LIVE REVIEW: Ingested @ The Exchange, Bristol

If you want an idea of how this show will pan out, upon entry tonight for INGESTED people are limbering up to throw shapes across the venue. For all that large sections of the metal community turn their noses up at the activity commonly known as hardcore dancing, at brutal death and slam metal shows, they’re an important part of the live experience, which is exactly what tonight is. To boot, there are very few tickets on the door, an indication of just how close-knit and dedicated this scene is; if there’s a tour coming close to you in this sort of vein, you’re going to do everything to attend.

BOUND IN FEAR are a bunch of lovely gentlemen from near Farnham and want nothing more than to cause absolute havoc. Their slam metal isn’t pacey, but God is it filthy; the bass is rumbling through the floor in a way that hasn’t been felt in a long time. Occasionally the sound merges, but when you’ve got a collective 24 strings between the guitars and bass, it can be forgiven somewhat, especially when it’s sorted relatively quickly. As the band thunder their way through Beyond The Mire and So Long, So Cold, the audience swells and the pit begins to move; at one point, someone throws his bum bag and hoodie across the room to have more freedom to arm swing. Everybody is up for this, and are treated to a composed, confident opening set – and it’s only the beginning.

Rating: 7/10

Hailing from Germany, ACRANIUS are more in line with the brutal side of death metal than the slam side – the music is pacier and drummer Rob Hermann Arndt is on an absolute tear, going from blast beats to fast snare patterns, half time and back with such ease. The dual vocals of of Kevin Petersen and Marcus Jasak are a lovely touch – double the gutturals equals double the impact – but the big thing is just how fun this band are. For whatever reason, big breakdowns whilst the members are moving on stage like your dad dancing at a wedding is a perfect combination, something that really shouldn’t work but actually does. “Step forward, we want to see your beautiful faces, even if you’re naked” they joke, before ripping into Kingmaker and pummelling our collective ears into submission. Everything just aligns for ACRANIUS tonight – it’s heavy, impactful and, when it is needed, utter bonkers as well.

Rating: 8/10

Then, just when you thought things couldn’t get any heavier, BODYSNATCHER arrive. The Floridians are not here to mess about – “We’ve travelled 6,000 miles for this shit, make this place feel unsafe!” Screams vocalist Kyle Medina as they kick into King Of The Rats and incite utter bedlam across the room. The band’s reputation for whipping up crowds into a frenzy is well known – they got Glasgow going to the point it resembled a prison fight, according to the band – and it’s no different here. They have two slight hiccups with the sound like BOUND IN FEAR, but these are sorted out quickly and E.D.A and Wired For Destruction are huge slabs of slam that threaten to rip the venue in two. It’s a juggernaut of a performance; Lord only knows what’ll happen when the band returns to bigger festivals in the winter opening for CHELSEA GRIN and CARNIFEX…

Rating: 8/10

For INGESTED, this is not an easy bill to follow, but when the claim from the stage is that they’re the ‘undisputed kings of UK death metal’, then they probably wouldn’t have it any other way. Starting off strong with Heels and moving seamlessly into The List, they’re determined to finish this evening on a high, but whilst their own performance is strong, it takes the audience a while to warm up. Perhaps tired from what’s come before or, due to INGESTED‘s more traditional line on death metal resulting in less breakdowns, there’s a subdued feeling floating around the venue which dampens the first half of the set, only beginning to fade away when the black-metal tinged Better Off Dead rips across the room. Impending Dominance keeps the momentum going and by the time Invidious finishes things are heading in the right direction, but then INGESTED announce just two songs to go with no encore and that brings their set time up to a rather paltry 40 minutes, not something you’d expect for a band with six albums under the belt. As such, for all that Mouth Of The Abyss and Dead Seraphic Forms are a solid end, one can’t help but feel a little-short changed, even though there’s been three supports.

Rating: 7/10

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