Throughout 3 days and 2 venues, we were able to taste a bit
of what is been done worldwide in the Death Metal scene!! From the slums of
London to the far away Japan passing through the States, Finland or Austria!!!
And for extra fun we had Ricardo Veiga from our beloved SWR Barroselas Metalfest making us company for the weekend!!
First day was completely done at the DATD (I still thing
Under the Dome would be a better name, go Stephen King fans) and after we got
our bracelets for the weekend, we went in and already Fessus was
destroying the place!! The Austrian quartet is quite young (they released a
demo last year and a split will come out next month) but their sound is old,
stenchy and just with the enough power I like in Death Metal. What an excellent
beginning!! A band to keep an eye out (we bought their demo)!! Next came the London’s
enforcers of the angel, Vaticinal Rites!! With a new album just out this
year (“Cascading Memories of Immortality”), they crashed through the stage as a
hurricane, leaving few standing up!! Chunky riffs, excellent drumming and a good
impression left by these guys playing at home!! Also from the UK, Abyssal,
delivered a very different type of destruction!! Their Death Metal has an aura
of intimidation which was felt in the room!! Long, claustrophobic, dissonant
tunes, invaded the DATD, taking our minds on a journey into darkness!! Freaking
good!!! To close the day, we had Concrete Winds from Finland!! And I
don’t think I can put into words the cataclysm which was their show!! It’s more
than a concert, it’s a freaking experience!! They unleash riff after riff, on a
whirlwind of chaos, destruction and mosh pit!! I got tired, and I was only
watching!! What an excellent way to close this day!!
Second day took us to the DATD, older brother, The Dome, a
bigger venue and after me and Ricardo went tour the outside of the Tower of
London, we got there with plenty of time to see the start of the beginning of Slimelord's set!! The English band, which just released their debut album,
“Chytridiomycosis Relinquished”, came out of the gate, delivering riff after
riff, with plenty of chunkiness and putridity. Good way to start the day!!!
Beers were flowing, conversation was good and next came Killing Addiction,
a Floridan band, which released their debut album in 1993 and its successor
28-years later. They delivered a good
set of Death Metal, with plenty of good riffs, balance and some very good
ideas!! Druid Lord were the next guests, and I must say I was more
impressed with their set (we bought “Relics of the Dead” their 2022 album)!!
They are also from Florida (one of their guitarists also plays in Killing
Addiction) but their sound goes more into the Death/Doom side, with a great
balance between slower and faster tunes, excellent musicianship and some Heavy
powerful growling!! Next band to hit the stage was one of the bands I was more
looking forward to watch in this festival: Rippikoulu!! Although they
only released a couple of demos in the early 90’s, “Musta Seremonia”, is seen
as one of the most important records in the Finnish Death Metal scene, and it’s
a blast to have the chance to see those songs being played live!! You could
feel the grittiness and the murkiness of their songs falling on a crowd which
drank every riff, every growl, as it was their last meal of their lives!!
Fucking excellent!! Last band in stage came from the far awa Peru and goes by
the name of Mortem!! Being active since the late 80’s, these veterans
are one of the most respected and cherished bands from South America and they
showed why, performing their blasphemous and evil Death Metal for all the
maniacs at the Dome!! The atmosphere was thick, the chants were high, and all
was set for a great Death Metal gig!! They rambled through time with no mercy
to posers, no time for prisoners and no slack for lazy bastards!!! I remember
buying their debut album “Demon Tales”, when it was re-issued in Europe by
Merciless Records, and having the chance to see them performing almost 30 years
later, was a dream come true!! What a way to end this day!! Well not end,
because we went for the after-party at the Black Heart and got properly
hammered as the night demanded!!!
Waking up on Saturday was a pain but Metal is in our veins,
and we can’t stop!! So, wake up, order some food and head to the Dome because
this day, we had 11 bands performing between both venues and I wanted to catch
them all!! Cryptworm were the first to rise on the stage of the Dome,
and with my first beer of the day in my hand, I saw the trio from Bristol
destroy the Dome!! Their music is fucking contagious, with that tupa-tupa which
makes you want to run on the mosh pit (and then you remember you are almost
fifty and a bit (cough cough) out of shape)!! With “Oozing Radioactive
Vomition” (their 2nd album) on their backs, Tibor and company just
smashed it!! The deepest growls you can imagine, vicious drumbeats and neck
breaking riffs!! What a hell of a beginning!! Would be difficult for any band
to come after this beating but Mortuary Spawn gave their best and it was
quite interesting as well!! The Leeds quintet unleashed their relentless Death
Metal and showed people that the genre is being well take care of here in the
island!! Next band was one that I had quite a bit of interest to see as I’ve
never saw them before!! Adversarial arrived from Canada and their Death
Metal is very obscure and destructive!! Thick riffs, speeded but freaking
powerful drumming, sick growling, this was a show that grinded everyone to
dust!! With their newest offer, “Solitude with the Eternal...” just out a
couple of months ago, the Canadians blasted the crowd and left few standing
up!! More than a show, it’s an experience to survive one of their mowings!!! I
got so soul tired that I needed a couple of beers and to chat with people so I
pretty much lost Coffin Mulch, as every time I thought I would go down
to see them someone else would start a conversation. So, at the Dome I got to
see Phobocosm, which also came from Canada, and must say they didn’t
impress me as much as their fellow countrymates. Not that they were bad, but
something wasn’t clicking for me, which maybe was my fault. So, I went
downstairs because next band was one of my favourite from the entire fest!! Aberration
is their name, and the show was exactly what I expected!! Their debut album,
“Refracture”, which came out in March (and one copy came to my home) is a beast
of a record, and live, these guys are a beast as well. The dark atmosphere at
the DATD could be cut by a knife, we could feel the oozing of their murky sound
dripping from the ceiling!! Dissonant riffs, pounding drums, deep growling,
bass lines that made our world trembling, all this and more was offered to us
in this ritual of Death and obscurity!! I was drained but not enough to not go
and watch Ossuary!! The Wisconsin band which made heads turn with a
couple of demos and one EP, rumbled through the Dome, like a bull in a china
shop. Their music has a bit of Bolt Thrower mixed with the excellent Finnish
sound, and I love that the vocalist doesn’t go for the obvious growling but
more of a shrieking harsh grunt. Very good and a band to keep an eye on!! Next
band was supposed to be the US Left Cross but due to some unforeseen
circumstances they couldn’t make it to Europe and they were replaced here by CrypticShift, which made sense as some of the guys in this band had performed with
Slimelord and Cryptworm!! For me was an excellent replacement because these
guys have a very interesting sound, a Thrash/Death Metal very technical which
reminds me of Death or Nocturnus!! I thought the gig was maybe a bit less tight
than usual but still it was very good and makes us salivate for their next
record!! Back to the Dome and to witness for the first time the destructive
power of Anatomia!!! And the Japanese horde didn’t leave their weapons
at home!! What a fucking whirlwind of violence, riffing and pounding came from
the stage, infecting everyone down in the mosh pit!! Their Death Metal which at
times has this punkish attitude, felt like a kick in the teeth and a punch in the
gut!! Last band downstairs came from Italy and went by the name of Fuoco Fatuo!! We had seen them a while ago when they played with Grave Miasma and
Ruins of Beverast, and got impressed with their murky sound, so it wasn’t a
surprise when their show at the KTDF was a massive wall of sound which crushed
to pieces the remaining survivors of the steamroll Anatomia!! Never did the
DATD felt as claustrophobic as when these guys were unleashing their Death/Doom
Metal full of sick slow riffs and extra deep growling!! The last band to close
KTDF in London was the mighty Cancer, which were playing back on their
birth country!! We had seen them on the XXIV SWR Barroselas Metalfest in April
but I don’t know if it was because of being back to the UK, this one seemed a
blast, a hell of a good performance with time for a new song, old classics and
ending with the amazing “Cancer Fucking Cancer”!!! What could we ask more for
the end of Kill Town Death Fest in London???
So overall, a great first edition of Kill Town Death Fest in London, big and good crowd on the three days, great bands, excellent sound, lots of beer drinking and hell raising, and the hope the fest will return next year!!!!
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