It’s a bit unfortunate but ailments and injuries have forced both Corrupt Moral Altar and Hang The Bastard off tonight’s bill and we wish them speedy recoveries. Stepping in at the nth hour are Diesel King, a name I have heard but don’t think I have encountered before and as it’s always good to catch something completely fresh I was not complaining. First thoughts as these London bruisers filled the stage were “whoa you would not want to piss off that singer.” Covered with tattoos Mark O’Regan is a veritable mountain of meat and it looked like it would take a rhinoceros tranquillizer or 6 to put him down. It’s no surprise that when they fire up some dense sludge laden riffs that his vocals are as gruff hoary and bulky to match as those few of us who turned up for the early doors get acclimatised to first number The Grey Man. It may not be busy yet but those down are getting into things quickly and a few are even banging heads at front of stage and punching fists in the air to this weighty hefty riffing tumult. It’s heavy as a block of concrete dropped from a great height and other various music journo clichés and it also strikes as honest, sincere and not to be messed with. The band throw themselves into things literally bowed down by the weight of their own riffs. One song has a bit of a NOLA feel and some Pantera etched grooves about it almost going into thickset Southern territories. They apparently have a debut album coming soon and play the title track Concrete Burial proving earlier cliché was perhaps kind of apt as it sums the sound up perfectly here as riffs set in like cement and practically entomb us. The singer throws and slams himself around, he’s not alone! ‘The Ancient And The Nameless’ has a distinct bit of Crowbar worship going on in guitar melody, never a bad thing and as they move on and finish in a flurry of beat-downs, singer in the audience Diesel King have definitely left their mark.
Apparently fellow Swedes and travel companions to the headliners The Graviators last played this venue four years ago in support to St Vitus. Their recent album ‘Motherload’ went down well on these pages and as they unfurl a whole lot of fuzz and retro grooving they get people head banging pretty much from the off. They sound pretty damn timeless and it’s like getting in a Tardis and going back in time to garage rocking days of old as they set motors running and deluge us in some powerful rifferama. The high edged vocals are pitched perfectly with the sound, making it seem all the more natural as they jam away. Classic metal, psyche and stoner rock all collide along with some kick ass parts that make me want to go and find an air guitar and join in. The venue is getting a lot busier by now and the sonic contortions from the riff machine are going down pretty well as they really hit their mark going into a passage that sounds like space ship that’s taken off and is surging through the cosmos. Everything gallops, chops and churns away at a furious pace before some classic sounding blues parts chill the pace. Songs tend to feel endless and Druid’s Return is certainly no exception to this rule, putting a hippy vibe on things and picking up the volume. This is not a band to simply nod along to in a stoned stupor, they are far too heavy for that and as the power increases and shrill yells build they put us in a psychedelic vacuum which is handled in a way that makes it all look effortless. That was a good trip!
So Entombed are now Entombed A.D. which should perhaps stand for After Dissection as that is what has basically happened to the band after a well-documented parting of ways with former founder member Alex Hellid. It has not stopped long term vocalist L.G. Petrov in his tracks for long and with other ex members of the original band and that name change they proved themselves admirably with recent album Back To The Front and still as shown at Bloodstock recently have plenty of old songs that they can play just as they did in the good old days. The venue is now rammed and in what is one of the first situations I have ever encountered here imposing a no flash, three songs limit for pictures. This explains the lack of them as it is heaving here now and very difficult to get good shots whilst being thrown all over the shop. That’s pretty much what it does from the opening bars of the intro of what I call their new Dick Barton song ‘Pandemic Rage.’ as that’s kind of what it sounds like for anyone who remembers the old radio show theme. It’s a hefty bass thudding sound here and the course vocal bellows and romping sound has a leaden drive to it. As for the players they are a mass of hair and even seeing faces through it all is an effort. The first few songs literally pass in a blur just like my pictures and falling out of the melee I am thankful to grab a much needed beer and watch the mayhem carrying on from the side.
Big Ben strikes well I guess it’s a bit of a tribute to London as they barrage away in a punky, snarling and volatile fashion as Eyemaster bites down hard. This is no doubt what people have been waiting for and the stage invasions begin with a few hardy souls unable to resist charging and throwing themselves off. There’s plenty of classics to come with the biting attack of ‘Living Dead’ remorselessly stomping away and the vocals ripping off nuggets of flesh in the process. I have to admit for some reason though I felt like a spark was missing here. I think I have seen every Entombed show in London for the past 20 years or so including on a fateful paranoid 9/11 and one very memorable sold out hottest days of the year at the old Barfly before it moved location but Entombed A.D. although far from a covers band seemed like one rehashing old glories and just not quite nailing them. They are however putting everything into it and are literally dripping in sweat. A stage diver disrupts things but luckily Petrov ensures the poised security that “he’s fine” and no doubt prevent him being barrelled out the venue. It’s a bruising set in more ways than one with the likes of ‘Out Of Hand’ sounding more than mangled, anarchically punked up and brutal. New songs got the occasional appearance but it was the classics that everyone seemed here for and who can blame them, luckily there were plenty of them ‘Left Hand Path’ being one that simply could not be left out the set and call me picky again but the delirious Phantasm denouement just didn’t quite deliver again. The sheen of finesse just wasn’t quite there. Still to give Entombed A.D. their due it did pretty much bring the house down.
It seemed as though the encore has come round really quickly, there is a curfew due to a crap club tonight but before we escape that there are a couple of surprises including ‘Chief Rebel Angel’ off the excellent ‘Morning Star’ and a trip right back to Abnormally Deceased. Although not falling out the venue thinking it was the best show I have ever seen by the band (in fact it was essentially only the second) Entombed A.D. had definitely delivered a good old battering and hopefully they will continue to do so for some time to come.
(Review and photos © Pete Woods)
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