Post by markwj on Sept 3, 2008 12:28:10 GMT
Summer Slaughter Tour
Central Station Wrexham
31/8/08
With scant recovery time from my exertions of yesterday off to Wrexham for the 2pm start for this extreme metal touring package. Reunited with fellow Hellfest vets (all sharing Post Traumatic Drinking Syndrome symptoms) we wanted to get down pretty early as surprisingly The Berzerker were the first of the main acts on.
We got some tickets off locals Blindsight to avoid the door price hike and got in to find it looking pretty busy. There’s another stage set up by the top bar for local bands and though we’d unfortunately missed Impaled Existence we are greeted by the ferocity of Anglesey’s Bloodlust. Their ultra heavy death is spot on tight, a lot of experience in the band showing through. Very impressive.
Invoking memories of our toing and froing in Europe we hike the massive 25 yards to the main stage for Australia’s The Berzerker (top pic). Referring to the archives it’s a good 5 years since I saw them at Earache’s Christmas party, they have finally left that dubious comfort zone/sweat shop and set up their own label for the release (on Monday) of their new album. (No amount of blagging procures an advance copy). They’ve also ditched the custom horror masks they no doubt used to sweat blood in but vague rumours I’d heard of their gradual demise through cleaning up musically were obviously greatly exaggerated. They were still incredibly brutal and fast industrial death metal, the blistering early Carcass-ish riffing underpinned by phat gabba blast beats. Excellent, but a shame for them that now they have to accept slots beneath themselves to bring themselves to “the kids”.
Back to the up and coming with The Day Before Mortality (pic above) from Mold, screamo that will fit in with the core sound of the headliners and certainly inspires crazy hardcore pit dancing. The singer almost has a bit of young Danzig about him though his vocals are as extreme as they come, the contrasting clean melodies provided by the drummer. The set certainly flies through as it’s delivered with a lot of energy.
Annotations of an Autopsy from Brighton were next, and I wasn’t necessarily fussed about seeing them again after their very confrontational/silly approach as a support to Suffocation. However they seemed to be in a more amenable mood tonight, maybe lessons have been learned. Their sludgy death certainly had good pounding grooves but the monotone vocals meant my interest waned after a while
We then had a break from the extortionate club prices by nipping out to the Wetherspoons but with typical festival relapse, time loss and blurring we’d managed to miss a couple of bands by the time we came back, the Egypt orientated prog death of Born of Osiris and the black metal Abigail Williams. Also the critical faculties were becoming impaired through the constant topping up. As Blood Runs Black's (pic above) hardcore/death came across a solid and aggressive, riff mongering a-go-go, but ultimately I was more impressed with Wrexham’s own Blindsight. Again a few years since I’d seen them in Hotel California and didn’t remember their hardcore metal crossover being so heavy, it was a good evolution. Especially so from the roaring vocalist, so a shame he was making this his last gig.
Finally we have Suicide Silence (pic above) and while the overriding memory was of whirling riffs and screaming vocals the death-core genre they represent does not have the same impact for me raised on nastier stuff. Natural for a younger scene to be maligned by old-timers but judged purely on the music (Never Mind the Fringes tm) there’s little that stands out for me. Then again as I hadn’t heard any before I wouldn’t pick up on the musical and lyrical hooks that their fans naturally did and their reception was appreciative.
Still, all in all it was a good selection, as much for the local bands as the touring package. Personally I’m glad that Wrexham still counts as a venue on this circuit, especially as diesel prices inhibit going anywhere further afield. With the early Sunday club closing there’s still time for cheap beer elsewhere, as well as a visit to a local late night record shop that gives stuff away for free. Returning to work the next day I was glad of trees to hug/hold on to dear life to, as the world seemed unusually wobbly. Things were unusually quiet too. Eh? What?
Central Station Wrexham
31/8/08
With scant recovery time from my exertions of yesterday off to Wrexham for the 2pm start for this extreme metal touring package. Reunited with fellow Hellfest vets (all sharing Post Traumatic Drinking Syndrome symptoms) we wanted to get down pretty early as surprisingly The Berzerker were the first of the main acts on.
We got some tickets off locals Blindsight to avoid the door price hike and got in to find it looking pretty busy. There’s another stage set up by the top bar for local bands and though we’d unfortunately missed Impaled Existence we are greeted by the ferocity of Anglesey’s Bloodlust. Their ultra heavy death is spot on tight, a lot of experience in the band showing through. Very impressive.
Invoking memories of our toing and froing in Europe we hike the massive 25 yards to the main stage for Australia’s The Berzerker (top pic). Referring to the archives it’s a good 5 years since I saw them at Earache’s Christmas party, they have finally left that dubious comfort zone/sweat shop and set up their own label for the release (on Monday) of their new album. (No amount of blagging procures an advance copy). They’ve also ditched the custom horror masks they no doubt used to sweat blood in but vague rumours I’d heard of their gradual demise through cleaning up musically were obviously greatly exaggerated. They were still incredibly brutal and fast industrial death metal, the blistering early Carcass-ish riffing underpinned by phat gabba blast beats. Excellent, but a shame for them that now they have to accept slots beneath themselves to bring themselves to “the kids”.
Back to the up and coming with The Day Before Mortality (pic above) from Mold, screamo that will fit in with the core sound of the headliners and certainly inspires crazy hardcore pit dancing. The singer almost has a bit of young Danzig about him though his vocals are as extreme as they come, the contrasting clean melodies provided by the drummer. The set certainly flies through as it’s delivered with a lot of energy.
Annotations of an Autopsy from Brighton were next, and I wasn’t necessarily fussed about seeing them again after their very confrontational/silly approach as a support to Suffocation. However they seemed to be in a more amenable mood tonight, maybe lessons have been learned. Their sludgy death certainly had good pounding grooves but the monotone vocals meant my interest waned after a while
We then had a break from the extortionate club prices by nipping out to the Wetherspoons but with typical festival relapse, time loss and blurring we’d managed to miss a couple of bands by the time we came back, the Egypt orientated prog death of Born of Osiris and the black metal Abigail Williams. Also the critical faculties were becoming impaired through the constant topping up. As Blood Runs Black's (pic above) hardcore/death came across a solid and aggressive, riff mongering a-go-go, but ultimately I was more impressed with Wrexham’s own Blindsight. Again a few years since I’d seen them in Hotel California and didn’t remember their hardcore metal crossover being so heavy, it was a good evolution. Especially so from the roaring vocalist, so a shame he was making this his last gig.
Finally we have Suicide Silence (pic above) and while the overriding memory was of whirling riffs and screaming vocals the death-core genre they represent does not have the same impact for me raised on nastier stuff. Natural for a younger scene to be maligned by old-timers but judged purely on the music (Never Mind the Fringes tm) there’s little that stands out for me. Then again as I hadn’t heard any before I wouldn’t pick up on the musical and lyrical hooks that their fans naturally did and their reception was appreciative.
Still, all in all it was a good selection, as much for the local bands as the touring package. Personally I’m glad that Wrexham still counts as a venue on this circuit, especially as diesel prices inhibit going anywhere further afield. With the early Sunday club closing there’s still time for cheap beer elsewhere, as well as a visit to a local late night record shop that gives stuff away for free. Returning to work the next day I was glad of trees to hug/hold on to dear life to, as the world seemed unusually wobbly. Things were unusually quiet too. Eh? What?