Deathcrusher Tour at Motion in Bristol - 27-10-2015

Posted on: 2015-10-29

Our rating:

Carcass' extreme noise and furious playing holds them up as pioneers of a genre, trendsetters even. Their strong catalogue of albums was given a swift squeeze and only the finest tunes were allowed to trickle out.


 

Death metal trendsetters Carcass headed up a rich and diverse lineup at the Marble Factory in Bristol as part of the Deathcrusher Tour.

The first band to take the stage was Herod, an energetic outfit comprised of a standard line-up, and who evidently found their niche pretty early on. Their music was fast, uncompromising, but generally very same-y. Not that anyone seemed to mind. Herod seemed to gently ease the night into full swing, playing to a surprising number of people given their timeslot. The frontman had a wild, unbound vibrancy about him, which was marvellous to behold, but that seemed to manifest in the odd habit of tapping stage-bound objects such as the smoke machine, with no apparent logic. Regardless, they gave it their all and the result was impressive.

Voivod were next on, arriving unto the stage to the clamour of die-hard fans littering the audience. They wasted no time in commencing their set, which seemed a cynical and comprehensive list of crowd pleasers, dappled with new tracks getting a trial run. They played well on the whole, with few technical slip-ups, but their frontman’s insatiable smugness made viewing a slightly unpleasant experience for the uninitiated. Nodding, grinning, inviting applause with wide hand gestures as if to say “You know who I am, applaud me, bow down to me”, was all a bit nauseating. Generally though, the band seemed to really whip the crowd up into a frenzy, with one particularly jovial bloke next to me screaming the band’s name at the stage repeatedly between songs, as a kindly reminder perhaps to the aging performers as to the reason for their stage appearance, lest they forget. Who can say.

Napalm Death were third on the list, a British grindcore unit who have been going for a good many years now. Enough years, clearly, for them to truly find their live performance comfort zone, performing a pretty much perfect set from the off. The expansive nature of their catalogue meant that some expected tracks were omitted, but nevertheless the performance was filled with well-worn and high-quality songs, performed in a brutal and chaotic manner. Scum and Suffer were given an excellent playthrough, much to the crowd’s delight, along with a celebrated Dead Kennedys cover, the title of which I probably shouldn’t disclose on a family website. But it was brilliant, brutal, and destructive.

Obituary were next, a band from Florida, they embody the traditional death metal style, while setting themselves apart with their intelligent interpretation of the genre. Realising, as many others fail to, that speed is not the only convention, and doesn’t necessarily connote brutality. They manage to be just as heavy, just as dark, and just as bloody brilliant as any other death metal band out there, all the same. Their trademark heavy guitars, blood soaked chainsaw-esque guitar tone, and slow tempos sculpt an atmosphere of intense darkness that the audience were more than happy to get involved with. Chopped In Half, Don't Care, Slowly We rot, Dying, and Visions In My Head were all executed in a disarmingly vicious way and solidly testify that the Tardy brothers are still on top form.

After an already incredible night featuring some of the best of death metal, Carcass were handed the audience approval on a plate. Their arrival was welcomed with loud applause and cheers, as they sunk their teeth straight into their masterful set. Already, the band had been welcomed, hailed as the massively influential and monumentally important band that they are. Their extreme noise and furious playing holds them up as pioneers of a genre, trendsetters even. Their strong catalogue of albums was given a swift squeeze and only the finest tunes were allowed to trickle out. The band dived headfirst into each rendition, throwing their weight around and punching out with some distinguishable progressive heaviness. Jeff Walker conducted the performance with impressive attention to detail, and the crowd went absolutely mad. Most people seemed to stay for the full time, but by 11pm when the set reached its crescendo, you could barely breathe. Such is the love for this monumentally respected band that people turned up in droves, subjected to many a stomped foot, jutted elbow, or spilled pint. And boy was it worth it.

 

4/5

Reviewed by Miranda Teixeira for 365Bristol.



Article by:

James Anderson

Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.