Napalm Death, Eyehategod, Misery Index, Rotten Sound & Bat at Tramshed, Cardiff
For the first time in an age there was a metal show at Cardiff’s Tramshed to satisfy me and my fickle tastes and this was an absolute belter of a line up. Dubbed as The Campaign For Musical Destruction Tour 2020 this was an apt title for the calibre and sonically destructive capabilities of all the bands involved in the tour.
For the first time in an age there was a metal show at Cardiff’s Tramshed to satisfy me and my fickle tastes and this was an absolute belter of a line up. Dubbed as The Campaign For Musical Destruction Tour 2020 this was an apt title for the calibre and sonically destructive capabilities of all the bands involved in the tour.
With a total of five bands to get through doors did open at the early time of 18:00 and with this being a Wednesday the crowd was pretty sparse when openers Bat (6) hit the stage. Featuring Ryan Waste and Nick Poulos of Municipal Waste plus drummer Chris Charge this was a half hour set of pure 80’s speed metal worship. The sound wasn’t great to start but things improved as the set progressed with Rule Of The Beast and Cruel Discipline getting the crowd warmed up nicely for the carnage to follow. A decent if slightly repetitive set.
The audience numbers swelled considerably in time for Rotten Sound (8) to play their first ever show in Cardiff. I think a good many people in the crowd were unaware of Rotten Sound but they had definitely gained new fans from the blistering half hour set they delivered. Opening with the crushing The Effects The Finnish veterans delivered song after song of raging HM-2 grind which had the first mosh-pits of the evening and definitely got the audience absolutely pumped up and ready for more devastation. With a mix of blasting speed and slow groove laden breakdowns Rotten Sound showcased why they are just so revered in grindcore circles.
Next up were Baltimore bruisers Misery Index (8) who carried on the momentum set by Rotten Sound and proceeded to batter the audience with their deathgrind attack. Mosh-pits swelled, heads were banged and necks were windmilling to songs off latest album Rituals Of Power such as New Salem and Hammering The Nails alongside older cuts such as Conjuring The Call and Traitors. Misery Index are always cited as a must see live band due to the ferocity of their shows and this brutalising 40 minute set proved just that.
Landing the main support slot were NOLA sludge legends Eyehategod (7). An interesting choice considering they had followed three bands who basically operate on speed and aggression but Eyehategod proved to be a nice break between all the grind carnage. Not that this was a relaxing set by any means. Despite playing in a completely different tempo to the previous bands Eyehategod spewed chaos and intensity. From the filthy groove laden riffs of guitarist Jimmy Bower to the maniacal screams of frontman Mike Williams, Eyehategod showed that speed and aggression isn’t everything when it comes to pulverising your audience with intensity.
And then it was onto the headliners and a band that really needs no introduction if you listen to extreme music - Birmingham grind pioneers Napalm Death (8). With around an hours set Napalm Death kept the chat to a minimum and let the music do the talking with a ferocious career spanning set including some material which hasn’t been given an airing for quite a while. Kicking things off with the double whammy of I Abstain and Silence Is Deafening the audience were whipped up into a frenzy with a mosh-pit that barely stopped for the entire set. Frontman Barney Greenway stalked the stage like a man possessed barely keeping still and looking like he was expelling some serious demons out of his system whilst legendary bassist Shane Embury and long standing drummer Danny Herrera provided the crushing rhythm section with touring guitarist John Cooke bringing forth those wonderfully disgusting riffs.
The audience numbers swelled considerably in time for Rotten Sound (8) to play their first ever show in Cardiff. I think a good many people in the crowd were unaware of Rotten Sound but they had definitely gained new fans from the blistering half hour set they delivered. Opening with the crushing The Effects The Finnish veterans delivered song after song of raging HM-2 grind which had the first mosh-pits of the evening and definitely got the audience absolutely pumped up and ready for more devastation. With a mix of blasting speed and slow groove laden breakdowns Rotten Sound showcased why they are just so revered in grindcore circles.
Next up were Baltimore bruisers Misery Index (8) who carried on the momentum set by Rotten Sound and proceeded to batter the audience with their deathgrind attack. Mosh-pits swelled, heads were banged and necks were windmilling to songs off latest album Rituals Of Power such as New Salem and Hammering The Nails alongside older cuts such as Conjuring The Call and Traitors. Misery Index are always cited as a must see live band due to the ferocity of their shows and this brutalising 40 minute set proved just that.
Landing the main support slot were NOLA sludge legends Eyehategod (7). An interesting choice considering they had followed three bands who basically operate on speed and aggression but Eyehategod proved to be a nice break between all the grind carnage. Not that this was a relaxing set by any means. Despite playing in a completely different tempo to the previous bands Eyehategod spewed chaos and intensity. From the filthy groove laden riffs of guitarist Jimmy Bower to the maniacal screams of frontman Mike Williams, Eyehategod showed that speed and aggression isn’t everything when it comes to pulverising your audience with intensity.
And then it was onto the headliners and a band that really needs no introduction if you listen to extreme music - Birmingham grind pioneers Napalm Death (8). With around an hours set Napalm Death kept the chat to a minimum and let the music do the talking with a ferocious career spanning set including some material which hasn’t been given an airing for quite a while. Kicking things off with the double whammy of I Abstain and Silence Is Deafening the audience were whipped up into a frenzy with a mosh-pit that barely stopped for the entire set. Frontman Barney Greenway stalked the stage like a man possessed barely keeping still and looking like he was expelling some serious demons out of his system whilst legendary bassist Shane Embury and long standing drummer Danny Herrera provided the crushing rhythm section with touring guitarist John Cooke bringing forth those wonderfully disgusting riffs.
We got treated to new material with the title track of the bands latest 7” Logic Ravaged By Brute Force bringing a change of pace amongst grind staples such as Scum, Suffer The Children, When All Is SaidAnd Done, Mass Appeal Madness and Unchallenged Hate. They even managed to squeeze in those lengthy songs You Suffer and Dead (a whole 10 seconds of material there). The band finished on a couple of covers - the set staple Nazi Punks Fuck Off by Dead Kennedys followed by the B-side to their new 7” a cover of White Cross by Sonic Youth. Napalm Death showed that despite doing this for nearly 40 years they have by no means lost their touch and are still one of the most vibrant and energetic live bands you will see on a stage.
In summation this was a fantastic evening. We don’t get enough good extreme metal shows of this size coming to Cardiff very often so it was refreshing to see a damn good turn out for the show. The sound wasn’t great for the whole evening. I’ve seen bands sound far far better in The Tramshed but it wasn’t bad enough that it spoiled the evening in any way. It was five great bands for around £27. That was definitely money well spent.
In summation this was a fantastic evening. We don’t get enough good extreme metal shows of this size coming to Cardiff very often so it was refreshing to see a damn good turn out for the show. The sound wasn’t great for the whole evening. I’ve seen bands sound far far better in The Tramshed but it wasn’t bad enough that it spoiled the evening in any way. It was five great bands for around £27. That was definitely money well spent.