By Jase Walker
Imagine my surprise finding out at half past four that the doors to tonight’s show were half five! I don’t think I’ve ever gotten ready, stuffed a pizza in my mouth and jumped on a tram so fast before (with the exception of HEALTH earlier this year). Tonight’s show at Rebellion is one of the heaviest five band lineups I’ve seen in a while too, co-headlined by Chelsea Grin and Carnifex, supported by The Convalescence, Varials AND Bodysnatcher. I’ll be making sure I take extra care to not get decked by an errant torso or variety of limbs because with two shows here this weekend that are both sold out, I don’t doubt for a second that it’s going to be a bit mental.
Due to the early doors, The Convalescence took the stage to a bit of a sparse audience but given the sold out show I can’t imagine that’ll last long. They start off and the only thing I can hear from the drumkit is quite literally just the bass drum, it’s incredibly loud! Fortunately the rest of the band is at a decent volume so the crushingly heavy guitar riffs and ‘draining bathtub’ vocals are loud and clear! The stuff they’re playing is great otherwise, it’s got all that raw insanity and obscene levels of heaviness but they’ve complimented it with keys backing that’s either using strings or piano, love it. These have actually been a pretty good surprise for me and I’m glad I got down here for doors, these corpse paint covered 5-piece have put on a hell of a show and with a steadily filling venue, sets the tone for the rest of the night.
With a real quick changeover, zero room for error, it’s time for Varials! Something about their atmospheric, barely contained energy that’s about to explode any moment really draws me in right from the start. The moment it drops, people immediately start running at each other from either side of the pit, arms and legs flying around. The whole band is incredibly tight as well, when doing synchronised chugs, the brief stop between chugs is all bang on time with each other which delivers an absolute gut punch with every single hit. Varials are speeding through this set as by the halfway point I think we’re already about 7/8 songs in, which is pretty high! I’m glad I’ve got myself out of the danger zone as well, because the carnage I’m seeing in front of the stage is terrifying to say the least!
Bodysnatcher kicks off and everyone in my immediate surroundings switches to pure stank face. There is no room for fancy playing here. This is just crushingly heavy riffage and vocals that sound closer to a broken toilet trying to flush a hefty deuce. Their vocalist wants violence, he wants people to lose their minds and he’s getting it. This is seriously unrelenting, it’s just non-stop rhythmical chugs that get slower and slower until the breakdown kicks in and the pit immediately responds by smashing into each other, limbs flying around in all directions.
Carnifex start just as I’m coming back in from having a vape and I didn’t even have my ear plugs in yet which caught me off guard. I’ve picked a hell of a time to quickly go grab a pint, their sound is filling every single corner of the venue and the bar staff can barely hear me putting my order in!
Carnifex sound bloody fantastic, every riff, every chug, ever blistering harmonic sings against a backdrop of thunderous rhythms and fronted by immense raw vocals. Honestly, this is how death metal should be for me, brutal yet intricately varied. Admittedly the pit seems a bit calmed compared to the previous acts but I think it might be down to the style lending itself more to push pits rather than trying to deck your mate. This was absolutely everything I wanted from this set, bloody outstanding.
Finally tonight, Chelsea Grin. Ending tonight’s massive slew of some of the heaviest stuff Rebellion has seen this year, the crowds blatantly been saving their energy for this last set. Oddly it sounds a bit quieter than the earlier bands too, the bass isn’t quite as punchy compared to previous acts but at the same time the clarity is pretty spot on though, just wish it had a bit more grunt. Every song, every breakdown, the people going wild down the front up the ante every single time.
People aren’t just going a bit wild here, they’re quite literally surrendering control of their bodies to the music, smashing into each other, grabbing each other and flinging them around, jumping off each other’s shoulders. Even gladly obliging with a wall of death later on in the set too, was a pretty brutal one too!
Tonight’s been an incredibly heavy one, just what you need as a memorable one before the end of the year. I’ve managed to avoid being deathcore collateral tonight fortunately, well, except maybe for my ear drums. Rebellion’s brought it once again and they’ve got another sold out show tomorrow to do it all over again with!
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