It's a funny thing this touring lark innit? As Bruce Dickinson displayed so proudly on a t-shirt "Some days you're the pigeon, some days you're the statue". At the Rebellion it was South Wales Blackened Metal horde Agrona that were the statue. Now I must make the caveat that this wasn't anything to do with the Rebellion venue, the promoter of this Manchester show or any of the other bands on the tour. No it was due to logistical issues from the night before, the tour bus had nowhere to charge so it was stranded until the afternoon. This pushed the arrival time in Manchester back, the sound checks back and resulted in Agrona's set being cut. It's inconceivable to me that if you know a touring package has a nightliner bus, then as a promotor you should probably know beforehand that providing adequate power for the bus is the sort of thing that's a common part of touring contract. Thankfully Nytys Promotions (the Manchester promoter) had supplied all the power they need.
We realised that Agrona would not be playing after myself and my compatriot had made our way to Manchester and were waiting in the queue after scarfing some tacos. As gutted as we were, though not as much as the band, we had already decided on the Manchester show rather than the Cardiff one before Agrona were even added to the bill. The chance to see three top tier extreme metal veterans on one bill in a great venue such as the Rebellion on a Saturday was too good to pass up so with Mr Burnell on wheelman duty to make sure we caught everyone.
As I said the bad news came through while we were queuing meaning the whole night was pushed forward so as we entered the venue Skaphos (8) were already deep into their 30 minute set, many thinking they had been sound checking , but from the final three songs you can hear that this French four piece are a force to be reckoned with, playing vicious, black metal to get the arriving throng in the mood.
A change over, a drink and a toilet break meant it was time for the Polish bulldozer that is Hate (9), they set out their table early with bludgeoning riffs and growls from the onset of their set and the destructive pace never eased off. A mesmerising blend of aggression and power, Hate were in fine fettle, attempting to destroy the crowd as all three of the main bands seemed to have a competitive edge to them, each trying to out do the other with the performance and the staging. Little crowd interaction meant that they were packing in the explosive songs, building the set as a violent display of power. Hate played as if this was a headline show, even doing the off stage/on stage move reserved for encores during a backing tape interlude. This was a ballsy move as a lot of the crowd started to disperse before they came back on for two more songs.
No such antics from Belphegor (9) who were genuinely aiming for the top billing bringing their entire stage setup, candles, incense and inverted crosses galore, while they plunged the depths of their expansive back catalogue for satanic heathen black metal. They are a slick, well rehearsed unit that unleash a full force black metal assault that has more than a hint of the theatrical due to the staging, the samples played as intros and interludes, as Helmuth Lehner leads the unholy choir with his dark satanic sermons, he and Martin "Molokh" Arzberger trade tremolo riffs and solos throughout as well as bassist Serpenth and current drummer James Stewart of Vader unleash unholy hell. The posturing and pageantry was all part of the deal as Belphegor were the closest to 'trve' black metal on the bill using all their stylistic elements and their excellent performance to gain the biggest crowd and pit of the night.
After a monumental changeover, (long enough to put another band on in fact) it was time for I Am Morbid (9) a band featuring two of the 'classic' Morbid Angel line up currently. Fronted by the death metal cowboy himself David Vincent, this touring line up also has Pete Sandoval behind the kit as the two Morbid Angel members are flanked by guitarists Bill Hudson (NorthTale, Doro) and Kelly McLauchlin (Pessimist). As you can appreciate the setlist was drawn from the first four Morbid Angel records. albums Altars Of Madness (1989), Blessed Are The Sick (1991), Covenant (1993) and Domination (1995). Seeing as this tour coincided with the 30th Anniversary of Blessed Are The Sick, a glut was taken from that record but all of the songs were met as if they were old friends. Even more so when they blasted out Dead Shall Rise from the Terrorizer grindcore project featuring Vincent and Sandoval.
Coming out of the gate this was no nonsense, genre defining death metal from two members of one of the most influential bands of all time. Commando Sandoval is a monster behind the kit, the equivalent of an artillery barrage, he ravages these songs making everyone else keep up. Hudson and McLaughlin shred as if their lives were on the line, dive bombing and double tapping throughout Maze Of Torment as Vincent keeps the rhythm fat and frighteningly fast barking out his messages of anti-religion, Satanism and occultism with that guttural delivery still spot on. Their set flew by packing 16 songs into a tight hour of death metal mastery, they are Morbid indeed.
A stunning tour package that featured three headline level bands all vying to be the most impressive on the night. Well worth the 3 hour journey to get here. Though a shame about the Welsh horde being unable to play.
A stunning tour package that featured three headline level bands all vying to be the most impressive on the night. Well worth the 3 hour journey to get here. Though a shame about the Welsh horde being unable to play.
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