Live Photography

Revocation – w/ Goatwhore, Alluvial and Creeping Death – Live at Fleece, Bristol

Revocation – w/ Goatwhore, Alluvial and Creeping Death
Fleece, Bristol
16/02/2023
Live Review by Richard Oliver
Photography by Paul Hutchings

Opening this evening of death metal majesty were Texan hardcore death metal mob Creeping Death who got the evening off to an absolute crushing start. With a style that mixes thrash and death metal with a hardcore influence this set was bound to be nothing but brutal and Creeping Death ensured that the necks got a good workout. Pounding rhythms, punishing groove and enormous riffs were unleashed with crippling intensity during the bands 30 minute set with cuts such as ‘Skinned Alive’ and ‘The Edge Of Existence’. New song ‘Intestinal Wrap’ got the crowd very much warmed up for what was to come. The band seemed to be banging their heads as much as the audience and guitarist Trey Pemberton was throwing himself around the stage. Despite not playing to a packed out room, Creeping Death definitely earned themselves some new fans and are one of a growing number of fantastic young bands ensuring the old ways of death metal are firmly kept alive.

https://www.facebook.com/creepingdeathtx

Next up were progressive death metal band Alluvial who compared to Creeping Death brought a far more modern and contemporary sound with downtuned and groove laden riffs reminiscent of djent bands, mixed with plenty of breakdowns that are a key component of the deathcore sound. Originally formed as an instrumental progressive death metal band, Alluvial have switched style and brought in vocalist Kevin Muller whose hardcore bark ensured he dominated on stage. Drummer Matthew Paulazzo dazzled with a performance that balanced technical precision and brutal ferocity whilst guitarist Wes Hauch also impressed with gnarly riffs, impressive solos and technical ability. Another short 30 minute set where the band got down to business and blasted out songs from their “Sarcoma” album such as ‘The Putrid Sunrise’ and ‘Sleepers Become Giants’. Alluvial don’t perform my preferred style of death metal but there was no denying that this was a cracking performance from them.

https://www.facebook.com/alluvialmetal

In the main support slot were New Orleans black/death/thrash legends Goatwhore. Goatwhore are a band that just scream METAL, from the bands look to their imagery and their sound which incorporates the gnarliest and ugliest elements from many extreme subgenres of metal. Goatwhore were determined to kick faces in and destroy eardrums with an absolutely blistering and ferocious performance which was the clear highlight of the evening. A good chunk of the set was taken from the band’s latest album “Angels Hung From The Arches Of Heaven”, such as ‘The Bestowal Of Abomination’ and ‘Nihil’ but it was when the fan favourites were played that the crowd absolutely erupted with bodies crashing, smashing and obliterating each other to belters such as ‘Baring Teeth For Revolt’, ‘Collapse In Eternal Worth’ and ‘FBS’, though the absolute highlight of the set was ‘Apocalyptic Havoc’ which was played with such speed and intensity that I thought my face was going to cave in. Guitarist Sammy Duet is a bonafide New Orleans metal legend and ripped out a barrage of filthy riffs and flesh ripping solos while the rhythm section of Trans Am on bass and Zack Simmons on drums ensured that the audience was suitably pulverised. Frontman Louis Benjamin Falgoust II is a commanding presence stalking the stage like a man possessed and roaring with a fervent intensity though ensuring he bumped fists with as many fans in the front of the crowd as he could whilst pacing back and forth. I’ve seen Goatwhore play before but this was easily the strongest performance I’ve seen from them and was easily the most metal 45 minutes of the year thus far.

https://www.facebook.com/thegoat666

I was expecting and slightly hoping that the audience had exhausted themselves during Goatwhore but this was far from the case and as soon as headliners Revocation hit the stage the crowd erupted with carnage and chaos far in excess of what the evening had seen beforehand. Revocation are a band that perfectly merge a very technical style with a truly vicious one and boy were this crowd ready for it. The stage was predominantly bathed in red light to match the hellish theme of latest album “Netherheaven” and there was plenty of dark ambient noise in between the songs as well as hellish, demonic and satanic samples from movies interspersed throughout, but the surging mass of bodies as well as the ever growing temperature in the venue meant it felt like hell for the audience on the floor. To say that Revocation are a tight live unit would be understatement of the century and frontman David Davidson is an insanely good guitarist ripping out jaw dropping solos left right and centre. He was perfectly complemented by touring guitarist Noah Young who is also a ridiculously talented musician. Bassist Brett Bamberger is the personality of the band and just seems to be having the time of his life on stage whilst pummelling out a mean rhythm section along with drummer Ash Pearson whose blast beats threatened the structural integrity of the venue. A good deal of the set was drawn from “Netherheaven” and previous album “The Outer Ones” with songs such as ‘Nihilistic Violence’ and ‘That Which Consumes All Things’ causing impressive and at times worrying amounts of carnage from the surging crowd. For older fans there were ferocious renditions of ‘Madness Opus’ and ‘Communion’ before the technical badassery of ‘Dismantle The Dictator’ brought the evening to a close. Revocation rounded off a crushing evening with a truly ferocious set and I think anyone in that audience was feeling the aches and pains the morning after. A delicious evening of death metal goodness.

https://www.facebook.com/Revocation

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Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Richard Oliver and Ever Metal. Photography property of Paul Hutchings. 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.

Sons of Liberty w/ Blackwater Redemption at The Patriot – Home of Rock, Crumlin, Newport

Sons of Liberty w/ Blackwater Redemption
The Patriot – Home of Rock, Crumlin, Newport
10/02/2023
Live Review and Photography by Paul Hutchings

Visits to The Patriot are fast becoming routine, such is the calibre of bands that they are managing to pull in. As the saying goes, “A Warm Welcome Awaits All”, and tonight was no exception. The crowd is always friendly, happy to chat and always smiling as the beers flow. As nice as that may be, it’s the music that’s the main pull and the lure of Southern Rock has always been strong in South Wales.

It was 8:10 on a Friday evening and Southampton quartet Blackwater Redemption were intent on getting the rather chilly temperatures a little bit higher. They succeeded with an ease that suggests that, in the near future, they’ll be headlining venues of this size. Rising from the ashes of Western Sand, they were well drilled as they eased into ‘All Guns Blazing’, the first of nine songs that all had that lovely Southern flavour. ‘Tombstones and Deadwood’, one of three featured from the new EP “The Angels Share and the Devils Cut”, got the singing started. Vocalist and guitarist Tyler Hains apologised for the lurgy he was struggling with, and hoped he’d get to the end of the set. He managed to with ease.

The band are a powerful combination of Blues and Hard Rock, all with that touch of Southern arrogance that is necessary to stand apart from the herd. It was the duelling guitar work of Hains and Jimmy Bradshaw that stands out most though, be it during their audacious cover of Mountain’s ‘Mississippi Queen’ which got the venue jumping, or the extended work out in the final song ‘Nothing to Lose’. The latter saw some fantastic double lead work, drawing a huge round of applause.

Pleasingly, they’ve more shows pencilled in this year, including a slot at The Loverocks Beer and Music Festival in Dorest in June: theloverocks

https://www.facebook.com/westernsand

Whilst Blackwater Redemption shook the rafters, it was headliners Sons of Liberty who threatened to completely remove the recently repaired roof. The West Country rockers burst onto the stage with all the confidence of Blackfoot in their heyday, and proceeded to stomp their way through a set that simply flew by. Big chunky riffs, shredding solos from Fred Hale and some of the finest Stetsons you’ll see this side of Texas. ‘It’s My Bad’ segued into ‘Rich Man, Poor Man’, and the fine drawl of recent recruit Midlander Rob Walker led the way. A fair number of the crowd were big fans, as not only did their shirts bear the Sons logo, but they were word for word perfect.

It was compelling stuff. The music flowed, the band locked in tight with Mark Thomas and the white gloved drumming of Steve Byrne keeping the rhythm ticking along. They kept it simple, but it was gloriously solid and, with Andy Muse adding a steel to the engine room, Hale was free to peel out solo after solo. He can gurn with the best, although with Walker and Muse also front and centre, the audience were mere feet away and fully engaged.

‘Up Shit Creek’ was a fan favourite, whilst ‘Texas Hill Country’ sounded magnificent. Singalongs? Oh yes, Sons of Liberty like to get the crowd involved and we had several. ‘Damned if You Do’ appeared to momentarily shock Walker with the crowd response, whilst the clapping along to ‘Beef jerky Boogie’ maintained the high energy vibe. Walker jested with the audience, and if there’s one thing The Patriot crowd can do it’s banter.

It was over all too soon, with a robust ‘Fire & Gasoline’ followed by the stonking ‘Ruby Starr’ to close. The ovation was just reward for a 90 minute show that demonstrated that you don’t need to go to an arena for high quality music. In fact, give me the choice, and I’m here every time. Warmth, friendship, beer, and great music. Another great night with one of the best UK bands at one of the best venues in the UK.

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialSonsofLiberty

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Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Paul Hutchings and Ever Metal. Photography property of Paul Hutchings. 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.

Anaal Nathrakh, Sigh, De Profundis – ‘Scala’, London – 14/12/2022

Anaal Nathrakh, Sigh, De Profundis
‘Scala’, London
14/12/2022
Photos and Live Review by Chris Galea

Amidst the pandemic Anaal Nathrakh managed to record and release an album in 2020, the sonically violent “Endarkenment”, but other than that the band had been relatively quiet since then. Tonight’s gig was not part of a tour – as band vocalist Dave Hunt (a.k.a. V.I.T.R.I.O.L.) said, it was a one-off “experiment to see if anyone still cared” about Anaal Nathrakh. In fact, the gig might even be the band’s swansong. Co-headliners were Sigh, on a rare visit to England from their home country of Japan. Clearly this was an unmissable gig, so it was no surprise that eventually it sold out.

If I remember correctly, the identity of the opening band changed a couple of times since the gig was first announced but in the end, it was De Profundis who were entrusted to get the crowd going. Speaking of which…

DE PROFUNDIS

De Profundis are local but command high regard from the world over. Although I was already familiar with the band’s music this was the first time I was seeing them ‘live’. The quintet’s Progressive brand of Death Metal takes a leaf out of bands such as Morbid Angel or Atheist. In other words they can get quite technical at times but still sound unforgivingly heavy. None of the heaviness or technical intricacies seemed to be lost at the ‘Scala’ as the band delivered a dynamic and tight set.

While I enjoyed all their show, my attention often drifted towards the Jazzy bass lines of Steve Woodcock, the band’s most recent recruit. Tonight’s setlist was mainly focused on “The Corruption Of Virtue”, De Profundis’ recent album, from which the band played ‘Ritual Cannibalism’, ‘Sectarian Warfare’, ‘Weaponised Rape’, ‘Religious Cancer’ and ‘Scapegoat’. All potent and intense compositions.

A great band that keeps getting better.

https://www.facebook.com/deprofundistheband

SIGH

Having followed the band intermittently since their Cacophonous days, I was very much looking forward to see Sigh. And yet my high expectations were surpassed. And then some.

Essentially the band’s music can be categorised as Black Metal, but Sigh have their fingers in so many other music genres…. Death Metal, Neo-Classical Metal, Dark Folk… and rather than stick to one style at the ‘Scala’, the band sort of celebrated the richness of their sound. Hence their set-list comprised a relatively wide take of their repertoire. For example, they played ‘A Victory Of Dakini’ from their first album (“Scorn Defeat” of 1993), ‘The Transfiguration Fear’ (from “Insomniphobia” of 2012) and of course a few songs from the band’s recent magnum opus: “Shiki”.

Sigh’s show was striking both musically and visually. Band founder Mirai Kawashima, on bass guitar and lead vocals, was dressed in hooded robe, the band’s drummer looked like an anime character made flesh and guitarist Nozumi Wakai (who showcased some amazing licks tonight) was dressed in colourful make-up and garb that was unmistakably Japanese. He even wore a samurai sword which he occasionally unsheathed and brandished at the audience while Mirai was up to pranks of his own such as holding aloft a burning bible.

I liked how Sigh ended their set, with a cover of Venom’s ‘Black Metal’…. very fitting in current circumstances. The guitar sound decided to go A.W.O.L. for that song, only to return in time for Wakai to play Mantas’ last few riffs.

Truly a fantastic show. It’s amazing how much intensity can come out of just three band members.

https://www.facebook.com/sighjapan

ANAAL NATHRAKH

Every riff, every solo, every sound from Anaal Nathrakh’s set seemed designed to accentuate the music’s brutality. Despite its unbridled fury, the material also had hints of melody in it. I’d describe the music as Blackened Death Metal but, like Sigh before them, categorising the music of Anaal Nathrakh is far from straightforward…. and that quality alone is instantly a bonus in my book.

V.I.T.R.I.O.L. took time to give a bit of context to many songs the band played. This created a stronger bond with the audience, and he seemed genuinely taken with the audience’s rapturous support. Clearly, they still cared for the band.

Rather than focus on their “Endarkenment” album, Anaal Nathrakh opted to revisit each of their albums in their set. All in all I was positively impressed by what I heard. It was an emotional performance for many reasons and I sure hope the triumph of this gig will convince them to make their comeback more definite.

Three bands, each with their own distinctive style but each gave a great show. Tonight was one helluva night for extreme Metal.

https://www.facebook.com/Anaalnathrakhofficial

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Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Chris Galea and Ever Metal. Photography property of Chris Galea. 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.

Bloodstock M2TM North Wales, Grand Final 2020 (!) – Central Station, Wrexham 03/07/2021 – Virus

Disclaimer: This photo album is solely the property of Beth Jones. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of these images, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.