After a restful night, time for the second day of the festival which started really soon with Anakim, which I miss as I had some more family issues to take care of!! So, for me first band was at the Black Heart (today was divided between that venue and the Underworld, and must say it went really well with pretty much no clashes between bands) and when I got there Beyond Extinction, a young band from Essex was already unleashing their Deathcore like there was no tomorrow, pun intended!! I struggle quite a bit with this modern way of doing Death Metal so only lasted for a couple of songs and then went to the Underworld because in these festivals the secret is to start drinking when the band is starting and keep up the pace as you are not allowed to take drinks from venue to venue!! So, after my first Camden Pale Ale (those and Lightbulbs at the Black Heart were my go to beers through the day/night) time to see Basement Torture Killings, an habitue of the Death/Grind sessions in London!! I always get fascinated by Millie’s (BTK singer) presence in stage, sometimes it appears she is in some kind of a trance, and I love the dismemberment/autopsy of the Teddy bear (later in the evening I stepped on something hard, and it was its heart)!! They are a very tight band, with everything unleashed at a high speed but with no slack or sloppiness. Always good to watch them!! At the Black Heart it was time for Pathogenic Virulence, a Tech Slam Death all Romanian band based in London. They delivered songs from their debut album ‘Submerged Into Non-Existence’, and I think a couple of new ones, and they brought a bit of science fiction and biology to the fest on the lyrical concept. Full of complex fast riffs, their music is tight as hell and not for weak hearts. So, another trip to the Underworld and this time we had Repulsive Vision going on stage. These boys from Cumbria play the type of Death Metal that I’m a fan: the one where Thrash riffs are all over the place!! I had seen them a couple of times, but this was the first with their new vocals and must say Ryan has a nice pair of lungs, maybe not as brutal as Daryl but delivering a groovier performance which I even think suits a bit better Repulsive Vision’s music. They had a nice set which flowed quite well, with some interesting riffing and some damaging blasts!! As I stayed until the end (and because the next band in the Underworld was one, I really wanted to see) I only saw 1 or 2 songs from To Obey A Tyrant, a Deathcore act from Bournemouth. But as I said above, it’s not my beach as well so what I saw was okey!! The crowd seemed to be enjoying and that’s what you want!! Not everyone has to love the yellow!! So back to the Underworld and time for Seprevation, a band that people saw a lot in London but that disbanded pretty much when I arrived in London. After they have reunited, finally I had time to see them, and man was it worth the while!! They returned with a new demo this year, which I think some of the songs were featured, and their Thrashy Death Metal was just what my ears needed!! Bang on songs, thick riffs, tight drumming, all you need to have a fun afternoon!! Death (the band) it’s what comes to my mind when I hear some of their stuff, especially the maniac solos!! Fucking brilliant and one of the highlights of the day, for me, of course!!! With my neck a bit sore, I went back to the Black Heart for a very special band: Symbtomy. Special because our good friend Dasa plays bass in it and because they play old school Death Metal, another of my top choices. They delivered songs from both their demos and the stench of rotten music was smelled many miles away!! At this time the house was already very full and maybe because Dasa is very well known and liked in the London Metal scene, a lot of people was there to witness her debut in the London stages with Symbtomy. Overall, I would say they delivered what was expected, they did not come to invent the wheel but what they did, it was done with feeling and attitude!! Mithras was the next band and these veterans of the UK Death Metal scene brought to London the most experimental set of the entire day. Their music can be better described as if Morbid Angel and Voivod went to bed and made a child!! It’s freaking weird, spatial, and technical, and you need to be in the right state of mind to properly enjoy it!! Unfortunately, I wasn’t and after 2 or 3 songs I tapped out and went to the back to enjoy a Pale Ale and chat a bit with some known faces!! From the Netherlands came Abrupt Demise, and they were the next guests in the Black Heart stage!! Good, fast and relentless Death Metal is what these guys deliver, and it sounded quite good and a bit of a grind down after the beating in my brain given by Mithras. They came to present their debut album ‘The Pleasure to Kill and Grind’, which came out in 2020, and I would say they left with a couple of more fans. As for me, after a decent number of tunes headed to the Underworld for another Pale Ale (or was it Camden Hells? Not sure, the evening was long!!) and to watch the Italians Hour Of Penance, a band that I had the pleasure of seeing a couple of times back in Portugal. I always get impressed by their ferocity, and technicality in stage!! With more than two decades on their legs, these guys leave no prisoners behind with their top-notch riffing and brutal blast beats!! A lesson in musicality and a pain in the neck in the end, that was their present to all that witnessed their show. I was a bit tired in the end so didn’t have strength to go to the Black Heart to watch Visions of Disfigurement, so I just stayed in the Underworld chatting and waiting for Blood Red Throne!! The Norwegians are always a sign of good old Death Metal, and not always they have a new album almost out, ‘Nonagon’ is expected to come out in early 2024, but also, they were debuting, at least for me, new vocals. It was brutal, sweaty and a hell of a show. I’m pretty sure they played a song from the new album, but I can’t be sure as I never remember to write anything while the bands are playing!! The objective is to have a good time, right? And they kept everyone entertained for sure!! Then, time to finish the beer because on the other side there was Cryptworm to watch!! The Bristol band (which features, at least live, 2 guys from Seprevation in it) delivered the most obscure and dark Death Metal of the weekend!! When I entered the Black Heart, it was like some evil ritual was being performed in stage, with the deep ultra-low growls from Tibor reverberating in the walls of that tiny space. The riffing was putrid, the drumming was tight, and people were in trance being fustigated by Cryptworm’s music!! Fucking awesome!!! So good, that in the end of the night I caught up with Tibor in the merch table and bought their debut album ‘Spewing Mephitic Putridity’ from 2022 in vinyl!! And don’t fall asleep because this month they are releasing its follow up!!! Then a bit of a run to the Underworld because the last band going on stage was one of those, that you should not lose when they play in your area, country, or planet!! Benediction don’t need no introduction nor songs like ‘Vision in the Shroud’, ‘Unfound Mortality’, ‘The Grotesque’ or ‘Subconscious Terror’!! Making noise since 1989, these UK veterans did not let things cool down, and drenched the Underworld in sweat and energy. Dave Ingram is a beast on stage and the perfect master of ceremonies with his powerful growls. Owning albums like ‘The Grand Leveller’ and ‘Transcend the Rubicon’ very close to my heart, it was hard not to headbang to untimely songs that make part of the history of Death Metal!! The band was tight as ever and they were the cherry on top pf the cake to close things at the Underworld!! But.. Yes, there’s a but! That wasn’t the last concert as there was one more band to play at the Black Heart, and one which had some special meaning for me as they are from Portugal!! I’m talking about Serrabulho, the kings of Pimba Grind, that brought some humour (we need as much as we can with all the shit going around the world)!! The place was small for them as they have a bigger than life attitude, but they gave all their best to maintain alive a crowd that had been moving around since 1pm. It was fun to see all that people dancing around with them!! A happy way to end a fantastic weekend for Death Metal fans, with a little bit of everything inside the genre!! Although tired, I stayed at the Black Heart for the after party brought by Sam Loynes (from Akercocke among other things)!! The music was great, the chat as well, end up talking a lot to Bill Steer without annoying him to much (not my fault this time) and changed to Vodka Lemonade as beer was becoming hard to drink ahah!! Ines showed up, we had a couple of more drinks, helped a friend catch a Uber and then Woody’s and home to eat and sleep!!!
Overall, excellent festival, good
bands, excellent organization, and a blast of a time!!! See you all next
year!!!
