GIG REVIEW: Cannibal Corpse @ The Roundhouse (London, UK)

A billing of four metallic titans hits the capital for a night of death/thrash mania. Below is my recollection of these abhorrent events…

Opening tonight we have Belgian Death-Thrashers Schizophrenia. Having seen these youngsters a couple times, I know they are one tight live unit who are fast earning their stripes in the touring circuit. Bringing the stage presence of a band who are ready to join the likes of such big names, these guys have the confidence and skill to prove they are worthy of this opening slot, conquering the stage with fierce and technically superb Death/Thrash might. I expect the growth of this band to continue being enormous, they are hard working, hard touring and most importantly hard playing! Keep it up!

Next up, Immolation. These Death Metal titans are not a band I should need to introduce. The only downside of this set, is I wish they were higher on the bill so we could get more from this monstrous entity. All the same, their set was fantastic with a tight delivery, balanced sound and those evil guitar acrobatics that the band have been perfecting for several decades. In my opinion Immolation are one of the most consistent and reliable bands in Death Metal and this applies to both the records and the live set. Tonight was another reminder of why they are so highly regarded and adored by the maniacs of the world. Closing with “Into Everlasting Fire” was absolutely killer. A superb set indeed.

As the night goes on, Municipal Waste inject some upbeat energy with their high-octane, adrenaline-pumping Thrash Metal. From the word go, these guys crushed the crowd and got everyone going crazy for their frantic punk-tinged Thrash Metal. The enormous pit and waves of crowd-surfers dominated the room and their ever-energetic frontman ensured nobody was left un-battered by the end. There is no hiding the fact Municipal Waste are always on the road, this is obvious from their rehearsed and engaging set that gripped a room full of people and turned it into sheer chaos. A great warm-up for one of the biggest Death Metal bands on the planet.

Now the night is ready to be finished, skulls are set to be stomped and Cannibal Corpse take the stage. A man short, due to Eric Rutan returning to the USA because of a natural disaster to be with his family. The band must be commended for sticking to their tour commitments incomplete, and they did a smashing job. Rob’s crushing guitars held up magnificently and he performed valiantly as the only six-stringer while Alex’s low-end remained as consistently skull-crushing as ever. Corpsegrinder’s vocals did not let the team down, nor did Paul’s drumming. The band continue to dominate and obliterate all in their path and even without their full lineup delivered a blinding set of brutality and cannibalistic anthems from a range of their impressive discography.

A monolithic lineup of extremity that filled the roundhouse with metallic excellence for a memorable night. On a side note, a huge amount of respect to the sound guy for playing classic Heavy Metal all night, including Divlje Jagode which was an unexpected but very welcome surprise. Anyways, back to the gig; having seen all the bands before, some several times, I still felt a huge joy seeing them all again and they all have plenty left to give the Metal world.