The Black Dahlia Murder, Cephalic Carnage, Psycroptic and Sylosis Heat Up Gala Hala (2009)

Author: Rok Klemše

Venue: Gala Hala, Ljubljana
Concert date: 02.02.2009
Attendance: 250
Ticket price: €20/€25

Mother Nature could hardly have cooked up a more fitting atmosphere for death metal than she did that day. She dumped a good 20 cm of snow on us, paralyzed traffic in Ljubljana and two thirds of Slovenia, and then in the evening added a light drizzle so we had (for five minutes, at least) the feeling of living in a relatively clean city. And through this winter wonderland we made our way to Metelkova, where the usual stinky crew were throwing another party that promised a few hours of quality racket and headbanging aerobics, along with a hefty dose of ringing ears for the next day. This time they’d brought in The Black Dahlia Murder from Detroit, who are rampaging across the world, scaring grandmas and pushing their new record Nocturnal, together with the “hydrogrinders” Cephalic Carnage from Denver, the Tasmanian devils Psycroptic and the British thrash youngsters Sylosis.

Since Ljubljana had two metal parties on the same day (over at VPK, the legendary Rave Nigger…aaa, Grave Digger lazily bumbled their way to us through a beer storm) and because of the general weather/traffic situation (our city services decided to tackle the problem of snowy roads and sidewalks with heat – they’ll just wait for spring, when it gets warm and the snow melts…), there was a fear that Gala Hala might look a bit empty that night. And even when we slogged our way to Metelkova, maybe three dozen metalheads were huddled under the makeshift awnings, drinking beer and smoking weed. But shortly before the doors opened a pretty decent crowd gathered in front of them, so even the openers played to a three-quarters-full hall, and the crowd kept growing, so by the last two bands the crush was already almost unbearable, and the heat even earlier…but let’s start from the beginning.

Kicking things off, the English youngsters Sylosis climbed onto the stage. They already have three releases under their belt (where do they carry them, off to the middle of nowhere maybe?), two EPs, Casting Shadows (2006) and The Supreme Oppressor (2007), and last year’s full-length (how long is that, exactly??) debut Conclusion Of An Age. The sound system served the guys, whom the media hail as the standard-bearers of a new wave of British isles thrash/death metal, decently, the crowd was into their stuff, and the mosh pit soon took over most of the space in front of the stage. The guys are clearly aware of their youth and their (lack of) skill at talking to a crowd, so they blasted through their half-hour set without any unnecessary chatter, except that the singer said all the songs they were playing were from their first album anyway. Their music, which on record sometimes sounds (to me, at least) rather plastic (an overly clean production??), since after all they want to be a thrash(y) band, sounded much more organic live, often closer to death than thrash metal, and the various deathcore bits you can find on the records came across pretty brutal, even though, judging by looks alone, the singer could easily sing for some Green Day or similar crowd. The crowd gathered in Gala Hala cheered them on with a clear conscience, so by half past eight in the evening we’d already had a solid dose of good metal. With their energy and command of the stage (hell, five people on the Gala Hala stage command it anyway, because they fill it up…) the guys delivered a fitting opener and were definitely the positive surprise of the night. And when they were done, 99% of the crowd (after the obligatory minute and a half of yelling and screaming, of course) bolted out of Gala Hala for some fresh air, because it was already around 30 degrees inside, mixed with the smell of sweat, beer and who knows what else, in short, very (un)pleasant…

And after the positive surprise of the night, the negative one unfortunately followed right away. Psycroptic, that is. Don’t get offended, I personally like these guys, but this show was beneath criticism. True, they had the worst sound of all the bands, but this wasn’t death, or death/grind, or grind, or technical death metal, it was crap. The singer wasn’t singing, howling, growling or anything like that, he was rasping and wheezing (maybe he had a cold?), and the music was one big smear. It’s understandable that a band doesn’t give its all when conditions are bad, but that shouldn’t mean the band gives nothing at all. Everything (and every song individually) went like this: song announcement, striking a pose, song starts, a bit of headbanging over the crowd, strolling around the stage, “singing”, the end. Things were happening in the crowd (especially among the drunk Croatians), but for me it was one of the worst performances ever. And sometimes it helps to play an old(er) song too… half an hour of my life I’ll never get back… Anyway, during the break we went out for some air and a beer with fear in our hearts, because up next were…

…Cephalic Carnage. Don’t worry: total victory. The sound was 100% better, the crowd was really up for a party, and you could clearly feel the positive vibes of THC in the air. The band gave us a lesson in how (genre-wise pretty unburdened) performers should entertain a crowd and send out positive energy into it (and get it back, of course). Instead of thanking us between songs, they urged the crowd to smoke weed, took a few puffs (three or so) from a bong on stage themselves, and surely won the hearts of many a fan (by then already pretty drunk from stoned) when the singer proved he can say “weed” in Slovenian: trava. The folks and the band partied non-stop through the whole show, the mosh pit was spontaneous (not forced, like at Psycroptic), and whoever wasn’t moshing was windmilling their hair, screaming, drinking beer and/or smoking (cigarettes too), and together we brought the jam-packed Gala Hala to boiling point. Literally this time, since the temperature was at least 35 degrees by my reckoning, and we fought it with (hecto)liters of beer. The band sealed the total victory with the last song, when they played the “black metal” song Satan Will Burn In Hell wearing (black metal) masks and decked out in spikes. As if their grimaces and masks weren’t enough, they struck proper “black” poses, and the singer had an antichrist around his neck made out of (believe it or not) a fork and a spoon, and “scared” the crowd with it. The crowd paid him back with very, very loud cheering and a deafening roar of applause and screaming when they finished their set. I think nobody minded the crush and the heat during their show, even though the whole thing was at the limit of bearable.

Last up, getting the completely packed (I reckon we could’ve squeezed in another 20 people) and scorching/stinking Gala Hala going wild were The Black Dahlia Murder. The crowd (pretty young that night) was eating out of their hands from the first moment (it seems this kind of music really is popular with the new generations of metalheads), even though we must admit (hand on heart) that the band didn’t offer anything exceptional. The stuff they play is bouncy, aggressive and extreme, sure, but in my opinion nobody will remember who TBDM were in 20 years. The sound also gave the guys trouble (where were the bass guitars?), but that didn’t bother the crowd (as usual). The party built up, and so did the heat. If you wanted to get too close to the stage you risked at least a kick or two (it’s a pain to mosh when it’s a total crush), and an hour of their set flew by, so, generally satisfied with what we’d seen, we headed off for a burek and then home to gather strength for our next exploits.

Photos: Rok Erjavec

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