Author: Rok Klemše
Photos: Nina Grad
Venue: Channel Zero, Ljubljana
Concert date: 01.12.2013
Sunday is usually the day you don’t want to end at all, because the grumpy Monday and the start of a new work week are right behind it. But last Sunday was different. You could barely wait for the evening to roll around, and with it another visit from Bay Area thrash heroes Death Angel. The Angel of Death last swooped down on Ljubljana two years ago with the album Relentless Retribution, and this time the Americans packed Channel Zero with their new studio record The Dream Calls For Blood.
Once again, oh, have mercy on us, we got Italian support bands who play… well, think they play thrash metal. First up on stage was a crew from Rome, Adimiron, who describe themselves as progressive death/thrash metal. No, seriously. What’s supposed to be progressive about them is beyond me, and I looked for that much-touted death/thrash in vain too. At best, Adimiron served up riffs thrown together from all over the place (maybe that’s the “progressive” part?), a sleepy rhythm section and the annoying vocals of an irritating frontman. Somewhere in between they even bored us with some kind of quasi-modern tricks and the most pathetic breakdowns since Attack Attack!, hehe. Hard to believe, but Adimiron were even worse than two years ago, when they also opened for Death Angel at Menza pri koritu.
From Rome we then moved a little further north, since the second act, Extrema, come from Milan. Still, we didn’t get any real jump in quality. Extrema are miles better than their predecessors, sure, but they sound like the most generic Pantera copy, from the vocal lines to the groove of the guitar riffs. There was nothing original to be heard in music that isn’t nearly as extreme as the band’s name suggests, though it’s true the Italians played a pretty energetic set, and the best part was the dynamic, rushing drumming, which saves Extrema from complete oblivion. The band gave a thorough rundown of their current album The Seed of Foolishness, but all that stuck in my memory is that Extrema are an average Pantera knockoff.
The ears could finally get a rest when the Germans chased the Italians off the stage, proving that third time’s the charm. With the third act the night was only really getting started, with the killer tempo and style that only German death/thrash maniacs Dew-Scented can pull off. Last year the Germans put out their ninth studio blast, Icarus, which is proof that Dew-Scented are still flying high with their aggressive, raw thrash, even if the sun clearly won’t be scorching their wings anytime soon. Although the only original member left is the unstoppable vocalist Leif Jensen, who is also the band’s only remaining German (the current instrumental foursome comes from the Netherlands), Dew-Scented remain an energy bomb and a true thrash blitzkrieg live. The Dutch half of the band has proven an outstanding addition. Even though they’ve only been in the band for a good year, they flatten everything in front of them, especially brutal drummer Koen. Dew-Scented could have offered a somewhat better selection of songs, since most came from Icarus, though classics like Cities of the Dead and the closing Acts of Rage were obligatory. Still, thanks to the energetic, chatty Leif, adrenaline-fueled speed and hacking away with razor-sharp riffs, those forty minutes flew by faster than Angela Merkel putting away a sausage and a liter of beer at Oktoberfest.
And to finish, the real cherry on the cake – Bay Area veterans Death Angel! Vegetating at work on Monday was so worth it, however hard it might be. The thought of the Angel of Death gig wiped out everything. Death Angel aren’t one of the most respected live bands of recent years for nothing, because they play every single show as if it were their last. This time was no different! After key members of the band’s first era left, plenty of people had written them off, but now those people must be eating crow, as the lively, forever-young frontman Mark Osegueda also pointed out. This time, with a beard and no dreads, he looked from afar like Tom Araya. Death Angel really leave that impression on stage. Such incredible energy pours off them, and they interact with the crowd so well, that their performance pulls you in instantly. If Death Angel give the audience a ton, this time the crowd gave the band back what it deserves. The Americans played the lion’s share of the new record, led by the killers Son of the Morning, Left For Dead and the title track The Dream Calls For Blood, proving that Death Angel are probably, alongside Testament, the most consistent band in the studio from the old thrash guard. Which they only level up live! All eyes and ears were once again fixed on the fantastic Mark, who moves around the stage like a snot-nosed kid from the days of the debut The Ultra-Violence and sings like the rabid wolf from the new album’s cover. He showed off screaming and shrieking as well as outstanding clean vocals, while his bandmates helped out at the right moments with effective »gang« vocals. Eyes were perhaps drooling even more over the fast fingers of riff master Rob Cavestany, whose phenomenal guitar moves only get better with the years. He and Ted Aguilar are surely a duo who deserve the status of greats à la H-Team and Hanneman/King. And that the band is nowhere near facing its own Angel of Death is also proven by one of the best rhythm sections in thrash. Energetic, lively bassist Damien Sisson underlines the downright animalistic, merciless drumming of Will Carroll, who has no equal, with colorful, deep bass playing. How that man pounded! The farewell with the superb, unforgettable thrash anthem Thrown to the Wolves and a romp through the opening of The Ultra-Violence came much, much too fast, but after a show like that you feel nothing but huge elation and great satisfaction. And Monday morning, when you have to drag yourself out of a warm bed into the cold and, before anything else, scrape the frozen windows of your car, is forgotten!
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