A live gig review by The Brutal Commander

Looking at the show poster on my way to the venue I start to weigh in my mind what a banger of an event this is going to be based off this extreme metal medley.

Kicking the night off with only a line check to prep them, SYMBYOTE take to the stage and unleash their extreme tones onto their victims in the audience. With a huge surge of energy straight from the get go the London death dealers bring every ounce of their inner rage out and you can see it possess them through every anguish ridden movement!

Highlights of their set for me were when the lead guitarist laid down some blistering technical solo parts through the set demonstrating some big talent. Watching the bassist, Scarthee as he transforms into madman on the stage possessed by his instrument is a sight to behold! He throws himself back and forth as he emanates a thick and brutal bass tone.

The crowd eagerly flail limbs and hair to the tempos of SYMBYOTE and Vocalist Dan joins the crowd in the pit as he continues to deliver anomalistically brutal vocals topping off this extreme deathly cake. They have well and truly succeeded at warming up a packed out venue and on a Sunday night!

Hats off to everyone who showed up to support the bands, London metal shows are so worth supporting and it’s people like those who came to the Black Heart this night that keep live music going in the City!

Next up DYGORA come bursting through with their groove laden deathcore style. A faulty microphone cable doesn’t stop the frontman from giving all his energy to his performance throwing down fast flows amongst the headbang inducing riffs! With technical issues resolved DYGORA continue to bring the energy and good vibes as their set developes into a frenzy the crowd are more than willing to whip up into! I fond myself moving uncontrollably to their music, throwing my head carelessly back and forth and throwing a few shapes as i dance with the groove. It’s really refreshing and rewarding to hear some metal you can dance to. Moshing and head banging is fun don’t get me wrong but sometimes you just wanna let loose in a more vibey way. DYGORA have the recipe for a really enjoyable live show!

IMPERIAL EXECRATION open their set with a brutal display of instrumental assault! Blistering our ears with their iniquitous riffs the band bring forth their frontman. With broken chains round his wrist this escaped mad man erratically jumps from left to right delivering primal, incoherent vocals from his barbarous throat. The front man dominates the stage with his large presence looming over the crowd and delivering a performance directed at the audience as they erupt into a grinding moshpit. The guitarist stands right front. A sentinel of death delivering grinding riffs to torment your being. The bassist played his instrument with so much aggression that i wondered if it would survive the show! The energy that came from this deathly group was infectious and alarming. The aggression transferred to the crowd as moshpits raged throwing crowd members in all directions.

Their brutal assault over, you could feel the crowd craving more brutality, hungry for the slamming generals; VULVECTOMY.

The venue fills up from front to back for the start of VULVECTOMY’s second show on their UK debut appearance! With insane ferocity the drummer perfectly delivers machine gun blast beats that boils the blood of every human in the room. A volcanic eruption of moshpits and headbangers turn the venue into a pool of wriggling maggots. The bass rumbling through the fabric of your being possessing you to mosh and let loose in response. VULVECTOMY perfectly demonstrate their affinity to providing brutal slamming punishment to their fans and looking at the response it’s very clear they love every bit of it! I even heard someone saying “ahh i needed some slam today” whilst another yelled in my ear “this is a perfect reminder of why i f*cking love live shows!”

As VULVECTOMY continue their brutal punishment on The Black Heart the energy never faltered, in fact the frenzy only grew more chaotic as the end of the set drew near. Stage divers emerged from the excitement and surfed across the crowd as people moshed beneath them. The icing on the cake was that coveted moment when the show ended and the crowd erupted into that ancient chant; “one more song!” And so VULVECTOMY unleashed one final barrage to sign off their second show in the UK during their first ever visit! What a show it was, every band brought their own take on their respective genres and delivered expert performances throughout the night. London has once again proven that underground metal shows are the best. I now look forward to the next show i get to attend! Until then i’m going to rest my neck, it’s had one heck of a workout after all this.

Listen to Vulvectomy here – https://open.spotify.com/artist/7g2KmkHmpUFam0B1YvDspG?si=yVhVorkwRbyru8FOItnIoA

And if you like what you hear, go to their next show near you!