Well, better late than never I guess, so here is the gig review from the SEPULTURA tour that took place all over North America in April and May 2011. And since I have friends in the Portland/Seattle area I also made it up there to witness this spectacle in addition to their tour stop in Englewood, CO at the Gothic Theater.
So there I was, flying out of Denver, CO on a snowy Thursday morning (yap it fricking snowed so bad that I actually took the toll road so I wouldn’t miss my flight) and landed in sunny Portland, OR. Everybody was joking that I should take an umbrella and rain coat but boo-yah; it was T-Shirt weather warm and sunny the entire weekend. Anyway, checked into the hotel, met up with friends out of Canada and my buddies from HATE.
And speaking of my friends from Canada; Rita and Char (who also runs MetalTitans ) had a very special surprise for HATE. Since both ATF Sinner and Mortifer had their birthdays in April check out this awesome cake. Kick ass, and the guys really liked it.
We ventured on over to the Hawthorne Theater and at this point of the tour, the California based thrashers BONDED BY BLOOD were still part of the bill. I have seen them several times over the years and they are for sure one of the better retro-thrash bands around. But being the opener of a 6-band strong touring party is clearly no easy task since everyone has a strict time slot to play in. But the Hawthorne Theater took the price of “ridiculous”, hands down. Poor Bonded by Blood dudes played their first 3 (out of 5) songs in front of, …and I shit you not, … the merchandisers, 4 house security guys, 3 roadies, 1 bar tender and a handful of VIP’s. Not for of a lack of supporters, but rather because someone dropped the ball and the venue wouldn’t open doors until “enter random excuse” was resolved. Pathetic that’s all I will say, but luckily the next night in Seattle at the El Corazon there was a local band prior to their set and fans actually got to see them play. Unfortunately Bonded by Blood dropped off the bill and did not make it out to Colorado. Well, there is always next time.
Next up was NEURAXIS, a technical death metal band out of Canada and I was really looking forward to seeing them again. They just finished a tour with Deicide and Belphegor earlier this year and I was utterly impressed when I saw them at the Bluebird and since they just released their sixth full length album Asylon in February they naturally played more of their newer songs; “Reptile”, “Purity”, and “Savior and Destroyer” just to name a few.
Seriously, if you like bands such as Obscura, old Death or Necrophagist, or then this band will be right up your alley. Rob is just the master on guitar while Alex (vocals) and the rest of the guys just do everything in their power to make sure the audience has a hell of a time. Even though the room(s) was not filled by the time they went on, the attending metal heads started moshing right from the get go each and every time. Definitely check their touring schedule if you are into extreme technical metal, you won’t regret watching them live.(Check out some live performance videos from their gig at the Gothic Theater by Superskum)
Since all of the bands (except Sepultura) were using Neuraxis’s drumkit, the change over’s was actually pretty quick and at least at the shows I attended there were no issues with the soundboards and all of the bands actually got to play their allotted set.
If you happened to read my review of the Nile show in Seattle, you know that I have NEVER missed a single gig by KEEP OF KALESSIN and I wasn't gonna miss them this time neither. The crowds in Portland and Seattle alike really got into their set and it was apparent that most metal heads were familiar with the band.
Even in Colorado, which was only their 3rd time playing here, the crowd went nuts. (Check out some videos right HERE )But playing so low on this bill their set had to be extremely shortened and hence they mostly played song off their latest album Reptilian (2010) and two songs off Kolossus (2008).
Thebon’s voice came over loud and clear and Vyl had the time of his life behind the drumkit, while Obsician Claw and Wizziac were shredding on their axes like no others. There were times when the only thing you saw was a wall of hair just twirling on stage.
Those dudes out of Norway never disappoint with their showmanship and musical talent alike. Luckily Keep of Kalessin will be back in North America later this year as direct support for their countrymen Mayhem and hopefully they will be able to play a longer set.
HATE, a polish death metal outfit was up next on the bill. This was actually only their 2nd time in North America but one would have never guessed by the response of the crowds. (Well 2nd time in USA but actually their 3rd tour since they just finished a run with Rotting Christ)
The Portland and Seattle metal heads went absolutely insane when the band hit the stage and the Denver crowd was even more enthusiastic since this was their first time playing in Colorado. Check out some live footage right HERE
I also had the pleasure of documenting the guys while they put on their corpse paint before the gig at the Gothic Theater
and you can check out some more of those pictures right HEREAnyway, I saw HATE last year in California (check my review and interview from March 2010) and just like then, they kicked some major ass. The guys around front-man and lead guitarist ATF Sinner sound nothing like the other polish imports (Behemoth, Vader) and I believe HATE gained a lot more fans this time around.
Their sound is more extreme at times, not just your straight up death metal and melodic parts nicely placed here and there makes their music quite distinguishable. They played 3 songs off their newest release Erebos and 3 other tracks, basically the same set list as on the Rotting Christ tour.
HATE will also be part of the Mayhem tour later this year and hopefully they will be able to play longer so different songs could be incorporated. But then again, beggars can’t be choosers and I am glad that they play over here at all. More pictures of HATE can be viewed on flickr and you might also like our interview.
Finally it was time for the mighty BELPHEGOR to take the stage. Over the years I became quite fond of those Austrian death metal dudes even though their line-up is ever changing with Helmuth (vocal, guitar) being the only constant.
But nevertheless, each and every time I see them live they perform with such raw energy and enthusiasm. The crowds at either show went absolutely berserk and the mosh pit was totally out of control at times. Live Footage from the show in Denver filmed by fellow blogger Superskum
Even though they were directsupport on this bill they still didn’t get more time to play,
well kinda understandable with 6 bands on the bill. They started their set with “In Blood - Devour This Sanctity” off their newest album Blood Magick Necromance and didn’t look back from there on out. BELPHEGOR’s newest session guitarist Bernth
is a great addition and I was blown away by his playing and stage antics when I saw them earlier this year while touring with Deicide.
Unfortunately BELPHEGOR usually plays in either red or green light, so the pictures did not come out all that stellar. Nothing can top Serpenth on his bass axe and the man himself, Helmuth.
And I swear he sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger when he talks to the audience but is a brutal beast when it comes to singing and growling. A little birdie told me that they might come back to North America one more time in support of their new album, so keep your ears open because you don’t wanna miss them.Then it was finally time for the headliner SEPULTURA to take the stage. I totally missed their set in Portland because to be quite honest I was getting extremely shit-faced with my buddies from Belphegor. But since I was nursing a huge hangover in Seattle I watched most of their set and in Denver probably half since I had to do an interview.
Disclaimer: This is a review of SEPULTURA in 2011 and not some wishful thinking reunion trip. IMO, the reunion already happened when Igor and Max started talking again. If I want to see Max and Igor I will attend a Cavalera Conspiracy show and call it a day. To those expecting anything else, stop reading right here.
I was amazed on how many “fans” came out to the shows, spent their hard earned money on a ticket and stood there bitching about “it’s not Sepultura without Max and Igor”, gee folks, get over it. Max left the end of 1996, almost 15 years ago and Sepultura moved on, and so should everybody else.
Derrick Green, with his long ass dreads, is a hunk of a front man and nobody can take that away from him. But on that note, for me personally the last good release was Arise in 1991, and coincidently SEPULTURA started their set with the song "Arise". I enjoyed their gigs immensely because it was just plain fun to watch and swing with the groovy and heavy songs.
Since their newest album Kairos isn’t even released yet they only played the title track live. All in all it was great seeing Andreas shred on the guitar and let me tell you this; they all had fun on stage which showed in their performance.
If anybody in the audience went home disappointed then it was because they came with false pretense to start with. Derrick was air drumming to almost every song and his voice sounded great.
Sepultura played a pretty good set, but mostly stuff from their later albums and ended the night with “Rattamahata” followed by “Roots Bloody Roots” of the 1996 same titled album.
I for one had a great time jamming to Sepultura. According to the interview my buddy Carlos did with Andreas before the show, Sepultura is planning on coming back to North America once their album Kairos is released; I for one can’t wait and hope they will include Denver as a tour stop.
As usual, more pictures of all the bands can be viewed right HERE