Review by Jason Williams, photos by Karina Diane
May 12th 2015, Complex, Glendale CA: Carnage: “The killing of many people.” The definition from the Webster-Dictionary. Only a handful of bands come to mind to describe them in this way, and British extreme outfit Anaal Nathrakh happens to be one of those very few. An incredibly spellbinding grindcore death metal act with epic passages and even clean singing along the way, they’ve paved the way for 17 years and counting. Rarely touring, Anaal Nathrakh first came to CA on some Maryland Death Fest off dates in 2007 and fans here were honored to have witnessed it. Four years later, they played the Scion Rock Fest, with their set cutting into Morbid Angel’s on another stage, but in front of a large crowd regardless. Now set on their first proper US tour, and a sensational new record ‘Desideratum’ to boot, Complex in Glendale was surely in for a delectable metal treat brought to us once again by Church Of The 8th Day.
Even on a Tuesday, a large crowd gathered for the evening. Despite my ongoing gripes with various aspects of the metal scene in Southern California, I was absolutely pleased to see these special shows get the attendance they surely deserve. And to start off the evening, Luna Occulta took the stage at 8:30 PM. The only local band for this show, Luna Occulta played a generic black metal style, and while Complex has had excellent sound each and every time I’ve attended, their music still couldn’t be uplifted by it. The vocalist’s screams and shrieks were decent, but the music was hollow, with grim riffs and blast beats that just felt like they were put in there for the sake of it. The audience gave them applause after each song, but unlike for the rest of the bands, no one moved. Perhaps at a full-on black metal show they would be a better fit, but tonight, Luna Occulta simply didn’t do anything for me.
Shortly after, the first official band on this tour, Secrets Of The Sky came to the stage to an even larger crowd filling in the venue. One underappreciated joy associated with attending shows is hearing a band you’ve never even heard or gave much thought to, completely flooring the room. Secrets Of The Sky did just that, with a doom-like atmosphere, but with gorgeous, twisted melodies that haunted the air and all of the inhabitants of this room. Unlike Luna Occulta, the audience was gazing into the band, nodding their heads in a trance, and through their sadly short four-song set, there was huge surprise and applause each time. Guitarists Clayton Bartholomew and Andrew Green employed a shoegaze-like tone that really set off their melodies into the imagination. To add to the sound and not undermine it, drummer Lance Lea’s hammering and pounding of the kit echoed viciously, taking the crowd deeper and deeper within. Garett Gazay’s vocals could have been slightly louder, as his selected unique and clean whispers provided a delicate and somber tone to the already chiling notes. Secrets Of The Sky’s colorful palette of shoegazy doom metal was met with roaring approval, and proved to be one of the best acts of this special night. I look forward to each show they can grace us with in the future.
Set List:
01. Angel in Vines
02. Eternal Wolves
03. Fosforos
04. Garden of Prayers
Next up, and certainly keeping the theme of different metal genres throughout the night, Arizona’s Incite received a warm welcome from the audience. I was a little surprised as their first song “Up In Hell” blasted through the speakers, as Incite played a rather groovy metal style that I found rather odd in comparision to the black metal, doomish metal and later on the epic grindcore death metal that would occupy the evening. The riffing was at first bland and predictable, with vocalist Ritchie C spewing lyrics in a Pantera style. The audience seemed to enjoy themselves, and noticeably in the front, they certainly had a large group of fans belting out each word. However, by the time “Aftermath” came around, the music was seemingly faster and the riffing became more unique and thoughtful. It felt like a different band at this point, and the latetr portion of their set was certainly more enjoyable. Although they still didn’t blow me away, Incite seem, at least to my perspective, a better band playing their speedier and more intricate riffing material, and it was still a pleasure to see the crowd enjoying such diversity in the music tonight.
Set List:
01. Up in Hell
02. False Flag
03. Fallen
04. Aftermath
05. Losing Grip
06. Tyranny Ends
07. WTF
08. The Slaughter
For such a small venue, the number of people was easily the largest I’ve seen through the four metal shows I’ve witnessed here. Los Angeles, you deserve a round of golf claps. Good show. The room was filled with high anticipation from everyone salivating at the prospect of Anaal Nathrakh‘s first Southern California show in four years, and for many, their first time. 11:40 PM became the magic number, with the intro from their newest record emanating from the PA system and instigating a horde of mosh pitting and screaming in approval. The aptly named “Unleash” opened the floodgates for the next hour to be a world of hurt and joyful carnage. The energy, chaos and power Anaal Nathrakh possess, especially live, is difficult to explain. Every moment and riff holds a whirling tornado of chills and excitement. Vocalist David Hunt (AKA V.I.T.R.I.O.L.) and guitarist Mick Kenney founded and run this band, bringing live session members for tour. Any fan who knows the band know of Hunt’s signature and characteristic screams and maniacal frenzies on stage. His clean vocals are crystal clear and gorgeous, and this is accompanied by the sludgy, buzzed distortion soaring through their amps. It’s a very special moment each and every time it occurs, and as it did eight years ago, it got even better this evening.
And comparing to the previous show, I can only name a small group of bands that make the audience feel so welcome and personable with everyone. Kenney and Hunt shook hands, gave smiles, demanded stage diving (even though the venue didn’t allow it and only made exceptions twice) and were full of hliarious banter all throughout the set. English humor is better than American humor, and it’s no accident. From “In the Constellation of the Black Widow” to the oldie and absolute goodie “Between Shit and Piss We Are Born”, most of their discography was on display. And with no complaints from me, four songs from the new album were played, with “Idol” and “The Joystream” played back to back, which happen to be my favorite tracks from it. Some days, you just get lucky with the songs you want to hear. The chorus to “Idol” was sung majestically from most in the audience who knew it, bringing chills as I still write this. “Do Not Speak” closed their goliath-like set, to a larger barrage of crowd surfing and moshing. Not only were the crowd in large attendance, but not one was seen folding arms, only using their arms to keep the moshers at bay. Bassist, dubbed as “Drunk”, gashed his forehead from the microphone, but was in such lividity from the show that he simply laughed and played on. Towels and beers were given to him. A breathtaking performance from Anaal Nathrakh that I wish was a whole lot longer.
My words fall to the ill-fated, failing to find the proper ways to describe this captivating magical evening. As previously mentioned from me beforehand, I gave the recent Nightwish show the performance of the year label so far, and Anaal Nathrakh may have just stole the title, or at the least in a dead even tie. This is a wonderful musical act beyond comparison, and with the tour still ongoing, do not devoid yourselves of this opportunity to witness them. My definition, with all due respect to the Webster Dictionary, of the word carnage: Anaal Nathrakh.
Set List:
01. Acheronta Movebimus (Intro) / Unleash
02. Monstrum in Animo
03. Forging Towards the Sunset
04. Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes
05. Between Shit and Piss We Are Born
06. In the Constellation of the Black Widow
07. Drug-Fucking Abomination
08. Of Fire, and Fucking Pigs
09. Idol
10. The Joystream
11. Do Not Speak
Anaal Nathrakh, Incite & Secrets Of The Sky remaining tour dates:
5/15/2015 – Black Sheep –- Colorado Springs, CO
5/16/2015 – Riot Room – Kansas City, MO
5/17/2015 – Live Wire Lounge – Chicago, IL
5/18/2015 – Empire Concert Club – Akron, OH
5/19/2015 – Hard Luck Bar – Toronto, ON
5/20/2015 – Foufounes – Montreal, QC
5/21/2015 – St. Vitus – Brooklyn, NY
5/22/2015 – ChampionshipÂ’ – Trenton, NJ
5/24/2015 – Maryland Deathfest – Baltimore, MD