[avatar =”Sean” size=”50″ align=”left” /]Yet again I find myself at Audio. It seems that this is the best venue in Glasgow now for showcasing extreme music whenever bands find themselves in Scotland. It’s rare to see bands play anywhere bigger here unless they themselves are in a league of their own.
The other night again proved to be another night of crushing heaviness, breakneck speed, technical mastery and all round good fun in the wake of the Destruction show a few weeks back (check out my review and interviews!). With all of the bands being from much closer to home, it goes to show the UK metal scene has plenty of world-class bands to compete with legends from overseas.
There were 3 local bands all from around the Glasgow area opening though I didn’t catch most of the first two bands as I had the pleasure of interviewing headliners Bloodshot Dawn and main Seprevation (the interviews will be online soon!), so the first bands to properly catch my attention was Exile the Traitor.
Now I was really looking forward to seeing these guys again as I had seen them live once before playing in a small bar at the other end of Glasgow city centre a couple of years ago while I was going to a band a friend of mine once had. I thought they were awesome then, and last night reconfirmed my opinion. Exile the Traitor play a ferocious high velocity, heavy-as-a-hammer-blow-to-the-head modern death metal with a dashings of Scandinavian-style melo-death which could have flattened Audio had the volume been cranked higher.
After some of the slower breakdowns and lighter ages I recall the first two bands having, the increase in speed in heaviness was just what the night needed and the crowd lapped it up. With more heads banging and more energy dissipating into the room, I’m confident Exile the Traitor have gained some new fans in their home town tonight and they are definitely a band to look out for in the future – I’m sure we could see them rising to more international stages and showcasing that Scotland has plenty to offer the metal scene worldwide.
Following Exile the Traitor was Bristol deathrashers Seprevation. After Mosh and I caught up with them a few months ago ing Bonded By Blood I’ve become a big fan and can’t speak highly of their music enough. Their return to Glasgow went down a storm with the entire crowd down to the front of the stage caught in a raging mosh to their warp-speed brutality through blazing numbers like “Servants of Suffering” (which the bands recently released a lyric video for), “Slave to the Grave” (which featured a music video as well as being included on the next Headbanger’s Balls testicular cancer charity compilation) and “Dreams”, all of which showcasing their debut full-length Consumed.
As I’ve said, I can’t keep saying enough about how awesome Seprevation are. They are definitely one of my favourite modern bands and I’ve even said if I had a band they’d pretty much sound like Seprevation. If you haven’t heard any of their songs, seriously check them out. I have no doubt that they could perform on the world stage and be legends in their own right in the future. They never fail to get your head banging and are a treat to engage with live. Hell, my neck was still sore from the gig the next day at work, and my hearing is still a little messed up from the pounding drums, crunchy guitars and shrieking vocals (though standing next to the stage-left front-of-house PA speaker probably didn’t help).
All I can say is, go and see Seprevation – you won’t be disappointed.
Finally headliners Bloodshot Dawn took to the stage. Promoting their recently-released new crowdfunded album Demons, the fans were certainly anticipating their set. And what a show it was! The crowd loved it from the first note of “Smoke and Mirrors” (the first video release from the album) with headbanging aplenty and mosh pits throughout the set.
The band are a formidable force onstage with tight rhythms, soaring melodies, crushing grooves (such as “The Quantum Apocalypse” which rivalled Exile the Traitor in sheer heaviness), and roaring vocals. One of the most impressive aspects of the Bloodshot Dawn sound is definitely the lead guitar wizardry. The insane legato and sweeping-picked techniques combined are astounding, especially when simultaneously combined with growls – at times one could wonder if these guys are even human!
The band thundered through an awesome set featuring more songs from both Demons and their self-titled debut such as the crazy culmination in “Godless” where the crowd was invited to incite a wall-of-death thus leading to the most mental mosh of the night. Definitely a live highlight as the whole room had partaken in the insanity. On a side note regarding the moshing, there was two lads down the centre front of the crowd who were either really drunk, really into the band or both. Not only did they rage more than most, they also treated the band and the crowd to a rare spectacle of several waltzes throughout the night. Certainly a rare sight, and a little strange to see, but entertaining nonetheless – the band showing smiles, trying to not have a chuckle at their antics while still playing.
As is customary in Scotland, the band were subject to chants of “WAN MARE CHOON!!!!!” when they reached the end of their set. Needless to say Bloodshot Dawn weren’t prepared for the encore and weren’t sure whether to treat us to a cover or not (the riff from Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” made a brief appearance). In the end they went with a reprise of “Smoke and Mirrors”, and being the cracker of a song it is, the crowd definitely didn’t say no.
Bloodshot Dawn’s return to Scotland to promote their new album Demons (which I’m certain will achieve critical acclaim in the months to come – it’s an awesome album!) proved to be triumphant. I’d thoroughly recommend everyone to check them out – go to a gig, buy the album. It will definitely be worth it!
Note: As I said previously, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bloodshot Dawn and Seprevation. They should be online soon, most likely tomorrow, so look out for it here on the Moshville Times.
Bloodshot Dawn: facebook | myspace | youtube | bigcartel | bandcamp
Seprevation: official | facebook | twitter | bandcamp | reverbnation | youtube | big cartel | myspace | soundcloud
Exile the Traitor: facebook | twitter | bigcartel | bandcamp | reverbnation | last.fm
