound is very bass-heavy and thick while the drumming hammers into the skull remorselessly. This band has remained a bit of a cult one, without as major of a breakthrough as other pioneering US Death Metal bands, but those who know them, know Morta Skuld are absolutely worthy of the highest pedestals in American barbarity.

Cancer may be elusive on the stage, but today they decimate their homeland. Firing out a blend of old cuts and a couple new tracks of sickness (much like Morta Skuld), there is groove aplenty and ferocious musicianship to deliver it. As one of the more renowned and respected titans of the early British Death Metal scene, they felt a must-see band on what might be the UK’s only Deathfest and certainly those in attendance weren’t disappointed.

Vomitory have a couple sound issues (no fault of their own, just some parts got drowned by Tobias’ amazing drum work which was enough to tear flesh from bone. This aside, it certainly didn’t dampen the sheer ferocity of their set which was a ravenous storm of zombifying Death Metal. These Swedes have been around the block a few times and it shows, their tightness live is unmistakable and their sound as punishing as ever.

Live Burial are definitely one of the favoured newer UK Death Metal bands for me, with their second album “Unending Futility” seeing them get a lot of adoration. With a third record imminent, these guys clearly have paid their dues as the attic-space of The Black Heart is rammed (apparently the door staff turning people away), but luckily we got in to witness their massive set of morbidity. Whether in England or not, this is a band you need to hear if you love old school Death Metal (especially of the Floridian vein).

Fleshcrawl benefitted from a truly superb mix. Their chainsaw riffs scolded the audience with German fury while the vocals sounded suitably raspy and evil. This was a really strong set from a band whose underground-dwelling heaviness sounds just as formidable in a live setting as on record (maybe even more so). Their set felt akin to a few of the Swedish bands playing, which certainly didn’t warrant any complaints as clearly those aware of this gem of the 90s underground flocked to witness them sink The Underworld further into the depths of London.

Immolation had the heaviest sound of the day. Their visceral and daunting brand of Death Metal was a monolith of intensity that lurched from strength to strength with each track ripping the guts out of the entire room. To see these titans play their majestic music was clearly a highlight for many as the whole place was moving in some form, as their warped Death Metal injected ecstasy into all present. Their spacey riffing and towers drums with mighty roars cutting through the mix was transfixing to behold, shaking the brain matter with sonic artillery that showed no mercy.

Gorgoroth are obviously the odd band out on a “Deathfest” but the Norwegians brought their a-game with Hoest’s intimidating stage presence delivering raspy vocals atop tidal waves of blast-beats and Infernus’ simple but evocative riff-craft. As a band with such a fluid lineup, it always feels you can get something unique from their show and tonight was an example of a really intense and gripping performance. The setlist felt well-selected for the festival too, opting for a lot of the more cutting tracks from the bands catalogue.

Saturday

Vacivus had an early slot, which can be worrisome for bands, with many still corpsed from the night before. However their gut-wrenching and atmospheric Death Metal brought energy from even the most mulched patrons. Playing more in the vein of New Jersey and New York titans such as Incantation, Rottrevore (Pennsylvanian, but with a similar sound) and more recently Funebrarum, there was no room for anything but the most unforgiving of putrescent sounds.

Interment were a major highlight for me, with anticipation high, this was due to be one of the best bands of the weekend… And they were! Taking to the stage with the confidence of a band that have been around since the original Swedish Death Metal movement, they are a personal favourite and on record that should be clear why. The classic HM-2 guitars and d-beats with roaring vocals are all there but also some more doomy moments that give them a really cool dynamic. Live, they did not disappoint as the furious foursome deliver pure Death Metal carnage that was second to none. In my opinion, they are up there with Entombed, Dismember, Carnage and the likes.

Massacre fly the flag of Tampa Death Metal high in the sky with a thrashing cacophony of Death Metal to celebrate their comeback after putting out their first LP in seven years. The set incorporated plenty of classic material and some new stuff and was played with a ferocity that captured the entire room. Covering “Blitzkrieg Bop” was an odd moment, but one I suppose people won’t forget, the rest of the set was a veritable feast of old school Death Metal, pure and untainted.

Corpsessed are definitely one of Finland’s most excellent outputs of recent years. Their doomy and eldritch brand of Death Metal is relentless and horrifying yet atmospheric and intricate. Their set at Finnfest a couple years ago was definitely a highlight of that show and this one was no different. They blazed through a setlist of scorching tracks with a tightness that didn’t feel robotic, in fact theirs is a sound of very organic and yet otherworldly compositions which come together in just as estranged manners live. They recently dropped their fantastic third album, so it was really cool getting to see some of those tracks along with favourites from their previous works. Truly stellar.

Lik were clearly one of the more anticipated bands, which is always nice to see when they are playing with their own musical ancestors like Interment and Vomitory. In fact, The Underworld was flooded with headbanging maniacs for Lik’s set of Swedeath mastery. Their HM-2 fuelled riffing cut through the relentless drum battery while Tomas’ violent vocal delivery was not left unheard. Definitely a highlight of the weekend for those who actually managed to get into the packed venue, Lik left all hungry for more. Playing all of the fan favourites such as “Decay” and “Celebration of the Twisted”, this set was absolutely epic.

Nuclear Assault may be winding down after a long career, but they fight ’til the last with a super set. A metallic onslaught of thrashing rage that will satiate any speed-maniacs desire for fastness took place. The vocals still shred glass while the instruments were mixed for maximum battery. I’ve been lucky to catch these guys a couple times, but this may be the last. If so, what a killer show to remember them by. You can’t teach an old horse new tracks, but you can’t stop ’em from thrashing either!

Autopsy had the most fetid, festering, ferocious live sound we could hope for. A few minute late onstage, the anticipation was ludicrous enough that literally 5 seconds into the set there was a pit. Their entire setlist was magnificent with plenty of classics from the first couple records to please all of us old school maniacs and show why the Californian mob are one of the finest Death Metal bands to exist, ever. Rancidness spewed from the amps while Reifert’s drumming and vocals were as savage as 30 years back. Every moment was action packed, grotesque and simply perfect. Having loved Autopsy since I was about 13-14, this show meant a lot to finally see them and every single element hit the right spots, no letdown whatsoever. We were all destined to fester in the grip of summer, enduring unfathomably critical madness.

Sunday

Decrepid had a couple sound issues at the very start, ie the rhythm guitarists amp blew. They actually sounded better than one could expect enduring that first song without him but when the full band ripped into the next piece, that’s when it came to life. A totally monstrous set of pure old school Death Metal that packed in some technicality without feeling pretentious. The bass work reminded me of Gorguts and Death while the thrashing tendencies in some parts went even further back to the likes of Possessed. If you like old school Death Metal with excellent musicianship, Decrepid will tear your head off. Sadly we missed the latter half of their set as Craft was an essential full-show for me. But I wish we could’ve split and seen all of both because what we saw of Decrepid was fantastic.

Craft had the meanness that they needed in their sound, launching into pulsating drums and groove-laden guitars with maniacal vocal delivery. These Swedish Black Metal masters felt as ugly, warped and unwholesome as on all of the records with their incredibly tight, often dissonant and yet tribally rhythmic set. The dedicated legions of Craft fans were entranced by every second of this diabolically fearsome show that will not be easily forgotten due to their haunting, malicious performance.

Benediction stormed to life, carried on waves of pure crushing Death Metal and benefitting from their charismatic vocalist David Ingram coming back into the fold. This set felt like a classic 90s Death Metal show with the beefy guitars and bass really delivering a sonic hammer to the crowd who were as receptive as ever to see these titans play one of the best sets in recent memory. The mood felt perfect for the show and the band fired on all cylinders from start to end. The love they clearly still hold for playing music shone through in every element of their show, which adds to the credibility, though their amazing sound shouldn’t have needed any more proof.

Sacramentum played a chilling set of icy Black Metal, rather different from fellow Swedes Craft earlier. Their melancholic, melodic and eerie music was still full of the true Black Metal mania of course, but with a sense of classiness too. The frontman was obviously possessed, adding a trance-inducing energy to the set while the entire band delivered glacial Black Metal with profoundly beautiful performances across the stage. This was not a time to go crazy, but a moment of fantastical and over-the-top atmospherics to take us on a journey to a land and time long forgotten.

Thanatos thrashed and raged with their classic Dutch Death Metal hellfire. Sadly it’ll be the last we see of this old school mob but they went out with a bang, playing a rager of set with pure ferocity. Truly a spectacle of force, that kept peoples attention as we were all clearly excited for Hellhammer, the Thanatos legions were more than worthy of injecting us with a ruthless energy beforehand. I am extremely glad I got a chance to catch them live, because it was a killer set.

Triumph Of Death, a show I am lost for words to describe. The sound, was like being dragged from the demon entrails themselves with Jamie’s bass tone rattling the entire place as Tom Warrior and Andre sawed the rafters with their rumbling riffs and Tim Wey’s drumming equally reliable. The mix was perfect and all of the room moved to the tectonic grooves of Hellhammer’s legendary tracks being brought to life. For me, it is one of the greatest bands of all time and to see those songs live was nothing short of life-fulfilling. The band played with the vibrance and force that the songs deserve and all of the primitive might of them left all maniacs and venue crushed by sheer force. If you have the chance to see Triumph Of Death in the flesh, do not miss it, it will be one of the greatest shows of your life.