“Sire of sin, you embody me. Undivine.”
Words by Kiera Falke. Photography by Kieran White, please contact before any use.
It’s a rare feat that we see such a stacked, brutal tour package as tonight’s. Death metal legends Cryptopsy bring a set list flooded with tracks from None So Vile, a release with an impact so large that the genre itself still stands in its shadow. The rest of the bill is equally stacked, acting as a tasting menu for the modern death metal scene. Brutal death metal, tech death, and traditional death metal throwbacks are all represented here, by three acts that you’d be forgiven for believing are headlining, if judging solely by their performances.
Corpse Pile
Corpse Pile are up first, and come out swinging. From the first note onwards, the crowd’s faces are contorted into that look that metal fans do when something is truly disgusting. Engine Rooms is remarkably full for this time in the night, and it’s clear by the crowd reaction that Corpse Pile have more draw than their spot on the bill might suggest. Vocalist Jason Frazier brings the majority of the energy, pacing the stage like a man possessed while treading the line between traditional death metal growls and animal-noise madness. The live mix is stellar. It manages to strike an extremely fine balance, preserving all the rawness of Corpse Pile’s studio work while adding a level of polish that makes every instrument easy to hear and react violently to.
The highlight of the set is announced with one of many pre-song monologues about the sad state of American politics, the increasing prevalence of fascism across the country, and how insanely angry that should make you. “Where the Sidewalk Ends” is a raging bull of two-steppable riffs and face-scrunchingly heavy drops that leaves the audience stunned, in the literal sense of the word. There is a dazed fugue state that many seem to be in throughout the audience, punters unable or maybe just unwilling to remove their eyes from the stage for a second.
Corpse Pile’s brutal death onslaught comes to a close with the titanic ‘Fuck Your Life’ and normality starts to slip back into the crowd. There’s an electric sense of anticipation that rarely occurs after an opening band’s set. It’s the sense that we’ve just witnessed the genesis of a future legend of the genre. It’s the sense that we surely haven’t seen the last of Corpse Pile.
Inferi
Up next is Inferi, an ultra-tech death act that you might expect to see on a bill with Archspire or First Fragment, rather than following the neanderthal-heavy Corpse Pile. Absurdly precise drums underscore riffs that make Necrophagist parts look like Smoke on the Water, and vocalist Stevie Boiser uses the time between lines to move his hands as if conducting an orchestra.
It’s a massive jump in headiness and chin stroking from the opening act, and there’s less violence across the floor at first. The crowd is soon brought on side, though. The highlight of the set comes when Boiser proclaims “get in the pit – your base IQ is 40 and it’s about to get lower” before a stupidly dumb riff comes in and propels punters into beatdown mode. Boiser’s movements are different now. The ante has been upped, and it’s easy to see his hand waving not as a conductor controlling an orchestra, but as a puppet master, manipulating pit-goers into violence with invisible string.
Inferi’s set gives the impression that tech-death may be on the brink of a new golden age. The crowd’s reaction tonight shows that there’s clearly an appetite for it, and Inferi’s unique form of classically-informed shred is one of many beacons of a scene that is finally outgrowing Necrophagist’s long, mournful shadow.
200 Stab Wounds
Just when I thought the crowd had been worn out from the first two bands of the night, 200 Stab Wounds prove me wrong in a big way. From the first note played, Engine Rooms is transformed into a warzone. The largest pit I’ve ever seen in this room engulfs the floor, pushing the now sold out room to seek safety behind the sound desk. Traditional death metal riffs swarm the place. Ride cymbal thrash-inspired ragers command violence, and change this massive show’s atmosphere to one of bleak, intimate mayhem.
The pointy guitars, camo pants and long hair on stage radiate a throwback energy that is matched by the exceedingly 90s-sounding set list. Watching the crowd and band work together to create this atmosphere gives the impression that I’m watching this set on VHS, twenty years after it happened. The massive 800-capacity space feels tiny, grainy, and distorted, awash with the energy of a 50-person garage set from a band that would go on to be legends. The spattering of rain on the warehouse roof between songs adds to this feeling, as if the band have whisked us away into a pocket dimension that is completely separate from the sterile, conformist space outside these walls.
Cryptopsy
With support acts as stellar as these, Cryptopsy appear on stage with their work cut out for them. Luckily, they’re just the men for the job. Walking on to Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls“, they invoke the feeling that we’re about to witness something legendary. Legendary it is. Cryptopsy’s set is the closest we’ll probably ever get to seeing one of death metal’s seminal records performed in full. Opening with “Slit Your Guts“, the band perform an 11 song clinic that features almost all of None So Vile, missing only “Lichmistress” and “Dead and Dripping“.
There’s a level of perfection that creates an intangible sense of awe when watching Cryptopsy pull off these crazy songs live. The instrumental performance is note-perfect, somehow balancing the stop-start freneticism of the record with a tightness that makes these songs communicate properly live. Long-standing frontman Matt McGachy handles vocals with a finesse and ferocity that wipes the floor with the excellent vocalists that have already performed. The energy coming off of the band creates a sense that you are obliged to go completely crazy to their set. Anything less would be a disservice to them.
Not content with just performing of one death metal’s greatest albums, Cryptopsy also bring out 5 newer tracks, including three from their newest release, “An Insatiable Violence“. The songs slide seamlessly into what is mostly a throwback set, dismissing any suggestion that Cryptopsy can’t hang with the heavy hitters of today’s scene. This is no legacy band – this is an electric, attention-demanding act that just so happens to have a classic album in their back pocket.
Everything that long-time Cryptopsy show-goers told me was correct. It’s incredible. The sound is a perfect marriage of crystal clear and 90s scooped-mids grime. The performances, the presence, and the songwriting sit on this foundation, fusing together to create a performance that reveals why Cryptopsy has its reputation as one of the best live acts death metal has ever seen. In a city as small as Southampton, filling this relatively titanic 800 capacity room is a task for any metal act, let alone one as devastating and bloodcurdling as Cryptopsy. After seeing them perform, however, it’s no wonder they managed to fill a room so large. I can’t believe it took me so long to see this incredible band live, and I pray that we have them in the scene for many, many years to come.