Crepitation, This Is Turin, Beneath The Ruin, Chinsniffer – The Outpost, Liverpool – 11.02.22
Crepitation, This Is Turin, Beneath The Ruin, Chinsniffer
The Outpost, Liverpool
11.02.2022
Live Review by Rob Sutton
Liverpool has always been a strange place for gigs, they aren’t short of venues or bands for that matter but there never seems to be that many gigs actually going on. So this was the first time in Liverpool for a long time and also my first time I had been to the outpost. Now the venue is pretty small but on the positive side, they serve food! Shame I didn’t know this beforehand otherwise I wouldn’t have filled up on McDonalds. Anyway, this line up was quite possibly the most diverse line up I have been to in a long time. I personally love a mixed line up as each band completely changes the atmosphere and can sometimes mean you find a new genre to obsess over!
Kicking things off was 3 piece chaotic / tech / noise band Chinsniffer from Liverpool, first off all those three words completely describe these guys! The whole sound is complete chaos! I mean there isn’t even a guitar – just bass, drums and a keytar. This does provide a very eclectic mix of influences which does mean it is very interesting to listen to, even if sometimes it is a little much. Vocally it is also manic and in fairness I couldn’t understand anything that was being said (not a bad thing for this genre). The drawback of this set was between the songs; while there were bits of humour which was appreciated but for the most part the members did end up looking at each other which made it feel like I was watching their practice. Chinsniffer were an interesting watch, although I’m not sure if I enjoyed it or whether I was just interested in the chaos?
https://www.facebook.com/Chinsniffer
Second on was Beneath The Ruin, a band I had never heard of nor seen before. They bring a more Progressive side to the evening, so that means not a single scream or growl in sight. Well, the vocalist did try a couple of times but this did not work and he admitted couldn’t scream on stage. Nevertheless, this was a nice change and a nice sound they are aiming for, almost pretty. Vocally, the singing was reasonably good, though did get significantly better as the set went on. Perhaps his voice wasn’t quite warmed up enough at the beginning. Beneath the Ruin also boast a keyboardist which really does add a whole other texture to their set and adds a more ambient feel to their sound, throw this with a fantastic bass tone and these guys start stand out. Beneath The Ruin were a good watch and I did enjoy them, while not the tightest band and there were a few mess ups in some songs, it was a solid show.
https://www.facebook.com/beneaththeruin
This Is Turin are a powerhouse in the Technical Death Metal scene and have been on some incredible line ups and festivals in their past. Tonight was the first time in a long time that I had seen them support another band and thus play a shorter set. Sadly the Cheshire based technical difficulties struck one of the guitarists which delayed them starting and also seemed to throw them off their game. I’m not entirely sure what it was but the first two or three songs did feel almost forced. This soon went away and normal business did resume – their usual charismatic front man, the stunning guitar solos and blistering drums just seemed to come alive! A stand out moment was for me ‘Misery’, this is such a banger of a tune and the crowd seemed to come alive for this song but I would have had this as the closing song rather than the new song, while the new song is a solid tune and showcases their Blackened Death metal sound, it didn’t work as a closing track. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed this is Turin but I have watched them perform better. Probably an off day, it happens.
https://www.facebook.com/thisisturin
A rare hometown show for Crepitation is something that apparently doesn’t come up too often. Now I have seen Crepitation before and just loved the bizarre vocals that they have. Honestly between the two vocalists making pig noises, grunts and just about any ungodly sound you didn’t even know a human could make, there are some amazing riffs which really make these guys stand out further from the rest in the Slam scene. I also have to give note to both their intro and outro samples, I won’t say what they are as I don’t want to give away too much of their set but they were absolutely hilarious! Crepitation had the whole crowd head banging though surprisingly there was neither pits nor much two-stepping, I did find this odd but still, the crowd all had smiles on their face and to me that’s what matters with slam. Brutally heavy but a bit tongue in cheek and fun. This set was fantastic again they really are one of the top bands within their genre and if you like heavy (very very heavy) then these guys are a must!
https://www.facebook.com/crepitation
Liverpool surprised me, the venue filled up nicely and there was a really friendly atmosphere around the gig. I will have to keep my eye open for more in the city as I am sure I’m missing some.
LINKS:
Venue – https://www.facebook.com/OutpostLiverpool
Promoter – https://www.facebook.com/Ukslamfest
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rob Sutton and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
