Thrash veterans ONSLAUGHT lay siege to London.
MEMORIAM/DECREPID THE UNDERWORLD, LONDON
Despite doors opening before most folks will have left work, The Underworld is delightfully filled by the time DECREPID
hit the stage. The band quickly set to shaking loose the cobwebs as they settle in for a full-force death metal assault. Being bludgeoned about the face and ears by blastbeats and snarls feels like a baptism of brutality, but crucially it also feels right.
MEMORIAM are no strangers to the festival circuit, but they become an entirely more potent beast when shifted to the confines of a club. The confines of The Underworld are a particularly appropriate setting for their cacophonous din, especially considering their usage of the old-school death metal method of grabbing the listener and squeezing. Opening on Undefeated, the band lock into their groove early on, eschewing pace in favour of vicious intensity.
Vocalist Karl Willetts’ insistence on “Love, peace and respect” between songs belies some of the oppressive nastiness of his band, but also speaks to the sense of community earned in more than three decades as a death metal stalwart. Though Memoriam have by-and-large adopted his former band Bolt Thrower’s predilection towards lumbering menace, songs like This War Is Won do amp the pace up, its frenzied breakouts feeling all the more frantic when set against the band’s usual approach.
Compared to ONSLAUGHT, though, Memoriam may as well be moving through tar. New vocalist Dave Garnett has already proven his chops by this point – having fronted the band since 2020’s Generation Antichrist – but his first club show with the band still feels special. After all, Onslaught have never worried themselves with breaking radio – their strain of thrash has always been hard, nasty and decidedly in league with down below.
With just an hour of stage time, the Bristolians scarcely pause for breath. Killing Peace, 66’Fucking’6 and Destroyer Of Worlds come on like a blitzkrieg whilst retaining a Kreator-like ear for snarl-alongs. Seemingly growing stronger with each new release, the likes of A Perfect Day To Die, Strike Fast Strike Hard and Religiousuicide from Generation Antichrist are masterclasses in how to craft a song with as many barbs as it has hooks, even after almost 40 years. Such efforts don’t go to waste; the front row belt out whole verses of The Sound Of Violence with joyous abandon. As Dave himself puts it, “It’s fucking beautiful to be back.”
RICH HOBSON