It’s about 2:10 pm and, after a long coach ride down from Preston followed by a couple of pints and a bacon butty for breakfast, things are about to kick off for the inaugural Dead Haggis Deathfest. With a line-up like this one, it's no wonder there is already an atmosphere of tense expectation. The kings of slam are finally coming to town. But preceding that, we have a stellar collection of bands to enjoy.
Hull’s INTRORECTALGESTATION open proceedings. Reduced to a three-piece, they demonstrate how they have matured as a band since I last saw them, a good couple of years ago at Satan’s Hollow. Their brand of fast paced deathgrind clearly pays homage to the likes of Morbid Angel and Crytopsy, yet retains that uniquely British sound.
Locals EMBRYONIC DEPRAVITY have been making some waves in the death metal world of late. And judging from their performance today, it's easy to see why. Their music is a twisting, blasting wall of sound that yet retains audibility and doesn’t cover the obvious technicality of their work in impenetrable fuzz (big props also to the soundman, who performed as well as any of the bands). Rob Newson’s vocals are a guttural sludge a la Disgorge (US), and the whole thing ties together very nicely.
Due to the late cancellation of Repulsive Dissection (due to those pesky immigration officials again!!), INFECTED DISARRAY follow their fellow Londoners. Featuring alumni of Gorerotted, Detrimentum, Beef Conspiracy and Twitch of the Death Nerve, Infected Disarray have a clear death metal pedigree. However, their non-stop, churning, technical and complex-as-hell tracks often lack the savage simplicity that makes so much death metal sound great live. This isn’t to say the music, and the performance, isn’t worthwhile. It’s good stuff. But a little more variety and some easier to follow sections would go down better live.
This is exactly what Swiss band CARNAL DECAY bring. Their mix of Dying Fetus-esque chopping grind and ‘so heavy it nearly goes through the floor’ slams are an absolute treat. These guys take things back to basics, with simple yet highly enjoyable slams and a kinda old school feel to some sections. This savage simplicity can be seen in song titles too, such as Chopping Off the Head (the name of their new album too), giving a Cannibal Corpse-esque feel. Michael Kern is an enjoyable front man with a terrific voice, who keeps the growing crowd lively. Their final track is, apparently, “all about titties”, which is always a good thing in my book. Watch out for these guys.
Glasgow-based CEREBRAL BORE are up next. Guitarist Paul McGuire is the man responsible for this gig, but Cerebral Bore show this had nothing to do with them playing this high up the set list. Having seen them a couple years ago and found them not to my personal taste, I was pleasantly surprised to find Cerebral Bore have expanded and evolved their sound, keeping the best bits of the old and adding in a whole host of the new. First and foremost, the vocals (always a deal-breaker for me and one of the things that put me off previously) are superb. I was even more surprised when I realised they were coming from a female, new vocalist Simone "Som" Pluijmers. The music too is more varied, mature and memorable. Another excellent set and this thing is really getting into swing now.
AMAGORTIS, another Swiss group, are up next. Playing the tried and tested mixture of guttural vocals and huge slams, they execute a memorable set that avoids the tired blandness that perpetuates amongst the horde of wannabe slam bands who can only crow in frustration at their lack of creativity. Amagortis are well above this pack, taking us on a tour of some of the best elements of this style, from huge, chunky slams to Crepitation-esque, high-pitched squeals. Recently signed to Brutal Bands Records, and pushing new album Intrinsic Indecency, this is no less than expected both in style and quality. New track Carnivorous Crackpipe Consumption, in particular, is impressive.
So far, the quality of death metal on display here has been top notch. But something a little different feels needed at this point, something to shake things up a little.
Israeli act VISCERA TRAIL provide it with perfect timing. Vocalist Sharaf Ostfeld leaps around the stage wearing what appears to be an over-sized nappy smeared with...well I don’t really want to know to be honest! His infectious energy, shared by the other members, wild caveman-like hair and frog-burp vocals (reminiscent of Cerebral Effusion) turns up the temperature a notch, and the crowd respond enthusiastically. My only criticism is I am really not a fan of shouted backing vocals, something guitarist Tomer Hasenfratz makes frequent use of.
Another Brutal Bands signing, HUMAN MINCER, follow. The Spanish quartet are the first band to play an extended set (45 mins opposed to 25 mins for the previous sets), but the time simply flies by as they pummel the audience with more brutal sickness. Taking a step backwards (time-wise that is) from the modern focus on technicality and huge, stomping breakdowns, Human Mincer show glimpses of Suffocation and Hate Eternal, maintaining a near constant barrage of blastbeats and shredding riffage. Human Mincer are yet another top-quality band, and provide another quality performance.
The time is nearly upon us, but first we have one of the fastest rising, and most impressive, death metal bands in Europe- Italy’s PUTRIDITY. Promoting their second full-length, Degenerating Anthropophagical Euphoria, Putridity are, in a word, awesome. Slab after slab of chunky, slam-filled musical madness are churned out, accompanied by some sick gurgling from vocalist, Paolo. Whilst there is a bit of a feeling that people are saving themselves a little for what is to come next, Putridity still get a great, and much deserved, response.
As the stage is prepared, a palpable sense of excitement can be felt in every corner of the venue. From the last second of Putridity’s set, few people even leave the room for a smoke, such is the excitement at what is to come. Despite being formed fifteen years ago and the fact they have been considered the kings of brutal slamming death metal for much of that time, DEVOURMENT had yet to play on English shores (though this was in no small part do to British immigration officials). Now, that has been set straight. Devourment are simply incredible. Every track is top-quality. From old-classics like Festering Vomitous Mass to new tracks, such as Fed to the Pigs, from new album Unleash the Carnivore, everything simply rules. The band are clearly as excited to be here as we are to have them, and are whirlwind of energy. The crowd go utterly insane, stage-diving left and right and putting on by far the biggest pit of the night. An early one-two of Babykiller and Masturbating at the Slab (my two favourite Devourment tracks) is the highlight of the entire night. And what a night, and day, it has been. After top-notch displays by some of the best underground death metal bands around, Devourment cap things off perfectly. The Texans prove, once again, that not only are they the first kings of guttural slamming death metal, they are still the kings of kings. And boy do we love to worship at their throne.
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