By DJ Astrocreep
A couple of gigs into the new year and neither snow nor train delays can stop me from visiting an old haunt in the shape of Rebellion. An evening of heavy, heavy monster sounds awaits and its finally time to get crushed by the riffs.
Danish hardcore metallers Lifesick are first on and man do they make a hell of a noise. I’m sadly a bit late and come in just as they’re finishing their second song, ‘Misanthropy’. The guitar squeals along with the wall of noise have people entire bodies, not just their heads, banging away and they create an absolute hell of an impression. A very impressive set to start warming up the crowd.
I’ve heard a lot about VEXED in a number of places, so am glad to finally catch them in a live setting and fuck me, they are immense! A level of tightness that belies their relatively young career to date and man, can they make a noise. The energy from the crowd picks up quickly even more as they clearly know more of Vexed than our previous act, giving us our first crowd surfer of the night. From vocals right through the band, there is a clear level of talent, and it shows exactly why the band have such a burgeoning reputation with so many people currently!
- Vexed return to the ÜK for three dates in March when they open for Carnifex on their ‘Necromanteum‘ tour
Viscera are a new act to me, but the southern deathcore crew rise up to the gauntlets thrown down before them and belt out an incredible wall of noise. They are straight at the crowd and the crowd surfers are soon back, stage diving their way quickly back to the pit. It’s refreshing to see the right spirit for the pit, too, with everything being good natured violent fun in support of the Guildford metallers. Vocalist Jamie Graham jokes about winning a bet with other band members for slipping in a ‘cunt’ exclamation during a song, which raises a laugh, showing the ease that the experienced crew clearly felt on stage. It’s a brutal performance but one well worthy of the claim that rightfully comes their way at the end of their set.
- Viscera headline the Dark Reign festival in Birkenhead on 1 June and then play the Mangata festival in Nottingham on Saturday 13 July.
CABAL are an absolute force of nature, as they take to the stage. A dark, malevolent beast, they have a ferocious live set and a well-earned reputation for a great live performance. The energy both from the stage – it’s almost impossible to get many coherent pictures due to them constantly prowling about – and from the crowd is immense, with both sides clearly bouncing off each other a lot. There is also a clear mutual live both ways, too, as it quite easy to see by the constant energy circle.
Whether it’s the pit, the crowd surfers or just people shouting along, the atmosphere feels intrinsically like one of love, despite the brutal nature of the music and lyrics. It’s the kind of vibe that you can’t help but appreciate, no matter your age or any inclinations, and the way everyone starts moving, one way or the other, is a massive sign of just how well Cabal are doing. Their set is tighter than a nun’s proverbials and despite just how good the support acts have been, they manage to outdo them all, which is no easy feat in a bill of this quality.
There’s only one thing that slightly disappoints me when I come to a show as heavy as this and that is that we rarely get much more than an hour from our headline act and it again proves the case with Cabal. That said, hearing the likes of Plague Bringer, Exit Wound and Exsanguination is a punishing hour-long set is well worth the entry fee and there are plenty of people around me who are clearly in agreement. As ferocious as it is, we all still want more but there’s to be no encore tonight, just the hour of heavy, heavy music fun. After four punishing bands, we are all still headed onwards happy.
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