Desecration, Sodomized Cadaver, Ablated, Cerebral Atrophy & Black Pyre, Fuel Rock Bar
It’s always a party when Desecration are in town, the Welsh Death Metal Bastards causing chaos and carnage in their inevitably shambolic yet compelling manner. With enough heavy on the undercard to sink the venue, this evening was another masterful compilation from Eradication Booking Agency.
Whilst Fuel had swollen substantially by the time that Ollie Jones and co hit the stage, it wasn’t quite as tight when black metallers Black Pyre (6) kicked things off. The Metal To The Masses hopefuls are regulars at Fuel at present, and whilst I was less than impressed with them during Winter Eradication, the only band to ever emerge from Cardiff’s notoriously rare permafrost had improved substantially since then. With their debut EP The Forbidden Tomes hitting Bandcamp in conjunction with the gig, this was an important event for the three-piece and they seized it with both of their curled hands. Despite being the odd band out on an evening of death metal, the band didn’t let it impact on them. With frenetic riffing, relentless drumming and evil gargled vocals, Black Pyre have also evolved with a sense of humour delivered in excellent dry style by guitarist and frontman Asbjorn Daemonium de Noctis. Closing with their ‘hit single’ Summoning, Black Pyre are slowly evolving into an enjoyable band to watch.
Next up was Cerebral Atrophy (5), the solo project of Sodomised Cadaver guitarist and vocalist Ryan Howes. I fully appreciate the massive skills of the man, and his brutal technical death metal got heads nodding in appreciation. However, watching one person, no matter how gifted they are can become a little tedious and after a while retreating to the back of the venue to watch from afar seemed a better option.
The room temperature soon increased when death metal outfit Ablated (9) commenced their set. With the band following the path of the old school style, Ablated hit the stage hard and didn’t let up for their 35 minutes. The band has a bludgeoning approach in the style of Cannibal Corpse which earns massive plus points, but they also mark their own stamp on each track. Playing tracks of their forthcoming Threat Of Torture EP including Torso Sculpture and the crushing Beyond Redemption, Ablated proved to be the most impressive band of the night with their ferocity and wall of sound just blistering. These guys are heading for a heat in the Metal To The Masses soon and I’d be a fool not to say that they have to be amongst the favourites to get to the final, if not claim the prize. Brutal, bruising and bone splintering, Ablated simply stole the show.
The deafening blast beats and spine shattering death metal continued with the arrival of one of South Wales’ most prized death metal outfits. Sodomised Cadaver (8) continue to impress with each viewing and with a solid fan base giving it large down the front, the three-piece of Gavin Davies, Ryan Howes and Charlie Rogers delivered a set which balanced comedy, slapstick and ruthless old school death metal. Shorn of usual vocalist OIlie Jones (resting for the main event), Rogers and Howes comfortably delivered the guttural vocals needed. A treat to all older Sodo fans was the playing in full of Verses Of Vorarephilia, with Davies battering the hell out of the kit, once again leaving it in pieces. With other tracks including Vampire Of Dusseldorf also smashing it, the set closed with the band nailing Skull Fracture Massacre and then of course, Raped By Ebola. Sodo have been confirmed for some amazing gigs this year including the superb line-up at Incineration Fest in May. It is well deserved.
After a lengthy delay, which wasn’t clear whether it was due to the usual chaos that Desecration (8) bring or whether it was genuinely due to technical difficulties, the Welsh Death Metal Bastards hit the stage and hit it hard. With Ollie in typically robust and abusive form, the band who are loved by so many in the Welsh scene eased through their set with typical aggression. This is a band who always make death metal look so easy and despite the shambolic approach, which let’s face it, is part of the charm of this band, they are fantastic live. Michael Houlihan is an astonishingly good drummer, his rapid-fire machine-gun approach superb. Ollie needs little plaudits; his death growls and guitar work the result of 30 years graft. That left bassist Andi Morris, who was finishing his time with Desecration after 14 years with them. A blistering set well received by the faithful marked a fitting end to another chapter of a Welsh band who truly deserve the legendary status.
It’s always a party when Desecration are in town, the Welsh Death Metal Bastards causing chaos and carnage in their inevitably shambolic yet compelling manner. With enough heavy on the undercard to sink the venue, this evening was another masterful compilation from Eradication Booking Agency.
Whilst Fuel had swollen substantially by the time that Ollie Jones and co hit the stage, it wasn’t quite as tight when black metallers Black Pyre (6) kicked things off. The Metal To The Masses hopefuls are regulars at Fuel at present, and whilst I was less than impressed with them during Winter Eradication, the only band to ever emerge from Cardiff’s notoriously rare permafrost had improved substantially since then. With their debut EP The Forbidden Tomes hitting Bandcamp in conjunction with the gig, this was an important event for the three-piece and they seized it with both of their curled hands. Despite being the odd band out on an evening of death metal, the band didn’t let it impact on them. With frenetic riffing, relentless drumming and evil gargled vocals, Black Pyre have also evolved with a sense of humour delivered in excellent dry style by guitarist and frontman Asbjorn Daemonium de Noctis. Closing with their ‘hit single’ Summoning, Black Pyre are slowly evolving into an enjoyable band to watch.
Next up was Cerebral Atrophy (5), the solo project of Sodomised Cadaver guitarist and vocalist Ryan Howes. I fully appreciate the massive skills of the man, and his brutal technical death metal got heads nodding in appreciation. However, watching one person, no matter how gifted they are can become a little tedious and after a while retreating to the back of the venue to watch from afar seemed a better option.
The room temperature soon increased when death metal outfit Ablated (9) commenced their set. With the band following the path of the old school style, Ablated hit the stage hard and didn’t let up for their 35 minutes. The band has a bludgeoning approach in the style of Cannibal Corpse which earns massive plus points, but they also mark their own stamp on each track. Playing tracks of their forthcoming Threat Of Torture EP including Torso Sculpture and the crushing Beyond Redemption, Ablated proved to be the most impressive band of the night with their ferocity and wall of sound just blistering. These guys are heading for a heat in the Metal To The Masses soon and I’d be a fool not to say that they have to be amongst the favourites to get to the final, if not claim the prize. Brutal, bruising and bone splintering, Ablated simply stole the show.
The deafening blast beats and spine shattering death metal continued with the arrival of one of South Wales’ most prized death metal outfits. Sodomised Cadaver (8) continue to impress with each viewing and with a solid fan base giving it large down the front, the three-piece of Gavin Davies, Ryan Howes and Charlie Rogers delivered a set which balanced comedy, slapstick and ruthless old school death metal. Shorn of usual vocalist OIlie Jones (resting for the main event), Rogers and Howes comfortably delivered the guttural vocals needed. A treat to all older Sodo fans was the playing in full of Verses Of Vorarephilia, with Davies battering the hell out of the kit, once again leaving it in pieces. With other tracks including Vampire Of Dusseldorf also smashing it, the set closed with the band nailing Skull Fracture Massacre and then of course, Raped By Ebola. Sodo have been confirmed for some amazing gigs this year including the superb line-up at Incineration Fest in May. It is well deserved.
After a lengthy delay, which wasn’t clear whether it was due to the usual chaos that Desecration (8) bring or whether it was genuinely due to technical difficulties, the Welsh Death Metal Bastards hit the stage and hit it hard. With Ollie in typically robust and abusive form, the band who are loved by so many in the Welsh scene eased through their set with typical aggression. This is a band who always make death metal look so easy and despite the shambolic approach, which let’s face it, is part of the charm of this band, they are fantastic live. Michael Houlihan is an astonishingly good drummer, his rapid-fire machine-gun approach superb. Ollie needs little plaudits; his death growls and guitar work the result of 30 years graft. That left bassist Andi Morris, who was finishing his time with Desecration after 14 years with them. A blistering set well received by the faithful marked a fitting end to another chapter of a Welsh band who truly deserve the legendary status.