LIVE REVIEW: Fit For An Autopsy @ Exchange, Bristol

It’s not often you get a tour coming through that’s so international in flavour yet so united in sound. FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY, VENOM PRISON, VULVODYNIA and JUSTICE FOR THE DAMNED  hail from the USA, the UK, South Africa and Australia respectively, but they’re all blisteringly heavy and have the ability to attract a serious crowd, noticeable by the inability to squeeze another soul into the building. Yes, tonight’s show at the Exchange is a sell-out and, as the doorman warns on entry to the line of people slowly filing past him “It’s going to be a bit of a squeeze”.

“Bristol, can you fucking two-step?!” comes the cry from Bobak Rafiee, frontman of Sydney quintet JUSTICE FOR THE DAMNED. Suffice to say, the punters gathered respond in earnest, just as they do for every other call he throws their way tonight. This is their debut show in Bristol and it won’t be their last by any stretch; they’re on great form this evening, plenty of chug from guitarists Nick Adams and Nathan Kershaw allowing the likes of Dragged Through the Dirt and It Will Always Be My Fault to ring out with a huge impact. Get them back, and sooner rather than later.

Rating: 7/10

Moving slowly up the globe but remaining in the Southern Hemisphere, South Africa’s VULVODYNIA have just one aim: to bring the slam and brutality to Bristol. They do as well – sure, they’re a bit of a silly bunch and Duncan Bentley’s opening pig squeal is testament to that, but that doesn’t stop them getting sizeable pits and serious movement amongst a captivated and sizeable audience. They play a lot of tracks from upcoming record Mob Justice as well, such as Famine and Reclaim the Crown, Part I: The Burning Kingdom, but it’s older tracks such as the lovingly titled Drowned in Vomit that get the biggest cheers. They have charisma and stage presence in bounds as well, all adding up to a very fun set.

Rating: 8/10

In truth, the reason why the venue is packed to capacity this evening is home country heroes VENOM PRISON. Latest album Samsara has crushed pretty much every other record released in 2019 and this is the first real chance in the UK to hear the material live. It’s baffling as to why they’re not headlining venues like this already; guitarist Ben Thomas said after that they believe there’s still a long way to go, but they won’t if tonight is anything to go by. They fly out of the traps with Matriphagy and cause utter bedlam for forty minutes, the pit reaching a level of ferocity the likes of which the Exchange has never seen. Every song played sounds ridiculously huge, from lead single Uterine Industrialisation to the sublimity of Asura’s Realm and, to top it off, Larissa Stupar just gets better and better as a vocalist, on truly devastating form and controlling proceedings with utmost authority. The superlatives to describe them are running dry at an alarming rate and, next month, Glastonbury Festival won’t know what’s hit it.

Rating: 9/10

Given who they’re following, FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY have their work cut out despite being headliners, however they still have a packed out room and as such give everything they’ve got. The energy levels have certainly dipped from VENOM PRISON, but there’s no denying that the audience are fully behind the New Jersey quintet and the band rise to the occasion. Heads Will Hang hits all the right spots and Saltwound sees a devastating circle pit open up that circumvents the entire venue from side to side. By the time the technically masterful Still We Destroy is unleashed, it’s already a victorious set for the band who faltered badly when last in the city as openers for SEPULTURA. They even play a brand new tune called Shepherd, which holds its own impressively and, if a sign of what is to come on a future album, bodes very well for the band. A double salvo of Iron Moon and Black Mammoth rounds off a short but rousing performance from FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY and they’re certainly happy with the response they’ve received. That said, there’s one band head and shoulders above the rest right now, not just on the current bill but also in general terms of the extreme metal scene.

Rating: 8/10

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