Acid Vat open up the show with some old school death metal in the vein of Deicide, as evidenced by the likes of 'Barbecue Death'. One song has a slow, doomy riff reminiscent of Morbid Angel's 'Where The Slime Live'. They have plenty of catchy riffs, along with decent solos and some satisfying double kick drum work. Not bad at all.
Damim are next and they play progressive thrash which is fast, dense and technical but it just leaves me cold. The bass seems way too loud but it at least highlights that the bassist is pretty good. In fact, all the band can play, it just comes across as workmanlike and uninspired. The vocals and playing are pretty aggressive but probably fall short of death metal, although they do incorporate some death elements. Some of the bass playing reminds me of Atheist, and I suppose a less extreme Atheist isn't a bad comparison. They improve slightly as the set goes on and I even find myself nodding along towards the end. The final song reminds me of 'Time' by Anthrax, only not as incise or urgent.
Terrorizer open with the rampaging 'Hordes Of Zombies' although I'm left wanting more. I expected it to be devastating as the studio version crushes but it is somewhat lacking. What we really want though is 'World Downfall', especially as it is 35 years since this seminal album was released. Thankfully, that's exactly what we get, 'World Downfall' in full. 'After World Obliteration' absolutely rips, whilst 'Storm Of Stress' is pulverising. A stomping 'Fear Of Napalm' straddles both death metal and grindcore, which is why 'Wold Downfall' was such a landmark release, and it still sounds fresh. 'Human Prey' is vicious, and Pete Sandoval pounds the shit out of his drumkit. Fellow Morbid Angel-er David Vincent does a solid job on bass but, surprisingly, he is content to remain in the background. It is the singer Brian Werner who takes centre stage instead. 'Enslaved By Propaganda' rides a bouncy yet brutal riff, whilst 'Whirlwind Struggle' is a hurricane, like the title implies. 'Dead Shall Rise' is pure, ripping old school death metal. The whole set is a blur and I'm left thinking that they don't really have any right to be as good as they are.
However, as a post-script, in the days following the show I read comments from friends on Facebook about the tour and the line up. I'll be honest, I don't really know anything about Brian Werner (Vital Remains are a band that have passed me by) but having a full on Trump supporter singing songs like 'Corporation Pull-In' is a little weird. Still, the review is a reflection of how I felt on the night.
Terrorizer ****
Damim **
Acid Vat ***
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