Post by markwj on Sept 21, 2010 23:12:11 GMT
Cephalic Carnage, Psycroptic, Ion Dissonance, Hour Of Penance, Dyscarnate
Moho, Manchester
15/9/10
This gig hadn’t really been on my radar until Tudno FM’s roving reporter/blagger Gwyn brought it to my attention, enabling him, John Kobe and me to take a trip up, meeting the ex-pat-returned-home Danny (Portrait, Meths) there. It had been at the now defunct Rockworld here where I’d seen them before some years back, that had been entertaining and head melting jazz-grind chaos that had lived up to their moniker and they were now back promoting their new “Misled By Certainty” album. Rush hour traffic and 5 bands crammed into 4 hours meant we were only there in time to hear Dyscarnate from the outside while Gwyn interviewed the headliners. Their rumbling death metal vibes sounded good though, no doubt why they are earning a positive reputation in the UK underground.
Speaking of underground, I headed down into the basement dive that is Moho. I’d been slagging it off since first visiting it for Eyehategod recently but for all its cramped conditions and poor visibility it was pointed out by my accompanying tech-heads that the sound system produced quality results and there was healthy turnout for this international collection of bands. The prospect of Sick of it All and Madball inspired lunacy at their upcoming show in this non-padded cell here may have to be seen to be believed.
From Italy next we had Hour of Penance who had disappointed me on the big stage at the last Deathfest in Leeds but did seem to have more impact up close here, even though they still suffered in my opinion from a weakened sound when the guitar made lead breaks and there was only the bass to carry the backing. Bass man showed great technique though with chord sequences as well as sheer finger picking speed. Their performance garnered even more respect when it was revealed that they had a new singer and drummer since that last time too so fair play to them for getting up to speed with the harsh and fast death metal precision.
Ion Dissonance from Canada are all about their technical side of death, with 21 strings shared between their two guitars and bass enabling lots of flying fingers on scales and general fret board athletics topped off with relentless brutality of the vocalist and more double bass drumming master classes. For me their greatest impact came from the staccato nature of their riffing, but with little familiarity with their material plus less interest personally in these exercises of skill they don’t create much of an impression. Many others evidently don’t feel this way with the opportunity to see them as it is pretty packed out up front and the first stirrings of pit action are evident.
Even though they are from Australia it is not Psycroptic’s first visit over here, they have a rowdy following already though they are new to me. Striking with a similar ferocity to some of their compatriots I’ve seen recently their take on death/grind is not as over the top technical as their predecessor and has a remarkable clarity to the guitar tone, reduced distortion really helping the riffs cut through. The vocalist is a wandering tornado of energy and really adds to the general level of violence expressed in the musical form, good stuff.
Finally the headliners from the States. Hydro-grind they describe themselves as, though the intensity of performance you wouldn’t imagine could be delivered by low-energy dope fiends. Our undercover reporter said it was all remarkably calm on the tour bus anyway, though they are selling “The Vaporizer” smoking apparatus for £120 at the merch, along with a 2” patch for £10 which I find even more jaw dropping. Anyway, there’s a slightly more direct approach to the furious yet supremely heavy riffing of their showcased newer material of the likes of “Warbots A.M.” and “Raped by an Orb”, less of the schizo broken structures of before. I think this gives a more satisfying live experience to get into, more consistent, and there are some crazy pit breakouts. They maintain their renowned great humour not only in their banter from front man Lenzig (for example coordinating Cthulu chants), but also in the songs themselves, with their classic genre pisstakes of “Dying will the Death of me” and the closer “Black Metal Sabbath”, including face masks. In general it’s a great combination of blistering heaviness with laid back entertainment and a winner of an evening.
Moho, Manchester
15/9/10
This gig hadn’t really been on my radar until Tudno FM’s roving reporter/blagger Gwyn brought it to my attention, enabling him, John Kobe and me to take a trip up, meeting the ex-pat-returned-home Danny (Portrait, Meths) there. It had been at the now defunct Rockworld here where I’d seen them before some years back, that had been entertaining and head melting jazz-grind chaos that had lived up to their moniker and they were now back promoting their new “Misled By Certainty” album. Rush hour traffic and 5 bands crammed into 4 hours meant we were only there in time to hear Dyscarnate from the outside while Gwyn interviewed the headliners. Their rumbling death metal vibes sounded good though, no doubt why they are earning a positive reputation in the UK underground.
Speaking of underground, I headed down into the basement dive that is Moho. I’d been slagging it off since first visiting it for Eyehategod recently but for all its cramped conditions and poor visibility it was pointed out by my accompanying tech-heads that the sound system produced quality results and there was healthy turnout for this international collection of bands. The prospect of Sick of it All and Madball inspired lunacy at their upcoming show in this non-padded cell here may have to be seen to be believed.
From Italy next we had Hour of Penance who had disappointed me on the big stage at the last Deathfest in Leeds but did seem to have more impact up close here, even though they still suffered in my opinion from a weakened sound when the guitar made lead breaks and there was only the bass to carry the backing. Bass man showed great technique though with chord sequences as well as sheer finger picking speed. Their performance garnered even more respect when it was revealed that they had a new singer and drummer since that last time too so fair play to them for getting up to speed with the harsh and fast death metal precision.
Ion Dissonance from Canada are all about their technical side of death, with 21 strings shared between their two guitars and bass enabling lots of flying fingers on scales and general fret board athletics topped off with relentless brutality of the vocalist and more double bass drumming master classes. For me their greatest impact came from the staccato nature of their riffing, but with little familiarity with their material plus less interest personally in these exercises of skill they don’t create much of an impression. Many others evidently don’t feel this way with the opportunity to see them as it is pretty packed out up front and the first stirrings of pit action are evident.
Even though they are from Australia it is not Psycroptic’s first visit over here, they have a rowdy following already though they are new to me. Striking with a similar ferocity to some of their compatriots I’ve seen recently their take on death/grind is not as over the top technical as their predecessor and has a remarkable clarity to the guitar tone, reduced distortion really helping the riffs cut through. The vocalist is a wandering tornado of energy and really adds to the general level of violence expressed in the musical form, good stuff.
Finally the headliners from the States. Hydro-grind they describe themselves as, though the intensity of performance you wouldn’t imagine could be delivered by low-energy dope fiends. Our undercover reporter said it was all remarkably calm on the tour bus anyway, though they are selling “The Vaporizer” smoking apparatus for £120 at the merch, along with a 2” patch for £10 which I find even more jaw dropping. Anyway, there’s a slightly more direct approach to the furious yet supremely heavy riffing of their showcased newer material of the likes of “Warbots A.M.” and “Raped by an Orb”, less of the schizo broken structures of before. I think this gives a more satisfying live experience to get into, more consistent, and there are some crazy pit breakouts. They maintain their renowned great humour not only in their banter from front man Lenzig (for example coordinating Cthulu chants), but also in the songs themselves, with their classic genre pisstakes of “Dying will the Death of me” and the closer “Black Metal Sabbath”, including face masks. In general it’s a great combination of blistering heaviness with laid back entertainment and a winner of an evening.