Author: Rok Klemše
Location: Ljubljana/Metelkova/Gala Hala
Concert date: 15.05.2007
Attendance: 200
Ticket price: 20€
Vital Remains, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Kataklysm, Sinister, Nile… We’ve already had the honor of hosting quite a few of death metal’s big names here, but one was missing: “Almighty” Suffocation! The New York legends from Long Island finally took pity on us, and the relentless death metal machine rolled into Ljubljana too, specifically to Metelkova and Gala Hala. It promised to be a proper metal party, since Suffocation are famous for killer, high-energy shows and setlists that always stay fresh.
The honor of opening went to our homegrown heroes Ambassador of Sifilis, who hit the stage to the jungle sounds of The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens. These death/grind fuckers from Zasavje, darlings of the fairer sex, whose knees buckle at the sight of boy band Ambassador of Sifilis, showed once again why they’re right up there with Vulvathrone as the coolest carriers of venereal disease around. Whether it was the brutal original Death Area, a little number for the older crowd, V dolini tihi, or the brutal brutality that only and exclusively Ambassador of Sifilis dare touch, the Backstreet Boys’ I Want it That Way (with the obligatory phallic and fellatio interjections, of course), the show from these energetic, in-high-spirits guys from Zasavje will stay a fond memory. And of course there was the mandatory death metal anthem Eternal Fart, and after a good half hour the infected Ambassador of Sifilis left us. STDs are cool!
Around nine, another set of local heavyweights took the stage, the champions of the Slovenian grind/death scene, Dickless Tracy. “Wir sind aus Deutschland und wir spielen Toten Metal!”, Tzeppo announced in Dickless Tracy’s inimitably humorous style, and then came a half-hour brutal blast of Dickless Tracy grind/death metal. The band is on fire on stage, and Wrbo and Hočewar have slotted in perfectly with the core of the lineup over the past year or so: the Cepanec brothers, Tzeppo on vocals and guitar and Tegla behind the drums. The half hour flew by in the blink of an eye and Dickless Tracy were already waving goodbye.
“We are Natron, we are the godfathers of death!”, vocalist Raffaele announced his band. Self-proclaimed godfathers of death metal? Just imagine what the likes of Possessed, Massacre and Chuck Schuldiner would have to say about that… Godfathers of Italian death metal – probably getting closer. Natron have been putting out records since 1996, and this time they served up a varied selection of their own material from all five studio albums. Domenico and Lorenzo thoroughly showed off their guitar and bass chops, and Raffaele, after some initial coldness, warmed up pretty quickly and even pulled a wig off someone in the crowd and slapped it on his head. “Let me try how it feels”, Rafaella wondered, and soon came to the conclusion that he’d stick with his own shaved skull – “It’s to hot!”. With their set, and for me personally with the songs Hatemonger and House of Festering from their latest album Livid Corruption (2004), Natron delivered a nice surprise and a solid warm-up for the hell that followed. They don’t really stand out from the flood of faceless death metal bands, but either way, all night we were waiting for one and only one band, Suffocation…
… Who we finally got ten minutes before eleven! The legendary five-piece, one of the best death metal bands out there, one I can happily listen to myself, even as not exactly the biggest fan of classic death metal. Suffocation didn’t earn their legendary status by resting on their laurels, since all the way from their first release Effigy of the Forgotten (1991) they’ve put out consistently quality records, and last year they even dropped what many consider the best album of their career, Suffocation (2006). Frontman Frank Mullen was truly sorry that this was only the band’s first show here, because the Slovenian die-hard fans created an unbelievable atmosphere. Mosh pit and stage diving from the first second of the show right to the very end! Suffocation were tearing along at a hundred miles an hour, Mullen couldn’t stop praising the Slovenian crowd and, judging by what he saw, promised they’d be back. We’ll be waiting with open arms, because they gave us one of the best death metal shows ever on Slovenian soil. For those in the know, two little words are enough when Suffocation come up – Mike Smith. Mike isn’t just one of the best death metal drummers in theory, yesterday he proved it in practice too. Derek Boyer and Mike form an unbelievable rhythm section, while the incredible African-American guitarist Terrance Hobbs reigns supreme. Suffocation served up a great setlist that covered the band’s entire discography – from the classics Infecting the Crypts (from Effigy of the Forgotten), Breeding the Spawn (Breeding the Spawn), the insanely murderous title track of Pierced From Within and Thrones of Blood (Pierced From Within), the fantastic Catatonia, plus Bind Torture Kill and the tender love song Entrails of You (Suffocation), Suffocation had us by the throat and wouldn’t let us breathe. Sadly, almost an hour and a quarter of relentless death metal bombardment ended without an encore, since Frank and the guys simply had to go try the local “cuisine”. The guys have a day off today, and maybe you can still catch them somewhere in the city center, and they’ll show you what real death metal is!
Setlist
SUFFOCATION:
1. Abomination Reborn
2. Thrones Of Blood
3. Infecting The Crypts
4. Catatonia
5. Bind Torture Kill
6. Liege Of Inveracity
7. Breeding The Spawn
8. Tomes Of Acrimony
9. Torn Into Enthrallment
10. Entrails Of You
11. Pierced From Within
12. Funeral Inception
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