This post was originally published on this site
You know what Glasgow hasn’t had in a small eternity? A night of devilish black/thrash metal. Tonight is the antidote; Americans BEWITCHER are ploughing through a UK tour, and now the sole Scottish date has arrived. Taking place at Slay, it was surprising to learn that over half of the tickets were sold in advance. However, on arriving at the venue, it turns out that the compact backroom (usually closed off or reserved for merch sales) was the place where the concert would take place. The capacity for this room is only 100 as opposed to the 500 the main hall holds, so the 50% of tickets sold doesn’t seem as impressive as it first sounds. Shame.
It’s probable that Derby’s DEVASTATOR shifted a bunch of those tickets, given that this black thrash troupe has ascended rapidly in the UK scene. Formed in 2017, they’ve unleashed two albums onto the world and scored a record deal with Listenable Records. Their take on the sub-genre is heavily MOTÖRHEAD-inspired, especially the drums. The other influences are very typical for black thrash, namely VENOM, SODOM and BATHORY. Perhaps because these bands have been thoroughly mined so much by the newer deluge of black thrash acts recently that DEVASTATOR‘s music feels very cookie-cutter and unmemorable.
This isn’t helped by the strangulating sound issues and a stage so small that it limits movement. The guitar is also far too low in the mix from the start, and it only becomes slightly more audible as the set progresses. A sizeable portion of the audience is into it, however, as a mosh pit erupts for a few songs. Death Forever is appropriately dedicated to Scotland’s black/thrash phenomenon, HELLRIPPER. A cover of VENOM‘s Witching Hour is preferable to their generic original selections, like Black Witchery and Ritual Abuse (Evil Never Dies), and is certainly the high point of their show.
Rating: 6/10
Headliners BEWITCHER start strong with opener Starfire Maelstrom from last year’s Spell Shock. With an effortlessly cool heavy metal solo kicking off the first verse, their brand of black thrash is infused with a dose of hard rock attitude. Again, Slay‘s small room sound misses the mark, but it does improve a lot throughout the show. This performance is all about rockin’ tunes, the sort you’d blast out of your car on the road that links the nine circles of hell. Indeed, the music is arse-kickingly entertaining and benefits from black/thrash metal usually sounding even better live than on record.
Older track Too Fast For the Flames welds together VENOM and RAZOR, creating the ultimate invitation to headbang. Speed ’til You Bleed is a short, sharp shock of insistent hammering rhythms that lends itself to members of the audience shouting along to its title. The heavy metal-tinged Satanic Magick Attack proffers forth an uglier, rawer and acerbic guitar tone. If beer prices weren’t so steep these days and it was the weekend, most of the crowd would likely be aggressively intoxicated, and this would be the ideal binge-drinking kind of metal to do so to.
The three-piece seems sincerely excited to perform for the squeezed crowd, especially guitarist and vocalist Unholy Weaver of Shadows and Incantations. Their enthusiasm is infectious. Initially, the attendees are static, save a few headbangers at the front, but after a few hits, BEWITCHER eke out the mosh pits. The setlist straddles all of their full-lengths equally. Out Against the Law and the title track represent Spell Shock, and the songs sound much better live than on record – perhaps because the heavy metal influence sounds more prominent – and this fresher material is well-appreciated by the audience. Under the Witching Cross receives one more song live than the other albums, a sign that it still remains the fans’ favourite; the title track and Rome is on Fire are fantastic highlights of the night and storm the cosy room.
Closer Hexenkrieg follows the beloved Bewitcher, and to make the performance even more memorable, bassist Infernal Magus of Nocturnal Alchemy jumps off the cramped stage and plays among the crowd members. This was a deviously fun show, and maybe next time BEWITCHER will return to Glasgow and fill out Slay‘s larger room.
Rating: 8/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Glasgow from Duncan McCall here:
Like BEWITCHER on Facebook.
The post LIVE REVIEW: Bewitcher @ Slay, Glasgow appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
