By Monk
I’d like to start by dedicating this review to my friend Steve Martin, who has accused me of too much fannying about in my intros, so I’m just going to dive straight in for this solo venture down to my favourite venue for a triple dose of devastating death metal action in all its hues of darkness…
It has been less than a hot minute – just eight days, in fact – since I last caught openers Insidious Void fulfilling the same slot on this very stage, so I’m not not going to repeat myself too much, except to say that they delivered another aural apocalypse, characterized by a ferocious drumming exhibition which would show a hurricane how to level a state.
Once again taut and precise, their dedication to former band mate Dani Kansanaho was a typically generous and humble touch.
Next up are Dublin’s Grave Sermon, making their first foray north of the Irish border – and what a fucking debut outing. With their heavy death groove mixed with angry hardcore (in)sensibilities, these guys are not taking any prisoners or giving any quarter as they lay it down with stunning efficiency and effect.
They combine energy, empathy, power and passion to brutal effect: if their recipe was a cake it would have Mary Berry blushing with envy! Vocalist Dave Hynes evokes the deepest depths of hell itself, serving to summon forth the darkest, most disturbed demons you can imagine.
Unveiling a few new songs, my personal fave being ‘Immortal Disease’ (?), they earn an enthusiastic response which definitely suggests that this first visit to Belfast most definitely will not be their last.
Fifteen minutes later and I have a very serious question to ask: “where the fuck did my head go?”. ‘Cos right from the very first note, headliners Strangle Wire have just ripped it clean off my neck and sent flying down the stairs and out the door. These guys, via various other bands, are veterans of the Belfast DM scene and it shows, in ten tonne spades, as for the next 45 minutes the pace is absolutely unrelenting, as the band launch their second album in the only way they know how, and that is at the most brutally destructive level possible.
Characterized by a backdrop of innately precise blastbeating, their massive, grinding riffs are combined with equally huge rhythms underpinned by those thunderous drums, all drawn together by yet another fantastic in-house sound mix. Upfront, Pete is such a force of nature that the Met Office have immediately declared a severe weather warning: he is a dominant force front and centre of the stage, epitomizing the imperious stature of the band and the live set they deliver.
Yet again, Voodoo are going to have to get the builders in this morning, as another fantastically powerful bill has ripped the roof off the pace and blown out all its walls. All three bands this evening totally left everything on the stage. Now, to go and retrieve my skull from whatever gutter it’s been kicked into…