Colpocleisis, 357 Homicide, Embolectomy, Dawn of Animosity
Sanctuary, Burnley – 04/03/22
Live Review by Rob Sutton
The Sanctuary in Burnley has always been one of those venues that holds a soft spot in my heart, it may not be the most glamorous of venues or the most modern ,but it serves a purpose. Downstairs has a lovely gothic feel to the pub part of the venue and serves drinks at a reasonable price. Upstairs is where the fun happens (the gig room) where these is a massive pentagram on the floor, it kind of fits with tonight’s theme. Having been closed for a while it was nice to travel back up here for a gig and tonight held a very heavy, slammy line up.
Dawn of Animosity
First up were East Lancashire / Manchester lads Dawn of Animosity. This was my first time seeing them but I had an idea what to expect (mainly as the logo was almost unreadable this normally indicates Slam). They kick the show off in typical Slam fashion with the cry for hammers and ungodly heavy slams mixed in with blast beats. This is a staple for pretty much every Slam band, so this could have parts which looked like I have just copied and pasted. Vocally they are on point for Slam, mixing gutturals and pig squeals and any other disgusting noise a human can make, throw this with some nice wind milling and again more shouting for hammers and it makes for an enjoyable watch. There was also some rather nice tapping on the bass as well, something else I’m seeing more of within this genre, but unfortunately both the bassist and guitarist did spend a fair bit of time looking at each other rather than the crowd. I want to see your faces and I don’t care if you are ugly! Despite this not being the world’s tightest set, it was enjoyable, I bobbed my head and I began to consider doing DIY.
https://www.facebook.com/DawnOfAnimosity
Embolectomy
Embolectomy were up next and at this point I was glad the organiser had decided to write the band names underneath their logos, as there was no way I was working this one out. These guys have travelled a long way for this gig, Southampton in fact, so I was glad that the turn out tonight was better than some of the previous gigs I had seen here. Embolectomy begin with an absolute belter of an intro, the riff was simply incredible and I was starting to think, maybe all Slam isn’t the same. The rest of the set kicked in and normal Slam service resumed, again blast beats and breakdowns. Sadly towards the beginning of the set the vocalist was completely inaudible, once the sound tech realised this and brought his levels up there was a very strange array of sounds coming from him, mostly sounding like a strangled pig (this works for the genre). While they were impressive, they did lack consistency, some songs his voice was unbelievable and others… not so. He did have a cold though so all is forgiven. Embolectomy also treated the crowd to some new songs which although I liked the sound of them, they really did need a lot more practice but there is time. These guys really did own the stage and brought the crowd’s feet well and truly off the floor, yes the dreaded invisible ninja fighting has commenced! Give these guys a bit of time to practice the newer songs (and shake the cold) then they should be a staple on the Slam scene!
https://www.facebook.com/Embolectomy
357 Homicide
For bands to start out and get decent gigs is always difficult, to have a name before you have even stood on stage is even harder, to then match that with a blinder of a set – now this is a rarity. Welcome to the scene 357 Homicide! Straight off the bat these guys hit the ground running and sound absolutely huge. I have absolutely no idea how a 2 piece band (yes, you heard), can sound this big! Each song more brutal and vile than the previous and it just keeps coming. Switching the vocal duties between both the guitarist and the drummer (he has a Britney spears mic, love it) the pair absolutely nail both their respective instruments and vocal duties, special mention to the drummer, I have never seen anyone deliver blast beat and bree at the same time, oh and still have the energy to pump the crowd! Yes the hammers are back as well as those ninjas, but that is exactly the reaction 357 Homicide want. For a band to be this tight, this engaging and this brilliant for only their second show?! Honestly what the fuck? Blown away!
https://www.facebook.com/357Homicide
Colpocleisis
All the bands on this bill were new to me, except one, Colpocleisis. These guys absolutely smashed their set last time in Chester, so I was looking forward to much of the same. I was not disappointed. The reason why I like Colpocleisis is down to their take on Slam Metal, it doesn’t always follow the same generic chord progression or structure within their songs, there is a lot more to sink your teeth into and it brings gory music to my ears. Tonight they were missing their backing tracks and for me this actually did take away a bit from their set, as they are simply hilarious to listen to before getting pummelled in the face by sledgehammers (see now I’m starting with the hammers). In fairness, sledgehammer is probably the best way to describe these guys as they as ungodly heavy and again the crowd react with… guess what… HAMMERS and INVISIBLE NINJAS. All this is helped by their constant engagement with the crowd and completely taking the stage as their own, these guys barely stand still which does make for captivating watch. Colpocleisis also throw in a few new tracks for this tour and I think the best way to describe them is that disgusted face every metalhead pulls when they hear a tasty riff, except the weather changed and your face is stuck like this for the whole song. Another reason these guys set themselves out is the strange funk beats they throw into songs, they seem so completely out of place in slam yet strangely work perfectly and whips the crowd into a dancing frenzy. Honestly this was a monster of a set and to finish it off with a breakdown so heavy it stopped the world turning, just about summed up this gig; brutal, fun, hammers, hammers and, wait for it… hammers!
https://www.facebook.com/colpocleisis
Rancid Promotions knocked it out of the park with this line up, I’ve never left a venue wanting to build a shed before but after this gig, B&Q here I come. Jeremy Clarkson once said ‘Everything can be fixed with a hammer”. I never related to that phrase more so than after this gig!
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Sanctuary:
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