Line ups are one of the most crucial elements of putting a tour together. . Hailing from Brazil we have the all female cast of Nervosa, followed by the Tasmanian imports that are Psycroptic. Moving over the pond to Los Angeles we have the Mexican themed Brujeria and to top it all off we have our Canadian friends in Cryptopsy seeing us through to the end of the night. With tonight’s offering bringing all kinds of musical diversity from all over the globe, The Dome is Metal’s embassy.
[date]14th August 2015[/date]
[venue]The Dome[/venue]
[city]Tufnell Park, London[/city]
[support_bands]Nervosa, Psycroptic, Brujeria, Cryptopsy[/support_bands]
Kicking things off are Brazilian Nervosa, the trio open up the night at a far too early hour unfortunately meaning that many of the Londoners miss out on their excellent set. The trio perform proficiently showing the UK crowd that their brand of Metal is just as devastating as the reputation of those coming on stage later that evening. With this being the band’s first show of their UK tour Fernanda Lira screams at the punters and we’re even given a small drum solo from Pitchu Ferraz leading into the final section of the band’s set. A great opening act for tonight that sadly were missed by the criminally early start time.
The samba style acoustic guitar seeps through the speakers as the lights dim Psycroptic, our Tazmanian devils set themselves up for their first track of the night. “Cold” kicks in after it’s introduction and all hell truly breaks loose. Thrashing in the maelstrom both bassist and singer Jason act as the more energetic pieces of the puzzle whilst looking at the delivery from the impossibly technical “Carriers Of The Plague” from The Inhereted Repression the focused attack comes from both brothers Joe and Dave Haley on drums. Retaining a sense of syncronicity seen with the likes of Vogg and Vitek the two work in perfect harmony. Ensuring that the audience are delivered a fantastic performance, yet not compromising their pneumatic technicality the band cover a war on two fronts.
The pitch perfect sound emanates through the speakers as a scathing “The World Discarded” incites The Dome to collectively lose it’s mind. The hive mind of the pit in full effect we see incredible circle pits. Stalking the stage singer Jason’s tyranny upon front monitors is relentless. Coupled with the fantastic sound exhbited from the venue and the band are near faultless. Yet it seems to be that the jewel in the Psycroptic crown are the sections in newer material where the groove truly gets going. Egging London on the singer taunts, “show us what you’ve got!” as we move into the final section of the killer track. Performing classic technical assault course that is “(Ob)Servant” the boys outclass all acts in the modern arena. Ending with the assualt of “Echoes to Come” with its hair pin stops and “The Sleepers Have Awoken” the band have well and truly set the bar incredibly high for this evening. Returning this October to deliver a headline tour, it would seem as though distance is not an obstacle. If their performance was anything like tonight there are incredibly big things in the pipeline for this band.
The coming together of Brujeria is somewhat of a rare occurrence. Often the case with bands that are made up of various different members who are constantly on tour. It would seem that the band would be a logistical nightmare, with it being fifteen years since their last output the band are back on track and are looking to have an album out later this year. Nevertheless tonight is all about the performance. Striding out in style as the intro to “Raza Odiada (Pito Wilson)” rolls we see the monolithic Hongo (Shane Embury) needing no introduction, along with drummer looking beastly behind the kit. As the introduction tails off the rest of the band appears along with El Cynico (Jeff Walker) and of course our leader of the bloodsoaked march, Brujo. Having created the first wave the band then dive straight back into into grind classic Raza Odiada with “Colas De Rata”.
As mentioned before, our co-headliners do not perform together often. With this in mind the audience essentially becomes one for the hour long set. The maelstrom of arms and legs knows no bounds with everyone from the front right to the back moving as one. Though their performance might be tight, it’s also the charismatic carnalismo of the two frontmen who make the agnostic crowd welcoming. Powering through cuts mostly from Brujerizmo and Raza Odiada and other classics the band even get a lady on stage who hurtles abuse at our Brujo. First and foremost however everyone in the venue is having fun, with the band smiling from bandana to bandana and the punters lapping every second of it up. An ear shattering rendition of “Brujerizmo” complete with the addition of machetes. Moving back into the first record Matandos Gueros momentarily for the title track. Tonight proves that perhaps it might take a while for a band to come together but when Brujeria do make their rare appearances, they are undoubtedly the jefe’s of tonight.
As we say goodbye to our friends from across the border, we also greet some from a little more of a frostier side of the spectrum. Currently working on their brand new EP titled The Book Of Suffering the band are aiming to reach their crowd funded goal to release the EP. Appearing tonight the band are a huge contrast from the almost fun loving Death Metal exhibited by the band previous. Taking the stage and immediately ensuring that their blend of sonic pummelling hits as hard as ever. A rather jarring change the technicality of the band is the first to notice as a differing sound, though from looking at the crowd a fair amount of on lookers are here for the Canadians.
Performing classic tracks like “Cold Hate, Warm Blood” the band treat fans to Whisper Supremacy era material along with None So Vile cuts like “Graves Of Our Fathers” seeing the pit ignite. Though among the old classics the band also perform new ripper “Halothane Glow” which goes down an aboslute treat with our rabid Death Metal audience, along with another track from the new EP that is sure to be a memorable moment from the band. As the classic piano introduction summons the hordes of hydrophobic fans get ready to unleash hell the night ends on a high note with the None So Vile classic “Phobophile”. Combining all different regions with bands that span all over the respective timescale tonight has been a fantastic evening of diverse brutality at finest.
