Author: Rok Klemše
Photos: Nina Grad
Venue: Channel Zero, Ljubljana
Concert date: 16.02.2014
If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s Sunday gigs, because of the Monday that follows. But if the New York kings of death metal Immolation are the ones holding the Sunday evening mass, then who cares what comes the next day. Immolation last visited us three years ago, and this time they summoned us to the kingdom of conspiracy with their still-current record Kingdom of Conspiracy. And since Immolation are a death metal band whose live status is matched only by their fellow New Yorkers Suffocation, you simply have to answer the call.
Even before the show you could sense we’d be suffering again before the main act of the night, and sure enough, the very first band, Bulgaria’s Eufobia, were a living bore. The four-piece from Sofia are supposed to play death metal, and they did sound a lot like the genre, but their music combines only its worst moments. Generic riffs, generic vocals, generic solos and generic drums. Yeah, there’s nothing about Eufobia that stands out, and that’s also why there were maybe five of us standing in front of the stage for a song or two. It was nice to hear a band from Bulgaria, which isn’t exactly known as the most metal country, but judging by what I heard, I couldn’t care less what else that country has to offer in metal terms.
Even though things should have gotten better, they actually got worse with the next act. French outfit Sweetest Devilry served up even worse-sounding quasi death metal that was mostly modern-flavored, and the frogs sounded like a slightly more aggressive Children of Bodom without the keyboards. While the instrumental side of the band might have shown a spark or two of something listenable at times, it was all ruined and crushed by the awful vocals, which were as boring and monotonous as a live broadcast of a parliament session. At least you can have a laugh between them over the “bušizmi” of Pukšič and the like. Both bands could have put their money into some “101” course on how to make good music instead of this tour.
Things finally took a turn for the better with the third act, the cult Chicago death metal outfit Broken Hope, who woke up from a retirement-home coma after ten years of vegetating, two years ago, and last year dropped a strong comeback album, Omen of Disease. Broken Hope are considered one of the founders of so-called slam death metal, and we got a real punch of classic, old-school, brutal death metal. Even though the sound didn’t exactly do them any favors, the Chicago brutes didn’t let it bother them and squeezed out a really good, lively set, and they also woke up the crowd that the first two sorry acts had smothered like a broadcast of a Sunday mass. Most of the attention went to the jacked, bearded vocalist Damien Leski (Gorgasm), who handled the ultra-deep growling, and the energetic bassist did his part too, and judging by his performance he’d easily fit in a hardcore band. Despite a great set that also included a few classics from the band’s early albums, Broken Hope did get a bit monotonous and repetitive toward the end, mainly because of fairly samey riffs and boring guitar solos that were squeezed into the standard mold.
But in the end, Broken Hope were just the opening to a sweet finish with the ones we’d really been waiting for! The New York kings of death metal Immolation are admittedly a regular fixture on our stages, but since the “Yonkers boys” wreck the stage with a phenomenal show every single time, we get as excited as if it were their first visit to our little country. This time was no different: when the lights went out, the admittedly small crowd packed in right under the stage and greeted the kings the way you should. On their last visit, Immolation annihilated us with the album Majesty And Decay, and this time they presented their fresh corpse, Kingdom of Conspiracy. The legendary lineup showed in the very first second why they hold their bloodily earned status as live giants: they completely subjugate the stage, led by the towering commander Ross Dolan, one of death metal’s better frontmen, who easily builds a truly genuine connection with the crowd while pulling his vocals straight out of the demonic mouth of hell. Then there’s the human machine, drummer Steve Shalaty, and the god of death metal guitar, Robert “Bob” Vigna, whose chopping at the air with his guitar is at least as legendary as the diabolical, massive riffs that beat your ears like a ten-ton hydraulic hammer. The gods of death metal did give the most attention to the current record, but they also thoroughly shook up the setlist and shook off even standard hymns like No Jesus No Beast, making room for sweeter picks like Despondent Souls, Lost Passion and Of Martyrs And Men, and they even remembered the phenomenal EP Providence. Even though Immolation deserve to play for a bigger crowd, they didn’t let it get to them and gave it everything, not just a top-notch performance but also great banter with the crowd, who didn’t leave the band hanging. Honestly, the only downside of the Immolation show was the bad sound, which almost completely drowned out the blasphemic guitar lines. My whiplash has barely cooled down, and we can’t wait for July and Metaldays to finally roll around. I get goosebumps just thinking about Immolation under the open sky and the tree canopies of the small stage. A Glorious Epoch!
Setlist
IMMOLATION:
1. Kingdom of Conspiracy
2. Majesty And Decay
3. What They Bring
4. A Spectacle of Lies
5. Lost Passion
6. God Complex
7. Providence
8. Of Martyrs And Men
9. Bound to Order
10. A Glorious Epoch
11. Hate’s Plague
12. Those Left Behind
13. Indoctrinate
14. Nailed To Gold
15. Challenge the Storm
16. All That Awaits Us
17. Despondent Souls
Photo Gallery
