Live Reviews : Suffocation, Decapitated, Eternal Rest & Disentomb @ Brisbane, The HiFi 07/05/2015

It’s a really good reflection on the Australian metal scene that we are getting these double headlining bills put on, especially when you consider that tonight’s two headliners have a combined touring history of over forty-five years. Couple that information up with the fact that they are some of the more extreme bands in around and your left with the prospect of one brutally appetising night.

Eternal Rest

The choice of venue was a bit interesting. The show must have just sold more than enough tickets to warrant being held at the Hi-Fi Bar (Max Watts) as opposed to a smaller sized venue, however there was still ample space to walk around, sit, and even up to a minute or so before each band started playing you were able to walk right up to the very front of the stage. I guess that having a smaller crowd makes the show more intimate, but with the credentials of the headliners, the attendance was a bit disappointing.

I don’t know if it was due to the fact that doors for tonight opened at 7pm instead of the standard 8pm which caught people by surprise, or if it was the fact that it was a Thursday night show that followed a day after Opeth, but first support Eternal Rest played to a very quiet room tonight. To their credit they put on a very solid performance  which had some really awesome guitar riffs that were laid down in some of the tracks, kind of reminiscent of ancient Egyptian music, that stuck with me.  The main attraction from this band for me though was watching their bassist manoeuvre his bass neck. I have honestly never seen anyone move that quickly and proficiently around a bass live before and I just couldn’t pull my eyes away. I understand that Eternal Rest heads off for a tour of Asia that commences on Saturday 9 May 2015, and I hope that their fans in Asia head out and see them on their upcoming tour dates because if tonight was anything to go off, they won’t be disappointed.

Disentomb

It is easy to see why Disentomb are also about to embark on an overseas jaunt, with upcoming dates in the United States. Being my first time seeing them I was kind of struck like a deer in headlights -it was hard, heavy, fast and loud, in other words, a perfect combination. When I found out that they had been around since 2007, I had a sort of reality check moment and asked myself what I had been doing since that time. While I wasn’t as transfixed to this set as Eternal Rest’s beforehand, I definitely feel that they were an appropriate choice for support for the night and a band I am going to endeavour to see more when they return from their US tour in June.

Poland’s Decapitated were a band I was really looking forward to seeing having missed them at Wacken in 2014, however by the end of their set, I was still left unsatisfied. The performance of each of the band members was fine as they kept it to the bare minimum, much like their stage layout. The instrumental side of things worked perfectly with the single guitar and bass complimenting the timing of the drums for a sound that came out so very clear (a rarity live for some of these Extreme metal bands). The vocal side of things however was another point entirely. Through the glimpses I was able to hear it sounded like vocalist Rafał Piotrowski was on point with his delivery tonight, however the vocals were that quiet that they were inaudible in the mix to begin with. This was an issue that was attempted to be fixed about six-seven songs into the set, with the mic volume increasing – but it was still very low in comparison to the other instruments in the overall mix. Not withdrawing anything from the band’s performance though as they played through their set with an awesome energy that was great and infectious to watch, but the sound issues did sort of spoil their set for me.

Decapitated

All the previous issues were forgiven when Suffocation took the stage. They were a big redeemer for tonight. The Long Island natives cut imposing figures across the stage as the curtains were drawn for their reveal. I just couldn’t take my eyes off their set. It was a combination of great stage presence and their tight sound, led by the crushing drumming of Kevin Talley and the guitar work of Terrence Hobbs and Guy Marchais. The sound issues that had plagued the earlier bands did not occur again, and for the first time in the entire night there was more than the 20-30 fans down the front moshing. The band played a good mixture of songs spanning their 27 year old discography, and hit old and new tunes that appealed to everyone that managed to stick around and see them play.  The main highlight for me was watching Talley play, knowing that this is a person who has played in some of the biggest and best names in the Death/Extreme metal genres. To see him perform with an almost childish grin on his face, knowing that he is enjoying each and every minute behind the kit every time he takes the stage is something that is truly amazing. It was unfortunate that the crowd had emptied out a fair bit before Suffocation finally closed with crowd favourite Infecting the Crypts, but I guess that is a symptom of these week night gigs running until midnight that we get from time to time.

All in all tonight wasn’t the best of nights with sound issues plaguing the majority of the sets, which isn’t any of the bands faults – but as a fan, all you can ask is that the bands come out and deliver an awesome show, which tonight everyone did.

Suffocation

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