Words by DJ Monk. Photos by The Dark Queen.
I must admit that I had to look twice, maybe four times, when I first saw the poster for this gig pop up on my Facebook timeline. “Seriously?” was the first word out of my mouth, quickly followed by “you gotta be pulling my leg”! Four quality bands all sharing a bill that each one of them could deservedly headline in their own right – and smack bang in the middle of a thrashtastic week of gigs here in ÜR’s home city, what with the resurgent Sacred Reich decimating the same venue just a few evenings previously and the legends in their own lunchtimes that are Acid Reign due in town a couple of days later. One thing was certain: there were gonna be a lot of sore heads and necks, and possibly a few hospital appointments, needed by the time these few days had run their course…
First up on this seriously heavyweight bill are Californian death dealers Skeletal Remains, who kick straight in with their blastbeat-fuelled, uncompromising brand of DM. They are very heavily steeped in old school values, but with a very fresh, modern feel, especially in the use of melody combined with both the brutality and technicality of their delivery. In every department, they are tighter than the nuts on the wheels of a Formula One car, and they earn a deservedly enthused reception from the very eager and healthy early crowd.
- Watch our interview with Skeletal Remains frontman Chris Monroy HERE.
To be brutally honest, it was Enforcer who had really attracted me to this bill. I’ve been a fan of the Swedish quartet since the owner of a now closed record store turned me on to their stunning second album, ‘Diamonds’. It’s been four years between both albums and visits to this corner of the Überverse, but it’s as if they’ve never been away and are merely returning to the arms of old friends. Their traditional speed metal, delivered at a furious pace, contains heavy references to both NWOBHM and the early years of the European metal movement, with touches of the LA strip thrown in for good measure.
Pausing only for the briefest of breaths between songs, they keep up an unrelenting momentum, making the most of the limited time available to them to pleasure (sic) old fans and win some new ones, all of whom need no second invitation to “see how loud this shit can get” as the local chemist rushes to his storeroom to ensure he has a plentiful supply of throat lozenges available for the morning rush.
Toxic Holocaust open up the first pit of the evening with their unadulterated old-school thrash, delivered with no airs or graces… which is just the way we love our old-school thrash. As DQ returns from the front of stage, she describes the scenes as “absolute madness” as the moshers use one of the venue’s structural pillars to centre their gravity. On stage, searing riffs are delivered at a manic pace which matches the rabid reaction on the floor below. To be brutally honest, it’s hard to tell one song from the next – but, that’s not the point: fusing one song into the next keeps the momentum going and results in a gloriously insane performance from a band who know how to work a room into a complete and total frenzy… but that’s only a small taste of what is to come…
…and that’s because Municipal Waste, as ever, have the party metre turned up to 110 per cent and are prepared to twist the dial even further. As they most definitely ‘Unleash The Bastards’, what follows over the next 50 minutes can only be described as complete and total mayhem. Literally seconds in, the first crowd surfer makes his way across a sea of willing upstretched arms before the real action begins: the stage diving. With Tony Foresta actively encouraging audience participation, with cries of “catch him”, “don’t catch HIM”, there are often more bodies jumping off the stage than there are members of the band: feck, even the promoter joins in the fun.
It’s complete fucking insanity: I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many stage divers in this particular venue. And with many of other clubs banning moshing and associated activities, this is a throwback to the old days. And fair play to the Limelight’s security staff for taking a step back and letting the fans get on with it, only stepping in when needed to deal with some of the minor injuries sustained.
“Municipal Waste is gonna fuck you up” declares Foresta. And, indeed they did. In a city renowned for its walls, supposedly designed to build peace, this bunch of thrash metal wasters built yet more walls of death. And we loved every feckin’ second of it… now, where’s the aspirin?
- The tour continues with a sold out show at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds tonight (Saturday 7 December) and finishes at ULU in London tomorrow (Sunday 8 December).
- PHOTO CREDIT: All photos © The Dark Queen/Über Rock. You can view our full gallery of photographs HERE.
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