It’s my last gig of 2024 and my first time in Edinburgh in a few years. After Disposable kindly sent me their latest album It’s Blood That Trickles Down for review last week, it’s been on constant rotation and getting me super hyped for this gig. The show was originally going to be a smaller affair in another venue until its unfortunate cancellation, however Disposable quickly rescheduled and made their album release party a show to remember with a killer lineup of supporting bands (including a not so subtle secret support). Let’s thrash!
I arrive at Legends near the end of opening band Permacrisis’ set. It’s only 15:45 and the upstairs of the venue is half full already with the pit going. The song and a bit I manage to catch goes down well and the band are bringing plenty of energy. I hope to catch them again in the future – then I can give them a proper review! Following up is recent Audio destroyers Doppelgänger and it’s awesome to see them continue their antics on the other side of the Central Belt. The set seems pretty much the same as their recent Glasgow gig but that’s not an issuesince they get the crowd shouting along. They slay the stage with their high octane and fun energy getting the crowd more worked up until they’re ready to join them post-set. Next is another upcoming band in Dread Persephone who stand out in their brightly coloured Adidas trackies and with their more progressive sound. It’s a refreshing change bringing clean vocals/guitars, melodies and some prog flair among the heavy punk/thrash riffing most of the lineup is presenting. The energy is still electric in the crowd as they bop to the grooves. The band are a little more reserved at first but soon catch up with the crowd. They might be the wild card of the lineup but they can still thrash with the rest of the roster as the occasional banging riff keeps the pit going.
Bringing back more straightforward thrash to the stage is the last of the fresh blood on the bill, Luxera. The band bring a more old-skool thrash sound with stomping beats, catchy NWOBHM-style riffing and melodic moments. They rock a couple of classic thrash covers alongside some killer originals. Despite being halfway through the day, the energy is increasing alongside the numbers in Legends – anyone who had conserved it during Luxera’s predecessors is certainly letting loose now. Like their peers before them, the band command the stage like veterans, the frontman riling up the crowd atop the stage middle monitor. The latter half of the bill begins with the rising Hammer diving back into more extreme territory with their crushing riffs and gnarly vocals. By this point Legends is a packed sweatbox with mashes of hair flopping and the pit in constant motion, to crushers like “From Beyond” and their latest banger “Accelerator”. The mosh is becoming increasingly insane with more people jumping in resulting more casualties (swiftly recovered of course), both people and drinks as I end up wearing a few beers throughout the set.
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Following up is the not so secret special guests, Scotland’s kings of blackened speed Hellripper! Cheekily billed as tribute act Bastards of Hades, the anticipation is high, especially as the band casually soundcheck. Then all hell breaks loose when the set begins, with instruments and bodies being battered both onstage and off as we “All Hail the Goat”. The set is packed with a selection of bangers that could easily make for a solid Hellripper compilation with the likes of “Spectres of the Blood Moon Sabbath”, “Demdike (In League With the Devil)” and “The Nuckelevee” keeping necks wrecking and the pit revolving while goat cult devotees take turns leapfrogging the barrier to dive into the sweaty sea below. Special shoutout to Doppelganger’s Chloe for slaying an invitation to scream “Goat Vomit Nightmare” – prompted by frontman James McBain with a “you know what to do”, the second the band burst into the verse chords. I’m so happy Hellfekted have made the trip up to Edinburgh and I’m excited for a repeat of the mayhem they invoked with the Morning Mosh on the Friday at Bloodstock 2022. However it’s unfortunate that I miss the majority of the set as I’m outside chatting with Disposable (interview coming soon!). We make it upstairs for the last couple of minutes and I make up for lost time headbanging to their final blast of scuzzy black/thrash noise. I’m gutted I missed them and hope to catch them next time they head north of the border. I can’t review them but from the ragers’ roars at the end of the set, I’m sure Hellfekted killed it.
It’s finally time! After an awesome day of mental moshing to a selection of Scotland (mostly)’s finest metal for us, and day of working the gig for them, Disposable hit the stage to rapturous applause. We are of course celebrating the release of It’s Blood That Trickles Down so naturally the set begins with the bullet barrage of “40 Guns” sending the mosh into overdrive. Naturally a fair few of the short sharp shockers from the new record are on display such as the blackened blast of “Binkicker”, the slamming “Gnash” as well as the title track. Tonight’s party isn’t just for It’s Blood That Trickles down, this is also guitarist Oliver Wardell’s last night with Disposable as he’s leaving to focus on his other projects. It’s bittersweet and he’ll be missed, however the band take this last opportunity to play some of their more technical tunes like “Cut the Rope” before he leaves them as a 3-piece. The frenzied fans are thrashing to the limit, boosted by the audio adrenaline from the band as they rock out onstage. There’s plenty of classic cuts among the new numbers like “Scar My Eyes”, “Introverted Cross” and “Into the Water” with its customary inflatable shark pit. The feelgood vibes built up over the course of the day are on full display as everyone in Legends seems to be having an awesome time at Disposable’s thrash bash.
Overall an amazing last gig of 2024 for me, the most fun and intense I’ve been to in a while. A stellar lineup of bands who all slayed their sets and kept the mad mosh going all day. Plenty of new discoveries have been made for many I’m sure, especially with the newer bands on the bill. Definitely destined for greater heights and worth keeping eyes and ears on. As for the more experienced bands, you’re missing out if you haven’t checked them out!
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Disposable: facebook | instagram | spotify | youtube | bigcartel
Hellfekted: facebook | instagram | spotify | youtube
Hellripper: official | facebook | instagram | spotify | bandcamp | youtube
Hammer: facebook | instagram | spotify | bandcamp | youtube
Luxera: facebook | instagram | youtube
Dread Persephone: official | facebook | instagram | spotify | youtube
Doppelganger: facebook | instagram | bandcamp | youtube
Permacrisis: facebook | instagram | youtube | tiktok
