LIVE REVIEW: Decapitated @ Thekla, Bristol

In recent days, a four-year old article from The Independent has begun re-circling on social media that talks about sharks loving death metal music, for the rumblings mimic the vibrations in water of struggling prey. Appropriate, therefore, that tonight sees three death metal bands play on a boat, although the notion of being eaten alive by a Great White that gnaws its way through the hull is not at the front of people’s agenda. Rather, that spot goes to the sheer want of banging heads and enjoying one of the finest bands from the extreme end of metal; DECAPITATED.

Before we get to the headliners though, it’s the turn of BAEST from Denmark to open things up on their debut UK tour. With the band being filmed for a documentary on homeland TV channel DR3 there are a number of video cameras around getting a piece of the action, however the audience doesn’t seem willing to give a huge amount of energy this early on in the evening. Sure, there is hair going in all directions and there are plenty of fists and horns, but it takes a while for things to really click between band and punter, by which point they’re into the final two songs of Ego Te Absolvo and Crosswhore, the former seeing vocalist Simon Olsen hop off the stage and bring those around him in closer. It’s a shame because they have a huge amount going for them with some excellent songs in their arsenal already and a great well of charisma to draw from during live performances; if only they could have had a reaction they so richly deserved.

Rating: 7/10

By the time DYSCARNATE take to the stage, the place is near full and the trio from Horsham duly proceed to bring a rapturous display of death metal excellence to the table. Unbelievably tight and sounding monolithic in every regard, the likes of Cain Enable and In the Face of Armageddon crank the tempo up a treat, the latter causing a massive circle pit to open up and whip Thekla into the throes of an indoor typhoon. Tom Whitty is a very engaging frontman and his trading of vocals with bass player Al Llewellyn is a true delight, a fearsome double attack that is backed up superbly by the drumming of Matt Unsworth. By the time they finish with The Promethean and a pummelling This Is Fire, the crowd have not so much been eating out of their palms but feasting on a banquet of riffs and blast beats; the amount of people waving their hands in time with Unsworth’s cymbal strikes is unprecedented. Make no mistake, this is a band with a huge amount going for them, and they’ll be making bigger waves in the very near future, for sure.

Rating: 8/10

This could be seen as a make-or-break tour for DECAPITATED. After the turmoil they went through at the back end of 2017 which saw the band cleared of all charges on kidnapping and sexual assault, they are now looking to fully put the past behind them and get back on the sort of form which saw last album Anticult lauded by critics the world over. A bruising One-Eyed Nation to open their show is a promising start and whilst it does take a little time to get into a groove, by the time Kill the Cult incites a mass sing-along from the pit, it’s full steam ahead for the Polish foursome and from hereon in they never look like faltering. A career-spanning set follows, including a crushing Visual Delusion preceding a pulsating version of The Blasphemous Psalm to the Dummy God Creation, all while a giant sea of bodies moves with the force of a tidal wave in front of them.

There is very little said between songs from frontman ‘Rasta’ Piotrowski aside from his gratitude to the Bristol faithful, but the sincerity in his words is clear as day. He knows how close things came to the band ending and he is intent on enjoying every moment he has on stage from now on. It must be felt even more by guitarist ‘Vogg’ Kiełtyka, the sole member from the original incarnation who made the painful decision to continue the band after the 2007 road accident that killed his brother Vitek and left previous singer ‘Covan’ Kowanek in a coma. To him, this will seem like another bullet dodged, but as he thunders through Day 69, Earth Scar and a hull-shattering encore of Spheres of Madness and Winds of Creation, you wouldn’t know any different. The cheers and applause from all corners are a very welcome sight indeed. Welcome back lads, we’ve missed you.

Rating: 9/10

Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in Bristol from Normandy Photography here: