“No penitence for will. Alas, ascension to unfold.”
For my debut experience at the Underworld in Camden Town, I was privileged with Incantation’s Unholy Deification UK tour, supported by local death metal bands Celestial Sanctuary and Mutagenic Host. Although this gig was not sold out, the audience were packed in and well-prepared for a night of pure aggression and visceral intensity.
Words by Emily Cole, photography by Joe Steven Hart.
Mutagenic Host
In spite of their late addition to the line-up, Mutagenic Host opened up the show with an intense display of London’s death metal talent. Their set started with “Mutagen”, the intro track to their debut EP, The Genotoxic Demo. This track features the classic horror-esque sample with daunting atmospheric noise that gradually builds and prepares you for the inevitable delve into chaos and down-tuned riffs – a transition that hit harder than expected. Their music was full of beautifully heavy death metal instrumentation and vocals, with additional elements of hardcore’s raw violence and chuggy breakdowns. The band perfectly embodied the sound of modern death metal, with the ear-crushing abrasion that all extreme metal bands hope to achieve in their work. With explosive energy and evidently tasteful style, Mutagenic Host are a hopeful example of what the emerging UK death metal scene has to offer.
Celestial Sanctuary
Although the wait for them to take the stage was prolonged, the crowd’s anticipation was soon met with pure brutality and crushing tracks from Cambridge-based Celestial Sanctuary. Despite them being one of the support bands for this gig, Celestial Sanctuary were able to command their own spotlight and relentlessly power through their set, even with minor tech slip-ups. The band played a variety of songs from their latest record, titledInsatiable Thirst For Torment, including their most popular track, “Swivel Eyed and Gurning in the Shadows”. From brutal bass samples that genuinely take your head off to mind-numbing drum rhythms, Celestial Sanctuary are truly a band who know what death metal fans want and need. Their songs were unique and followed their own structure, with a variety of new and interesting concepts and grooves. In addition to their clarity and professionalism, every band member had a great personality and stage presence, making sure that the crowd remains alive and well, unless there was a mosh, in which we were told to “fuck ’em up”.
Incantation
Finally, we were presented by the death metal legends themselves, Incantation. Coming all the way from the US, they did not mess around with their time in Camden. Although there was exceptional new talent before them, they certainly showed the crowd what 30 years of experience looks and sounds like. They performed an amazing set featuring a great range of songs, from old-school classics such as Golgotha, to their newest tracks featured on Unholy Deification. Their stage time was filled with unforgiving force and talent that emanated throughout their set, reflective of their studio work. With each song, they presented the crowd with well-written and cohesive instrumentation and vocal styles, as well as a general joy and passion for their craft. They honoured every track with its announcement and made sure that the crowd were well and truly locked-into their death metal grooves.
Moreover, the members of Incantation were extremely humble, making sure to greet everyone who made the effort to come to their show, as well as signing posters and other items, and taking selfies with particularly enthusiastic fans. The gig concluded with a group photo, filled with a sea of horn signs and fists – a sight that was well deserved and rightfully earned by the band.
Check out our review of Celestial Sanctuary’s latest album here and get to know frontman Tom Cronin here.