Posts Tagged ‘united kingdom
09
May
12
Duck Off
Interested death metal heads already know what Boltfest was all about. The event happened on 7th of April, 2012. Boltfest was, simply put, a charity event organized by Bolt Thrower. Keeping the entry fee at a mere seven pounds and ninety nine pence and in return breaking every tried and tested formula of bringing together a line-up of top notch bands. There was Vallenfyre providing their shoulders to cry on, Benediction to get scared of, Discharge to let yourself go, Autopsy to shake your head in disbelief and Bolt Thrower to weep in agreement. All collections were sent to the Teenage Charity Trust.
Being the last band of the day, Bolt Thrower opened to a packed audience. The scene during Bolt Thrower‘s set looked straight out of their song Entrenched from the band’s last full-length album Those Once Loyal, which contained the following words - In a world of compromise….Some don’t. Bodies were flying from one end of the venue to another, foreheads were perspiring with no time to stop and wipe the salty sweat, heads were banging without caring about whether they hit something hard in the process and horns were raised higher and higher. Sloshed metal heads, from different countries, lived their dream of getting to watch Bolt Thrower at such a gala occasion.
I lost count of the number of times vocalist Karl Willetts said that Bolt Thrower has now completed twenty six of playing ‘perfect’ death metal. We all agree with you, Karl. How did I feel being a part of Boltfest? I felt like I was in a battleground, braving ahead after having joined hands with everyone around me, stomping all those outside who try to curb the basic birthright of humanity, which is freedom. Guess what, we won!
Bolt Thrower‘s set-list at BoltFest, 2012 -
Intro (Battle for Britain Theme)
In Battle There Is No Law
All That Remains
World Eater
Rebirth of Humanity
Warmaster
The IVth Crusade
Ritual
War
Remembrance
…For Victory
No Guts, No Glory
Powder Burns
Inside The Wire
At First Light
The Killchain
When Cannons Fade
Pictures from Bolt Thrower‘s set -
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Vallenfyre live at Boltfest, 2012
Benediction live at Boltfest, 2012
Autopsy live at Boltfest, 2012
It was the reign of old school death on this particular evening at Boltfest when Sir Chris Reifert came in with his team of surgeons for a postmortem examination of every head that was to bang along to the music of Autopsy. Seeing is believing. Just to rephrase this a bit, seeing and hearing is believing.
At the count of four given by Sir Reifert on his well-tuned cymbals, Autopsy broke into a frenzy and the music was seen spreading like wildfire across the venue. Sounding exactly like how they do on record, it was amazing to watch Sir Reifert give vocals and smash the drums at the same time. Truly a sight to behold, and this also resulted in the size of mosh-pit growing bigger and bigger with every passing song. Some were seen hitting the next person blindly as they couldn’t believe they were watching Autopsy live. I did not hit anyone though. When a legendary figure in the death metal scene is seen growling with so much passion that his nerves begin to become visible then you just close your eyes and thank your stars for the sight. One cannot review a gig by bands of the likes of Autopsy, one can only share the experience. The band was outright crushing, with all members delivering their absolute best. And I pretty much know that I won’t get to see them again. Alright, have a look at this…
The tracks played by Autopsy at Boltest, London 2012 -
Intro
Hand of Darkness
Twisted Mass of Burnt Decay
In the Grip of Winter
Severed Survival
Gasping for Air
Slaughterday
Dead
Mauled to Death
Voices
Charred Remains
Ridden With Disease
I believe Chris Reifert should be knighted. Fuck that shit, I’m still going to address him as ‘Sir’.
This is how it looked when Autopsy struck HMV Forum with their mighty death metal sledgehammer -
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ALSO READ -
Benediction live at Boltfest, 2012
Vallenfyre live at Boltfest, 2012
The DesertFest day 1 at The Purple Turtle, London
The DesertFest day 2 at The Black Heart, London
The DesertFest day 3 at The Underworld
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The second slot at this year’s metal mania Boltfest went to death metal stalwarts Benediction, who haven’t released a new album for quite a while now. On 7th April, 2012, Benediction erupted like a dormant volcano wanting to tear your ass with its intensity, smoldering every part of you along its way. The performance by them need not be written about, as I have only good things to say about them. They got it all right. Be it uniting metalheads from different parts of the globe who had come to see them, or maintaining a level of musicianship that is hard to attain in the first place. Vocalist Dave Hunt was seen repeating how cancer fucks up one’s life, and we all should support the cause anywhere in every way possible. The entire venue nodded in unison, as this concert was not just about coming, chilling and watching some badass death metal bands but also about joining hands in favor of the Teenage Cancer Trust. Benediction, and the other bands on the line-up did their bit by organizing a gig, lending their names to it and providing all the possible strength to fight the ongoing battle with the demon that is cancer.
Benediction played the following tracks at Boltfest -
Intro
Unfound Mortality
Nothing on the Inside
Nervebomb
Nightfear
They Must Die Screaming
Jumping at Shadows
Subconscious Terror
The Dreams You Dread
Suffering Feeds Me
Horns up to Benediction for being themselves. It turned out to be a wonderful meet-and-greet evening for lovers of one of the most extreme genres out there.
A few pictures from Benediction‘s set -
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Review of Vallenfyre’s performance at Boltfest 2012
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Making the metal-heads go bonkers like a dynamite is up their arse, Boltfest‘s line-up was the most excellent in a longtime and I don’t think it is going to be easy to beat such a lethal line-up. Dedicated entirely to the cause that was driving this entire festival, Boltfest was organized so that us metal-heads can go there, pay a menial amount – the proceeds of which were being sent to the Teenage Cancer Trust – and then witness five of the most definitive death metal artists out there. Bolt Thrower had announced that the show was sold out within a matter of minutes and all this happened, quiet silently, when I was back in India. Buzz started doing the rounds when Bolt Thrower started adding support bands to the line-up one-by-one. The final line-up, take a look -
Vallenfyre
Benediction
Discharge
Autopsy
Bolt Thrower
Once here in UK, the moment this gigantic piece of news reached my ears I instantly knew that I had to be there, even if I had sell my own self. That wasn’t really required as I got in touch with the management, and they were kind enough to offer me a guest entry to the gig. Boltfest was clashing with day 2 of The DesertFest, but I was left with no choice. You already read the names up there. I fucking had to go!
Band number one was Vallenfyre. Formed by members of My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, At The Gates and Brujeria (actually the list is never-ending), Vallenfyre is relatively newer only in terms of its formation because the experience in the band’s musical ingredients makes it one of the most sought after bands today. I back up my words by a mere mention of The Fragile King. The debut blew my nuts away. 6 p.m. and the band was on-stage. When discipline and death metal go together you get a pinch, exactly what I needed to make myself believe that the gig has begun. This was Vallenfyre‘s second show ever, after their live debut in Finland which happened on February 2nd, 2012.
Gregor and co. began churning out tracks from The Fragile King, and the sound was echoing from all corners of the indoor venue – HMV Forum, Kentish Town, London – hitting each death head inside like a stone drenched in doom metal. Vallenfyre surpassed my expectations by not only sounding super tight, but they also had an eerie feeling surrounding them which went well with the groovy death metal. Almost no bright lights during their performance, they demolished the stage and left. There was very little interaction between the band and the audience, but I remember Gregor talking about the cause this festival was supporting.
In fact the doom quality of Vallenfyre‘s music becomes more evident during their live show. From the entire Vallenfyre set it was the last few moments of the song Desecration which really stuck with me. Those minutes were grand and the lights were completely off. I couldn’t have asked for more.
Vallenfyre‘s set-list for the night -
All Will Suffer
The Divine Have Fled
Ravenous Whore
Cathedrals of Dread
The Grim Irony
Humanity Wept
Seeds
As the World Collapses
Desecration
Vallenfyre‘s performance in pictures -
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Destroyers of the Faith 2012 had four big metal names embracing the stage – Job For A Cowboy, Enslaved, Triptykon and Cannibal Corpse.
Job For A Cowboy started off their death metal playing early (at around 18:30 p.m) in comparison to the attendance during the Cannibal Corpse set, but they were on time. Only the ones who were there specially to not miss them had their heads turned towards the stage. Quite a sizable number I must say, and the rest of them pretty much realized after a while that JFAC are already shattering the glasses at the bar located behind this kickass indoor venue named HMV Forum. It’s in Kentish Town, London. The band’s from Canada. Having already made their mark in the deathcore genre, JFAC are now capturing the essence of death metal in their songs. Their set-list also included songs from their upcoming album Demonocracy which is due to release next month. They are coming to get you. Wait till you hear their new release!
Check out how much the band enjoyed being on stage :
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You might also want to look at the pictures taken during Enslaved’s performance at Destroyers of the Faith, London 2012
This is how it looked while Triptykon was nailing their songs at Destroyers of the Faith tour, London 2012
The indomitable Cannibal Corpse live at Destroyers of the Faith tour, London 2012. Click. Now!
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Danter’s Fun Fair, as the event is called, boasts of a wide variety of extreme rides and games for all age groups. From what I read, the Danter family is supposed to be in this business since 1940 and hence the name. They have these fairs at different cities, and are currently in Cheltenham. Right in my neighborhood, which is the Cheltenham Racecourse, the event attracted my attention for it’s colorful appeal. The entry was free, so I entered the venue to witness a fair that made optimum use of the small place. Well spaced out rides that are more scary than they look, games that do not require one to use their brain, and stalls selling food (burgers, chips, hot dogs, sweets and candy floss etc), hot drinks, non-alcoholic cold drinks and you can even walk in with your alcoholic beverages.
There are many different kinds of rides, namely Oxygen, Extreme, Superstar, Freak Out, Dodgems etc. Most of the rides are priced at around two to three pounds, and there are cheaper games too in case you aren’t carrying even that much cash. Games include punch-ball machines, hook-a-duck, shoot a target, house of horror circus and the like. All these names only appear childish, but it is actually real fun to get your hands dirty. Anyways there are separate rides and games for infants so you are free to decide which category you fall under. The venue also has portable toilets so even your shit is taken care of.
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The main attraction of the evening, for me, was these two chicks who got into an ugly fight that had the two of them pulling out each other’s hair, ramming their fists into each other’s face with an attitude to kill. All this happened only because one of the chick was constantly dashing into the other’s bumper car. Not a good enough reason but no reason is ever good enough.
I have to admit I’m fucking scared of these adventure rides but since I went there I had to try out something. This one particular ride was called ‘Superbowl’ which looked damn simple from a distance. I went in, and I realized the person who locked us in our seats did it so casually as if it was a toy car and we are all trying to push it ourselves. The speakers blared ‘Are you ready?’. Not like I had an option and there it began. The whole structure was spinning at different heights, both vertically as well as horizontally, and the car in which we were seated was doing it’s own twists and turns in the air. All this is happening at a speed that can give heartache to a seemingly strong person too. There is a point in between when the ride becomes completely perpendicular, then comes down hurriedly towards the ground only to swirl around and take you up once again. Scary, and this is how it looks.
This fair had every kind of audience. Family, couples, bachelors looking to hook up and children being themselves. To know more about Danter’s Fun Fair visit their official website here - Official website of Danter’s Fun Fair and Edward Danters Fun Fair.
16
Feb
12
Maiden Snowfall
It is -2 degree celsius here in Cheltenham, and if forecasts are to be believed then it is going to get colder. It has been like this in England throughout the last fortnight. All this when people might be using an air conditioner back in India. It is not for nothing that nature inspires several genres of music, and it is more powerful than anything I’ve known. Dare I say anything against nature, and I’ll be reminded of the year I’m breathing in right now.
The other night it was -9 degree celsius, and what ever amount of time I was out (which was hardly a five minute walk from the coach stop to my house) I felt like dying. Like just kill myself and end the shivering. But it’s been snowing quite a lot here, and that is something I have never experienced before. So finally I could put facebook timeline to some good use this time. I ordered that shitty social network site to remember the day when snow happened to me for the very first time.
I’ll leave you all with some pictures of the area right outside my apartment. Now I know why they’ve named the place Bliss Apartments. I was really lazy to get out and click better snaps, especially on the other day when it was snowing like crazy. More pictures some other time. For now let’s have those umbrellas out.
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