TBDMThe conscious decision to catch this tour in Manchester rather than Leeds was partly down to the inclusion of Ingested on the bill but also because I don’t particularly like the venue that this was to play in Leeds. A very healthy crowd was already in attendance as I arrived ready to have my ears mauled by Slamchester’s finest export Ingested.  Surprisingly the crowd was rather tepid towards the slamming nihilists who seemed a little puzzled themselves at the reception they were getting. The boys certainly had enough power and the tunes to pack a sledgehammer blow to our grizzled auditory sense but no matter what the shouter Jay did to bait the audience the crowd didn’t really respond as they blasted through a slamming riff fest that initially had a dull muddy sound that improved after a couple of songs. Airing the opener from the bands powerhouse third album “The Architect Of Extinction” was received well even if the pit was a little on the lethargic side that was only bolted into more frenzied action when “Skinned And Fucked” was played much to the glee of everyone who knew the tune.  Plenty of bass bombing was included during their set creating thoracic imploding sub-sonic waves that rattled the spine and crumbled the ribcage as their set came very quickly to an end.

French band Benighted have played these shores a couple of times previously, once with Morbid Angel in 2011 and a headliner last year which I caught at the Temple Of Boom, Leeds that was laced with technical issues. Having got into this band during the “Icon” album having them on this tour was a no brainer for my attendance as whilst I really like the onyx floral deathsters they struggled to compete with the outright aural violence provided by Benighted.  It seems that the audience was well versed in Benighted’s material plus the stuff that was playing during the band change as I could see young folk (they were younger than me so they’re young folk) singing some old classics from Deep Purple, Dio and Motorhead. When the band hit the stage the carnage that erupted from this ferocious French act was staggering as Julien commanded the crowd’s attention with ease and consummate professionalism as he hand blasted practically every beat the drummer was pummelling out. “Experience Your Flesh” was an unmitigated assault  and had the crowd upping their energy levels in the pit but not as much as “Let The Blood Spill Between My Broken Teeth” which has become an iconic tune of their set as Julien shouted the first half and we bellowed back ‘Between My Broken Teeth’ in total unison. Hand blasters waved their appendages during the start of “Carnivore Sublime” as the tune caught a few unawares with its electronic based mid section as they stood aghast somewhat then realised it was awesome and continued the pit action as the tune progressed. It is positively puzzling how such a brutal band can write such infectiously addictive and catchy tunes as they battered the crowd with the “Asylum Cave” after its silly intro which always makes me smile as Bugs Bunny states ‘What’s Up Doc!’ followed by a barraging blast frenzy. This was one insanely intense and frenetic set delivered by a band that must surely rise up the catch live ranks in the UK as they are a force to be reckoned with and if they play your locality then see them as you’ll be utterly blown away by them.

There was no way any death metal act could really follow the performance laid down by Benighted and in some respects The Black Dahlia Murder didn’t need to as their music was completely different to both the other bands on the bill. Often branded as a death or metalcore band TBDM are a tornado of relentless fret board gymnastics, pulverising hyper technical drums and invective vocals. The crowd numbers had swelled for the band as they waited patiently for the onslaught that arrived via “Receipt” and an explosion of snare that rocketed from the PA. Trevor (vocals) stalked around the stage goading people and acknowledging the pit as the crowd surfers started up almost immediately and seemingly willing the activity more and more as the set progressed. The Sound Control stage is not the biggest as divers arrived on stage like a carousel as they beat the crowd with “On Stirring Seas Of Salted Blood”. I have seen TBDM half a dozen times and whilst I absolutely love their studio output their live performances are a little staid despite the shenanigans provided by Trevor continually engaging with the audience. A slight break occurred for him to announce the next tune which turned out to be “Threat Level No 3” as a photographer was crowd surfing whilst taking his snaps; that’s dedication for you. There was a level of pit activity and especially surfers and divers I’ve not seen for quite a while as most venues don’t allow it by having a big barrier or warning notices of ejection but here it was a free for all as “Elder Misanthropy” was hurled at the animated audience who by now seemed to be taking turns to get up on stage, reminding me of the 80s when stages were almost more dangerous than being in the pit. “Abysmal” title track of their latest opus was relentless as the high velocity intricacies of the playing were probably lost on the Neanderthal crowd (I mean that in a good way) as volley after volley of riffs and leads were spat from the guys amid the onslaught of drumming mayhem.  Breaking ranks by having the drummer instigate and elongate the filled intro to “Funeral Thirst” the crowd retained their momentum as I did feel that a fair few in the crowd were here purely for the aerobic pit workout rather than actually being fans of the death metal scene generally. By the time “A Vulgar Picture” was announced rather crudely I was struggling energy wise due to recent surgery and decided to make for an early exit before a slambulance was needed (I stole that line off the back of someone’s shirt).

 

MARTIN HARRIS