Taking place in Rescue Rooms, the legends of death metal Obituary took to the stage with fierce brutality, owning the small venue with their arena-worthy presence, their age showing both for worse and better. Ben Blissett was there to experience it all.
The crossover thrash metal band, Pest Control opened the night to a fairly unresponsive crowd, I believe due to the bad live sound mixing of the band. The audience did not enjoy them too much, with not many heads bopping and only a mosh pit of five people or so occurring during a few songs.
This was not reflective of their talent however, as their singer Leah provided consistent and impressive screams, with her guttural growls being particularly outstanding. Lead guitarist Joe stood out to me the most however; his chugging riffs reminded me of prime Metallica and Pantera. He was not only able to bring out some crazy melodies and keep up with them, but his solos really shocked me for such an amateur band, rivalling that of a lot of mainstream metal artists.
As mentioned before however, it was sad to see a band held back so much by their live audio mixing. At times the vocals were drowned out and peaking too much, other times the guitars were too overbearing. Overall, Pest Control proved themselves as a band that, with better circumstances, would absolutely rock the venue.
Following this. Obituary set the tone and proved their status as pioneers of death metal with an extended instrumental, before John Tardy walked on stage to very open arms. It was clear to see the energy in the room was elevated by the small venue hosting such a well-known band.
"...these gigs of pure energy are what make them great and even though Obituary’s age does show a little bit, their experience came through and they still gave it their all."
The audio mixing was far better this time around, perfectly balanced to provide that punching sound; the drums sounded perfect in my humble opinion, and made for Donald Tardy being the stand out amongst the band, with absolutely crazy speeds and intricate beats. He shocked me because, despite his age of 53, he provided some of the best drum solos I’ve heard performed live.
The audience reacted far more positively this time around. As soon as the band took to the stage, a pit opened up, heads were bopping and people were jumping, creating an atmosphere you can only quite experience with rock, and in this venue. It reminded me of when I saw Cleopatrick and the crowd was electric; these gigs of pure energy are what make them great and even though Obituary’s age does show a little bit, their experience came through and they still gave it their all.
As someone who doesn’t dabble massively in death metal, I thoroughly enjoyed this gig, I had plenty of lovely conversations with fans, got to mosh a little and enjoyed the sheer presence of a band like Obituary. In one show they cemented me as a fan and left me wanting more. Maybe Bloodstock next year? Only time will tell.
Ben Blissett
Edited by Tabitha Smith
Featured Image courtesy of Obituary Band via Facebook
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