Author: Rok Klemše
Photos: Nina Grad
Venue: Gala hala, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Gig date: 28.04.2014
Attendance: 150
After almost five years, the Dutch progressive death metal veterans Pestilence returned to Ljubljana. In the late eighties and early nineties of the last century they put out a run of cult albums, each one bolder, braver and more progressive than the last. Pestilence called it quits far too soon in 1994, but came back from the dead in 2008 under the leadership of Patrick Mameli. They first played here the following year, and this time they came back with the new album Obsideo, which still suffers from what’s missing in the modern-day Pestilence – they lean way too hard on over-the-top brutality and technicality that borders on the unlistenable, all at the expense of feel. That’s probably also why Pestilence played to only a hundred-odd heads this time, and the cozy Monday-night atmosphere wasn’t helped by the inspection raid on Metelkova either.
In front of an almost completely empty hall, the British Ancient Ascendant were first on stage. I didn’t know them until then, and judging by what I heard, I won’t be getting to know their death metal any better in the future either. The guys played with total confidence and self-assurance, but their slow to mid-paced death metal worked better as a sleeping pill than as a support act for Pestilence. The Brits didn’t offer a single riff that sparked any real interest, the generic, bland vocals didn’t help, and even less so the monotonous pounding of the drummer, who with his simple four-beat rhythms was clearly boring even himself. The most interesting part of their set was the totally uncoordinated acrobatic gymnastics of a little girl below the stage.
Second up, the French black metallers Seth wrapped the stage in darkness, and they may even deserve the title of best band of the night. After a studio break of almost ten years, the French returned from the dead last year with the new album The Howling Spirit, which was also the centerpiece of their set, a good half hour long. Seth lashed a somewhat bigger crowd with punchy, raw black metal that didn’t sound primitive like its Norwegian cousin, but a bit more sophisticated. The band won people over above all with how tight they were, a few really good guitar moves and varied drumming. At times Seth sounded like later-era Emperor (minus the keyboards), and here and there they work death metal influences into their black metal too, which brings them close to the Polish giants Behemoth. Seth definitely deserved a few more people in front of the stage, since they delivered a really pleasant surprise, even if toward the end of their set they were already sounding a bit monotonous and repetitive.
The highlight, or rather, this time, the low point, came courtesy of the long-awaited progressive death metal pioneers Pestilence, who with their classic, cult record Testimony of the Ancients wrote themselves in golden letters among the giants of advanced death metal for good (alongside the trio of Death, Cynic and Atheist, obviously). In 2009, a year after their comeback (in the band’s second incarnation only Mameli and Uterwijk remain from the golden lineup), they stopped in the same hall as this time and showed why their name is so revered among fans, even though the vibe wasn’t quite right even back then (brutally hurling stage divers off the stage). This time Pestilence returned with the new record Obsideo, which continues in the direction set by the comeback album Resurrection Macabre, meaning ultra-technical, brutal death metal. But where five years ago Gala hala was bursting at the seams and dripping with sweat, this time the turnout was dismal and sad. As if the crowd quietly knew they wouldn’t take much away from the gig. Pestilence disappointed above all with their song selection, which came largely from the last three records, and they only stirred hearts with four older tracks, which is completely baffling, since it was the first four albums that put them on the map. But the cranky Mameli, who looked totally uninterested and bored on stage, clearly no longer understands that it’s not all about technique and brutality. The »feeling« that seeps out of every single note in the old Pestilence isn’t there even as a sample in the »new« Pestilence. On top of everything, the guitar trio marched onto the stage with eight-string axes (even bassist Maier), and their chugging butchered the only classics played, Prophetic Revelations, Soul Search and Echoes of Death, and the closing, desperately botched Twisted Truth, almost beyond recognition. Only David Haley’s (Psycroptic) excellent drumming saved the band from complete disappointment. Sadly, Pestilence are clearly no more than the annoying whine of a mosquito in the little bridge of Blood from Testimony of the Ancients.
Setlist
PESTILENCE:
1. Obsideo
2. Neuro Dissonance
3. Echoes of Death
4. Displaced
5. Prophetic Revelations
6. Horror Detox
7. Amgod
8. Laniatus
9. Devouring Frenzy
10. Soul Search
11. Necro Morph
12. Hate Suicide
13. Super Conscious
14. Sinister
— encore —
15. Aura Negative
16. Resurrection Macabre
17. Twisted Truth
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