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The ongoing Unholy Trinity tour is a unique opportunity for
fans of brutal Thrash Metal to witness 3 highly respected bands of the
underground scene while celebrating the end of 2009 in style. Belgium, Scotland,
the Uk, and Switzerland were some of the countries earmarked for aural abuse in
a tour without any real headliners (all bands performing for equal time and the
order of performance changing from gig to gig). And now, while London prepares
to host Goatwhore, Toxic Holocaust and Skeletonwitch, yours truly descends into
the ‘Underworld’ to submit himself to this infernal triumvirate …..
Goatwhore
The set-list of Goatwhore was methodically drawn up.
Particular attention, as expected, was paid to their most recent “Carving Out
The Eyes Of God” album, songs from which opened and closed the show. Apart from
that, there were 2 songs from each of their other 3 albums.
Goatwhore put on an impressive performance that certainly
exceeded my expectations. In particular, the double-bass drumming of Zack
Simmons was sharp but stunningly powerful. Contributing to a great overall
experience was an excellent sound quality. Set closer ‘Apocalyptic Havoc’ was
the cherry on the cake of Goatwhore’s performance.
Before ‘The Unholy Trinity’ tour kicked off, Goatwhore had
just finished 2 successive North American mini-tours – one with Obituary as
headliners and another with Municipal Waste. In January 2010, after the current
tour ends, the band is scheduled to tour U.S.A. with Devildriver and
Suffocation. There’s no stopping the band, it seems.
www.myspace.com/goatwhore
Setlist:
The All Destroying
Provoking The Ritual Of Death
Desolate Path To Apocalyptic Ruin
Shadow Of A Rising Knife
The Black Art Of Deception
Forever Consumed Oblivion
Carving Out The Eyes Of God
Nocturnal Holocaust
Alchemy Of The Black Sun Cult
In Legions, I Am Wars Of Wrath
The Serpent That Enslaves What Is Worshipped
Apocalyptic Havoc
My Rating: 87/100
Toxic Holocaust
The Thrash of Toxic Holocaust is heavily bent on Punk, which
after all is at the roots of all Thrash. It was no surprise, therefore, that the
vocals of Joel Grind kept reminding me of Lemmy. In particular, ‘The Lord Of The
Wasteland’ at times had me reminiscing Motorhead’s classic ‘Orgasmatron’.
Toxic Holocaust’s show was great furious fun with the band’s
feet constantly on the accelerator pedal. The downside of this was an illusion
that their whole setlist contained just one song – a factor that limited the
band’s appeal.
Highlights (for want of a better word) of TH’s set were ‘In
The Name Of Science’ and the aforementioned ‘The Lord Of The Wasteland’. I stand
to be corrected but at the end of their show, on detecting a burning smell I
noticed smoke coming out of one of their amps. Ah well, I did mention they had a
‘furious’ set.
www.myspace.com/toxicholocaust
Setlist:
Intro
Gravelord
March From Hell
Death Brings
In The Name Of Science
Hell On Earth
Wild Dogs
War Is Hell
666
Endless Armageddon
Lord Of The Wasteland
Nuke The Cross
My Rating: 79/100
Skeletonwitch
The philosophy of Skeletonwitch is all about celebrating
Metal and tonight’s show was a reflection of this. Their music is often
pigeon-holed into the Thrash compartment but in reality there are also strong
elements of Melodic Death Metal as well as Black Metal.
Fearsome vocalist Chance Garnette bounced around the stage
like a raging bull making this performance a memorable one for all the right
reasons. ‘Fearsome’ is here used sparingly as Mr Garnette had opportunities to
expose his emphatic side. “When somebody falls make sure you pick them up. We
stand up for each other here ‘cause we’re a community” he warned a wild moshpit.
It was clear that the band was determined to give a particularly convincing
show, especially in light of their increasing popularity here in England.
There were hardly any songs that stood out, as was the case
with Toxic Holocaust, but the performance of Skeletonwitch was more engaging and
I’m sure this won’t be the last time the band crosses the pond to perform in
this country.
I noticed the presence of professional film cameras at some
points during tonight’s event – it was not clear whether it was the whole gig or
just 1 specific band that was being filmed. In any case I reckon that all the
bands’ performances as well as the general vibe amongst the audience could
potentially make for some highly interesting footage.
www.myspace.com/skeletonwitch
Setlist:
Submit To The Suffering
Upon Wings Of Black
Beyond The Permafrost
The Despoiler Of Human Life
Blinding Black Rage
Remains Of The Defeated
Vengeance Will Be Mine
Repulsive Salvation
Fire From The Sky
Where The Light Has Failed
Crushed Beyond Dust
Within My Blood
My Rating: 84/100
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