Fri 25 May – War from a Harlots Mouth, Dying Fetus, Ion Dissonance, Through the Eyes of the Dead, Dead to Fall, Cattle Decapitation, Skinless

Unlike on any other concert, I arrived at 19.00 sharp. And I didn't do that because I wanted to get drunk as hell, I had time enough to do that later anyway, but I had an interview scheduled with John Gallagher. As I already interviewed Mike for this e-zine, I thought it would be a great idea to interview John now instead, for my other webzine. So while I chatted with the only original member of the death metal horde, War From a Harlots Mouth already played their set. I did witness a couple of tunes, but that of course doesn't count. What I noticed is that there were so little people present…and what’s up with the big curtain behind the PA? It’s like they knew they would be not so many folks around...

Ion Dissonance was next up. Surprised? You should. I don't know why these complex metalcore beasts were so low on the bill but they still managed to play a short tight set. The crowd wasn't exactly what they deserve, but it is rather hard to mosh it up with their technical approach. Above that, the sound wasn't the best of the evening either. They had an impressive stage presence though (the bassplayer almost killed other members with his bass) and with both old and new songs they left a positive impression. This can’t be told about all the bands…

The core of metal continued when Through the Eyes of the Dead did hit the stage. Their music was more open and straightforward. They mix the Gothenburg genre together with hard- and metalcore. A recipe that is for sure has been tasted before, but they were the first band that actually received some decent feedback. That mostly included xhardxcorexkidsx doing spastic movements and acting like they're the next Bruce Li or something. Who said that humour was forbidden on a metal show? I sure did have a good laugh. The energy of the band was quite solid, and with a good sound they did nothing but what you'd expect from a normal deathcore group.

Once Dead to Fall came in it became clear that these guys are not taking the whole thing too serious. The singer passed the joint to all the members - and then to the public - and mentioned that they probably have to cut a song but this being a more important thing. You got to love the on-the-same-level-as-Southpark jokes. Less funny were the same riffs we already heard multiple times before this evening. And again the kids started dancing and doing ridiculously small circle pits. I started wondering why the hell I was doing there...

But, out of nowhere, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. It's like Robin Hood stealing from the rich and helping the poor, like Superman flying to rescue you, like Spiderman kissing you in an alley...Cattle Decapitation play tough death/grind with unique, insane vocals. What they brought live was something I missed on their albums; energy. And while they occasionally remind me of Anaal Nathrakh, their music is rather bleak. Nonetheless, I quite enjoyed their gig, and I consider them as a reliable warm-up.

Until now, humour was only used in a negative way but it changed when Skinlesscame into the picture. Using The Final Countdown melody as an intro or starting zombie wall of death proves that they’re always in for a good laugh. However, they handled their music instruments with serious concentration and there was not one boring moment from the beginning till the end. Plus an energetic, frontman who is able to have great contact with the audience and has an qualitative, brutal throat equals to a performance to remember. Finally a band that knew how to entertain a crowd, but the best was yet to come.

Some bands do have a massive sound on a record but fail miserably during a live situation. Dying Fetus can do both and they are here to underline that fact. The way the played wasn’t just a live show, it was a statement. Though they started playing around twelve o’clock the public kept moving. The setlist was, simply said, amazing. Going from “One Shot, One Kill” to “Schematics” and from “Intentional Manslaughter” to “Pissing in The Mainstream” and “Kill Your Mother, Rape Your Dog”, they set the place on fire. The tightness was exposed during every single song. While the sound was not always splendid (e.g. drum snare sounded too sharp here and there) superiority was the only thing we all received. Whenever this band plays in Belgium again, I will be there too.

It is a shame that the amount of people was even smaller than the amount of black people playing metal. But the evening was pleasent, though that also included walking home by foot, drunk, with a sleeveless, teared apart shirt and tons of bruises. But hey, how can it hurt, when you can not feel!

Written for http://www.vampire-magazine.com