Tuesday, 21 November 2023

A View From The Back Of The Room: Cavalera (Live Review By Debby Myatt)

Cavalera, Incite & Recall The Remains, KK'S Steel Mill, Wolverhampton, 09.11.23

First up tonight we have local(ish) boys, Recall The Remains (8). After Bloodstock, this is probably their biggest gig to date and further highlights their progression. Frontman Jacob has a massive presence and he makes maximum use of this big stage, he genuinely looks at home up there. Although they are down a guitarist for this evening, this doesn't let them be held back as they unleash their hi energy style of metalcore on the early crowd who are appreciative to this young band and give them a warm reception. 

The mix of clean and harsh vocals has been a trade mark sound of these guys and it’s now slick and well balanced. I did feel they lacked that extra depth the second guitarist on stage gives them but it was still a confident performance and hopefully the first of many on this bigger stage. Keep an eye out for Recall The Remains, promoters across the country are keen to book them. Next gig will be at Subside in Birmingham for a Sophie Lancaster fundraise put on by the guys at Chronicles of Podcast.

I always try to find something positive to say about a band I watch live. These musicians devote a lot of time, energy and money into their craft, so it’s only fair we give them an unbiased and fair review. Saying that, after the initial burst of thrashened hardcore blasts from Incite (6), I unfortunately lost interest as each song muddily merged into the next. 

The rhythm section were the positive for me with some good heavy blast beats and pulsating bass, but the guitar sound was off (I could be wrong but I think they are without their regular ax man on this tour) and I could see they seemed to be having a few technical difficulties, so maybe an off night there. As for frontman Richie Cavalera, I quickly got bored of his constant talk in between songs which I felt contributed to the disjointed feel to the whole set.

The one and only time I was due to see the classic Sepultura line-up was at Monsters Of Rock 1996, the year Max had to leave because of the death of his stepson. Alas, not long after Max left and went on his own path. So to see Max and Igor back with a tour celebrating Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions was something we weren’t going to miss!

Kicking off with those earliest of recordings, Bestial Devastation and Antichrist and we’re instantly taken back to a time when death metal and thrash were still in their infancy and to hear a band outside of the more well known US exponents and especially from an unknown South American band was intriguing. 

That first EP was quite basic, raw and naive but it caught the ear of metal fans outside of Brazil, so they were then able to release a full album, Morbid Devastation which kept to their more death metal style but you could see the development of a more thrash orientated sound. This release was well received and thus the legacy of Sepultura was born.

Max hasn’t lost any of his passion or fire and these re-worked and re-recorded songs under the Cavalera (9) banner sound fresh and fierce, each song was greeted with a huge cheer and the circle pit didn’t stop all night. Necromancer was brutal in it’s delivery, Morbid Visions, Crucifixion and Empire Of The Damned stood out as the highlights of a set that was relentless.

Finishing with some later crowd favourites was the icing on the cake with Escape To The Void and of course we had to have Refuse/Resist in there as well. But it was to their first big “hit” that we ended the set. If Refuse/Resist was the icing, then Troops Of Doom was the massive candle on top of that cake.

We’re being treated to a lot of anniversary and nostalgia tours at the moment, thankful that we grew up in that eighties and nineties era that saw metal explode into a whole array of styles and gave birth to some iconic bands and albums. It’s a great time to be middle aged and nostalgic!

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