The mighty Exodus return to London to destroy The Underworld once again. Make no mistake – complete carnage was well on the table!
[date]5th March 2016[/date]
[venue]The Underworld Camden[/venue]
[city]London, UK[/city]
[support_bands]Striker, Lost Society[/support_bands]
Striker
Canada’s thrashers are here to make a statement that no matter how polite their countrymen are, they still know how to spread the violence!
Not knowing a whole lot about Striker it was intriguing to see them perform, and just how they can add to the intense atmosphere already built up by the excitement of another Exodus performance. It’s fair to say that they opened the evening very well indeed.
It’s always an unfortunate task of being the first band up, as often there are a few kinks in the sound that the engineer strives to fix, but Striker take advantage of that raw sound to churn out tracks full of speedy riffs, intense double-kicking and some mouth-watering solos. A good performance indeed!
Lost Society
Going in to this band’s show, I had absolutely no idea that these Finnish thrashers would be so focused on delivering one of the finest live performances of the genre I have seen in a long time.
Lost Society’s music, albeit good, has never struck as something particularly special to me, but as the band kick-off with their new offering ‘Braindead (Til The End)’ the energy of the band makes haste in getting fans moving around.
Throughout the entire duration of the show the band are moving around, headbanging, jumping, shredding, and riveting the crowd through intermittent speeches between tracks – the coup de grace being the wall of death that somehow conjured in the packed floor before the band.
By the end of the set Lost Society had definitely established themselves as a live band, and can no doubt bring themselves to a headline role very soon. No matter what you think of the music, this is everything you want from a metal show.
Exodus
It seems like Exodus enjoyed last year’s Underworld performance so much, that they are back for seconds. It’s hard to disagree with them, a big thrash influence playing a small venue was legendary last year, with frontman Steve Souza famously stating it was like Exodus’s early shows at the Roofie’s Inn in San Francisco.
This was repeated, as Souza reiterated that these Underworld shows were some of the best in Exodus‘ modern career, and there’s no disagreement here. The energy and appreciation of the fans resonates shockwaves with the band, and they are in fine form from the moment ‘Black 13‘ starts the nights proceedings.
Exodus‘ excitement of playing the venue never dies out, with tracks like ‘Children of a Worthless God‘ and ‘Body Harvest’ bringing consistent movement to the floor, with the occasional bodies being tossed on and off the stage. The band even try to teach ‘A Lesson in Violence‘ but it’s clear the fans are already well informed.
As the band play their encore tracks, it’s quite evident that these Underworld shows are ones to remember. The band loves playing here, and we love to see Exodus perform at their best. They will be back, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they bring a camera crew to capture the next one.
