For me, this was going to be the highlight gig of the year so far and going by the amount of people here tonight, they had the same thought. It was pleasing to see the Barrowlands, the best venue in Glasgow, play host to a full house and hearing anthems that would never have been dreamt of when it was originally a dance hall and roller disco. The UK was the end of this massive European tour, taking all four bands thousands of miles and through various countries, so we would have been forgiven for thinking that all four bands would be too tired to give it their all on stage. I am happy to say that they may have been tired backstage but when in front of the baying public, every band that I saw completely nailed it.
Sadly though, after having interviewed Dark Funeral and Ingested (more to come on that later), I had to take the equipment back to my car and missed Stormruler’s set, so I offer my sincere apologies to Stormruler. I was personally gutted with this as I have had the opportunity to play these American black metal enthusiasts on my radio show on a number of occasions now and really liked them. I hope those in attendance gave it their all as they certainly deserve it and will reach out for an in depth interview in the near future.
First up for me, therefore, were Ingested. What is there left to say about this band who personify everything it takes to make a band work: luck, hard work, belief in yourself, recording and constant touring. I have repeatedly said on my radio show that Ingested are one of the most hard working bands out there and with four albums in the last five years is testament to that fact. Live though, having seen them a few times in Glasgow, Ingested nail it every single time. Opening with “Rebirth”, they win the crowd over with slamming death metal riffs and one of many of their many head banging anthems. It was so good to see people wearing Cannibal Corpse and Dark Funeral shirts get involved this early into their set but you cannot deny the quality of musicianship on show here.
Next highlight and possible highlight of the whole gig was when vocalist Jason ordered the whole of the Barrowlands to split in half from front to back before “Shadows in Time”. When the appropriate riff came in after ten seconds, this is probably the biggest wall of death I have ever seen. With eighteen year old Tommy from Steel Mage on bass, he looked as if he had been in the line up for years and showed us older crowd members how to mosh properly throughout the set. Ending with crushing numbers “Invidious” and “Echoes of Hate”, anything Jason wanted the crowd to do tonight, be it head bang, circle pit or wall of death, the Glasgow crowd wholeheartedly obliged and they gave the headliners something to seriously worry about coming on the stage next.
Dark Funeral are one of my top three black metal bands of all time, especially after the storming “We are the Apocalypse” album last year. I was really looking forward to see Lord Ahriman and co on stage with their satanic anthems. Opening with “Nosferatu” from said album, I think some of the crowd were gobsmacked at the spectacle before them and even when they followed the opener with “Arrival of Satan’s Empire”, the crowd now got into what they were doing. Personal highlight of the set for me is one of my favourite Dark Funeral songs, “My Funeral” and that got me and the capacity head bangers smiling from ear to ear. The crowd had now abandoned their good side and fallen into their dark side with chants at the request of vocalist Heljarmadr, “Hail Satan” was bellowing from the capacity crowd which raised hairs on the back of your neck.
More personal highlights of their set was “Unchain My Soul” with Heljarmadr commanding a performance completely opposite of Jason from Ingested by staying put but staring into the audience is equally as powerful. Finishing with “Where Shadows Forever Reign”, Dark Funeral did not disappoint me or the crowd and special mention must go to Jalomaah with the speed, dexterity and stamina behind the drum kit. The speed and length of the blast beats this man can do are incredible and with all members still giving their all after weeks of touring, many new fans were gained through this sterling performance. Just don’t ask what Heljarmadr does with a crucifix.
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The moment the crowd had been waiting for had arrived. I have watched Cannibal Corpse numerous times in Glasgow, including when Chris Barnes was frontman at the old Glasgow Cathouse on Brown Street in the early 90s. With Chris being long gone and having the man mountain that is George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher in front of you in a venue of this size was especially pleasing for this old school veteran. Cannibal Corpse are the best when it comes to extreme metal being accepted by the masses. They may have a formula for their songs but by God, does it work and this hands down is the best I have seen Cannibal Corpse. Opening with surprising opener “Scourge of Iron” rather than their more in your face songs, this pleased the head bangers of the crowd as there is no one better than Cannibal Corpse when it comes to playing chugging riffs. The slow track was soon replaced by “The Time to Kill is Now” and that got the pits started. Seeing George with that neck of his doing windmills in between lyrics is a sight to behold and he is relentless in doing so.
We all know what to expect from Cannibal Corpse live but again, what was pleasing to see was death metal machine and Hate Eternal frontman Erik Rutan on guitar duties and giving his all to every single track. Cannibal Corpse were stunning from the off and it was also pleasing to see that George was looking out for the women in the audience, asking them to scream and dedicating “Fucked with a Knife” to them all. He has said the same things for a good number of years now but do you know what? It works! George was on form once again when he introduced “I Cum Blood”, challenging the crowd to headbanging better and faster than him. Needless to say, George with a grin on his face declared himself the winner; he still has it and put me and the crowd to shame. The only sour note was an overly helpful male in the audience helping a female crowd surfer in the audience get over the barrier. George saw this and addressed the issue and what to do and not to do to a round of applause.
What is pleasing about Cannibal Corpse is that they will always play songs from their entire history as well as tracks from their latest album, Violence Unimagined. Personal highlights of the set include one of my top three tracks, “Devoured by Vermin” which got me screaming the chorus in unison. Special shout out has to go to Paul who can still blast those tunes and not miss a beat. “A Skull full of Maggots” was one for the old school and ending with “Stripped, Raped and Strangled” as a nice ballad to end the night. George was only kidding and Cannibal Corpse had one last song to play which was of course a death metal anthem, “Hammer Smashed Face” which got the whole crowd killing each other. Cannibal Corpse have toured in this country every album, so you know what to expect from them but I have to say, saying them at the best venue and a hugely involved crowd, this was the best that I have seen Cannibal Corpse in Glasgow. See you on the next tour.
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Photos by Gavin Lowrey
