October 25th, 2009 at 9:54am by Adam
Reading’s Malefice kick off the night with some brutal, punchy sounds with just the right level of technicality, their performance displaying a tighter and more refined edge to previous outings which threatens to steal the whole show from under the feet of the headliners. The quality performances of new track The Midas Effect and classic-to-be As Skies Turn Black marks them out as a young band poised to make the step up to the next level. They’ve still got plenty to learn from the old guard but their hard-graft attitude to touring means they’ll surely one day take on the big guns.
Finishing off the UK presence on the bill are Trigger The Bloodshed, with a much more dirge-driven, guttural and sludgy sound. It’s relentlessly heavy, mixing moments of chaotic grind with occasional clear-cut beats, and is maybe easiest to describe at the soundtrack to an Ork attack. They’ve definitely got fans in the gathering audience and provide something for the undecided to bang their heads to, but perhaps lack the energy needed to ramp up the pack for the night to come.
Californians Suicide Silence can only be defined as a ‘love them or hate them’ experience. They produce a fairly effective, speedy deathcore sound but after the fourth or fifth song it becomes apparent that they’re a bit of a one trick pony – each song seems to be made up of segues into breakdowns rather than a fully formed tune, and vocalist Mitch veers from screeching highs or lung-coughing lows, but no variations in between. He also insists on constantly doing a bizarre-looking hand-swoop stomp that has to be dubbed ‘The Eagle’. Credit where credit’s due though, the pack of fiercely loyal fans present condense into a frantic, arm-pumping pit.
Poland’s hottest export Behemoth bring another layer to a varied night. It seems to be par for the course that every black/death metal band from anywhere east of Belgium has a back catalogue as long as your arm and a range of t-shirts all bearing ornate designs, and with the obligatory corpse-painted faces on stage it seems the mood is set for forty minutes of morose, clanging chords. It’s a surprise then that they come out with a performance full of entertaining showmanship, theatrics and just the right edge of humour (black comedy, of course). Musically it’s reminiscent of a more doom-laden Gojira, moving through atmospheric ambient sounds at times with little of the shoe-gazing tendencies of other similar acts. Finally, a black metal band I actually like.
By the time the lights drop for Devildriver the room is packed to the rafters, the Garage’s raised bar area giving an amphitheatre-like feel. From the off it’s an unforgiving barrage covering all four albums, early favourite Nothing’s Wrong whipping the gathered masses into a heaving, sweaty pile of crowd-surfers while the newer Back With A Vengeance shows a more mosh-friendly, groove-laden sound. It’s hard to know where to stop the praise but there’s really no other way to say this – Devildriver can literally do no wrong. Ignoring the tedious world of sub-genre names for straight up heavy metal they supply a crowd with the full range from filthy breakdowns, singalong lines, crushing riffs, quality solos and more, all perfectly balanced across the length of the concise set. They also display what seems like a genuine humility in the face of an audience baying for more, no rockstar arrogance marring the performance. If they aren’t high up the festival bills next summer heads will roll.
fuck this shit