GIG REVIEW: Black Curse / Concrete Winds @ The Black Heart (London, UK)

Billing two of my favourite Death Metal bands of recent years together; Black Curse and Concrete Winds, this promised to be a night of bestial savagery and utter mayhem.

First of the co-headliners, Concrete Winds took to the stage with their swarming tempest of violence. Being the third time I had seen these lunatics, I knew it would be a ferocious set. With three albums under their belt, we got a good mix and the performance was tighter than ever with the trio annihilating the crowd. The room was packed, hot and sweaty with a few wimps clearly left bewildered by what they were witnessing but overall I was too transfixed by the hostility coming from the stage to care. The mix captured the unwieldy sound of Concrete Winds which is no easy task, allowing their full-bore onslaught to be felt as they flagellate every soul who dared stand witness to their hateful hymns. Buzzing with animalistic rage, their set flew past in a flurry of whammy abuse, maniacal riffing and insane drum work. A true maelstrom of metallic vengeance.

Black Curse emerged shortly after with barely any light on stage making their mysterious soundscapes also visually alluring. Instantly everybody in the room was entranced by their serpentine and otherworldly take on Death Metal. Each delay-soaked vocal spew crashed through layers of mystifying guitars and the absolutely masterful command of the drum kit that kept everything ritualistically pounding into the ears. Having such an expansive and atmospheric yet viscerally barbaric approach and delivering that blend live to such a perfect degree truly impressed me. Both the records are obviously phenomenal, as my reviews of each reflect, but their live performance did not fall short of the spectacle such a high bar demands. Their set was surprisingly short, but I actually felt this appropriate as the sheer gravity of their music was crushing and it ensured the intensity was never lost at any moment.

A truly perfect double-billing of majestically evil Death Metal where both bands mercilessly slaughtered all in attendance. This was one of those shows that was over in a blitzkrieg flash but every second felt perfect. A sweatbox of passionate morbidity and aggression delivered by two of the strongest entities in the current underground with a sound as powerful as the bands to boot. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot rammed down your throat by some sweaty Finns and Americans.