This was a big gig, a huge package (fnaar), and as such worthy of two reviewers. WeeG takes on opening band Nails and headliner Kreator, and Mosh fills in the sandwich with Exodus and Carcass…
Mosh: We got there around 6pm expecting the queue to have largely disappeared but due to an extended soundcheck found that there were still a lot of people outside. Fortunately we made it in in good time and I’d like to give a shoutout to the guys who walked in just ahead of us who said they were looking forward to our review! It’s nice to be recognised, and nicer still to know there are people out there reading what we write. Let’s get a photo next time!
WeeG: When this tour was announced, it immediately looked like a tasty proposition. Three metal titans in Kreator, Carcass, and Exodus would’ve made it worth the entry money alone. For a good few folk, myself included, the addition of Nails as the opening act was the cherry on an upside-down cake.
On many occasions, the opening act of a four-band bill often looks and sounds daunted by the warm-up role they’re being asked to fulfil. If anybody ever thought Nails were going to meekly settle for that on this tour, they must’ve been quickly disabused of that cosy notion. If ever there was a take-no-shit and take-no-prisoners band, it’s Nails. Right from the off, they go straight for the jugular, with Carlos Cruz’s pummelling drums cutting through the mix in a venue that has a reputation for poor sound. Nails’s overall sound is like that classic ’80s hardcore/thrash crossover but with a de-tuned, low-end sludge driven by intense dollops of double-bass drums, explosive blast beats, and breakdowns that ooze filth and sleaze. The crowd – and there are plenty of Nails t-shirts represented – respond accordingly, with circle pits erupting from the third song and continuing throughout their set.
There was absolutely no let-up from the band, and at one point I checked my watch to see how long they had left; I reckon that in the last ten minutes of their set, they rattled through about five songs! Having only seen Nails on this tour and at Damnation a couple of years ago, it would be great to see them in a club-sized venue. Hopefully soon.
Mosh: Walking on stage to Queen’s “We Will Rock You”, Exodus later broke their set up with a brief “AY-O” back and forth as made famous by Freddie Mercury. The rest of the show, however, was definitely not classic rock…
With forty-five minutes to play with, the band only managed eight songs, but spanned a handful of albums including recent release “Goliath”. With frontman Rob Dukes ineracting well with the audience (and recent interview victim Gary Holt on guitars), the band spared little time other than the aforementioned break in getting the audience riled up. The pit went mad, crowdsurfers did their thing, and the security started to earn their wage.
“3111” is one of the better tracks from the new album and opened their set, but it was definitely the older numbers like “Bonded By Blood” and “Blacklist” which got the crowd going. “Goliath” was an odd choice to slide in given how slow it is compared to… well, everything else they played. But the tempo was ramped up again for “A Lesson in Violence” and “The Toxic Waltz” which saw bodies flying.
Aside from “Goliath”, which caused the set to stutter, the only real letdown was the sound. Of the four bands on tonight, Exodus definitely suffered from the poorest mix with the audio being “slushy” as someone else commented. A shame, and the set finished too early with fans really just getting warmed up when that 45-minute bell sounded. At least you can see my yellow shirt nice and clearly in the post-set photo that the band published. One for the scrapbook!
Unlike Exodus, Carcass weren’t touring a new release. Indeed the last time they splattered us with gore was with Torn Arteries five years ago. Like Exodus, though, they dug through the back catalogue to demonstrate how strong their music is, and how much it’s changed over the years… decades in fact!
While Heartwork was at the… erm… heart of the set with four tracks, we enjoyed some of the older and more grindcore-y material such as “Genital Grinder” and “Exhume to Consume”. Every song was an absolutely disgusting joy, and to realise that one band has gone through so many changes over the years yet still plays music this good… Truly one of the best bands out there at this end of the spectrum. Plus they’re nice guys!
Credit must go to Waltteri Väyrynen who covered drums in Dan Wilding’s stead as the usual tub thumper wasn’t available. Brought in at short notice with very little chance to rehearse, his performance was faultless. Which is good seeing as the rest of the band were on fire as well!
The pit was at least as big as Exodus’, and once again a band left the audience wanting more when they wrapped up. My personal favourite act of the evening – and you can see me enjoying myself in a video posted by someone else who was at the gig. Thanks to Holly Archibald for popping it up even though she didn’t realise it was me at the time!
If you like what we do, consider joining us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
WeeG: Prior to this show, I’d seen some online discussions amongst various people debating the running order of this tour – particularly whether Carcass should have been on before Exodus, or Exodus before Carcass. To state clearly, for me and going from this performance, Kreator’s status as headliners was never up for debate. From the moment they took the stage, we had great visuals in the way of flame-throwing pyro, a consummate performance from the band, and a setlist covering 41 years of iconic tracks.
Kreator have certainly developed their sound over that period of time, from a viscerally raw and unremittingly aggressive thrash band – who in many ways defined the German thrash sound of the ’80s – through to a more tempered metal sound incorporating more in the way of melodic and anthemic passages and chant-along choruses. What impresses tonight is the band’s ability to curate a set that moulds that development into a cohesive whole. Starting with set opener “Seven Serpents” from their latest album Krushers of the World, the opening half of the set includes “Hail to the Hordes”, “Enemy of God”, and “Hate Über Alles”, as well as the full-on thrash fury of “Betrayer” from their 1989 release Extreme Aggression, before the song “Krushers of the World” itself.
In some ways, though, the song that really characterises both the first part of the set and the set as a whole is “Satanic Anarchy” from the new album. With pre-chorus lyrics of “start the fire, start the fire and burn, burn it all”, this is juxtaposed against the flame-throwing pyro show that goes on throughout the whole show and at other points includes flame-bearing demonic figures and a front-of-stage flame “grill” that accompanies some of the songs. It all adds to the spectacle.
“Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite)” and “Satan Is Real” keep the energy pumped up prior to frontman Mille Petrozza relating how they had been performing as Kreator since 1985 “when they were teenagers”. With that, the band launch into “Endless Pain” from their debut album of the same name.
The set closes with “Violent Revolution” and “Pleasure to Kill” – the title track from their second full-length album released in 1986 and one of their full-on thrash metal ragers. The crowd have been with Kreator all the way tonight, but “Pleasure to Kill” is accompanied by a ferocious circle pit and also a massive wall of death at the midway pause of the song.
For a band like Kreator, it’s easy to look back and view previous eras as their golden age. Make no mistake though, as somebody who first saw Kreator in 1987 and who has seen them several times in the past few years, this is a band at the absolute top of their live game. Like a lot of legacy bands, they won’t be around forever; make sure you catch them if you can. Hail to the Hordes!
Don’t fancy Patreon? Buy us a one-off beverage!
Photos by Alan Swan Photography
