LIVE REVIEW: Spite @ Rebellion, Manchester

Arriving at concert venues recently after the clocks go forward is always a somewhat odd feeling. Queuing in the light streets of Manchester in anticipation of an evening of aggressive metallic hardcore doesn’t feel quite right, but the cobbled street turning the corner around Rebellion, the scene for tonight’s visceral outlet, is packed full of black clad tattooed and pierced fans hotly anticipating a bruising evening at the hands of California crushers SPITE.

First to the stage are MOUTH FOR WAR and immediately a gaping wound in the crowd opens up anticipating violence. They are a band who seemingly have an open bet with themselves where every moment is followed by an even heavier onslaught, leaving everyone in the room breathless in their hands. The crushing chugging riffs are aptly led by some of the punchiest screams from vocalist Trae Roberts, who’s voice perfectly mirrors the scene in the crowd, with the pit full of swinging arms and two steppers. The whole band pause and face off with the crowd before the shotgun breakdown of The Devil which sends the room into fluid chaos, with crowd surfers leaping from the stage and climbing the rafters. This may well be MOUTH FOR WAR’s first visit to the UK, but the chaos they bring with them is that addictive we can’t wait for them to come back.

Rating: 8/10

Next up are BOUNDARIES who step up the technicality of the evening, which in no way reduces the pulverising violence incited. Vocalist Matt McDougal’s who’s crushing vocals unwaveringly barrage you in all the best ways, barking and exploding right at you. The crowd are well and truly up for it, frequently launching off the stage and crowd surfing, although the McDougal is forced to take matters into his own hands throwing off a stage diver who overstayed their welcome on the stage. The emotive spoken word section in Realise And Rebuild is a grabbing moment that is succeeded by the end hook of “We sing out of sync” mirrored by the front few rows whole heartedly. Get Out grips the whole room with the refrains of “I am undeniable” and “who the fuck are you?!” overtaken by the room, leaving McDougal fallen to the floor releasing a flood of impassioned gutturals, flooding the room in devastating noise. BOUNDARIES are a gripping watch, clutching you in close and kicking you down to clamber back up into the pit.

Rating: 9/10

Next up is the brutality that is BODYSNATCHER who waste no time launching into the chaos, with the machine gun of an opening track Wired For Destruction. They provide non-stop aggression and violence in sonic form, with grooves constructed to swing your arms to and feel invincible, to-wit the room happily obliges. They are relentless in their pursuit of battery, and vocalist Kyle Medina leading the charge for the violence with the crushing filth of his vocal prowess, covering disgusting low gutturals to throaty barks which lead the room into fluid chaos. They slot recent single Murder8 into the middle of the set with the soul crushing breakdown call of “Fentanyl made me an only child” floods the air briefly before the bodies once again collide and leap atop one another. BODYSNATCHER leave the room with little left to give, and the precedent for disorder is truly set.

Rating: 9/10

With there having simply not been a weak link in the chain tonight, the pressure is on California monsters SPITE to raise the game further, and they don’t disappoint with fast pummelling riffs and drums that squeeze the whole room like an industrial crusher, and choking screams that leave you short of breath. They are a demolition crew with everyone in the room as their target, all pushed by drummer Travis Regnier who blasts the kit like a behemoth on Adderall, swinging his arms at a blistering pace. Not to be outdone, vocalist Darius Tehrani is a true performer, launching himself left to right in a rage, swinging his arms and hair in a fit to incite the room. Although the room is somewhat slow to start, they quickly latch on to the California brutes, launching from the stage and flooding pits in a caustic mess of wet bodies.

Although the tour is named after latest album Dedication To Flesh, this set spans the full range of their catalogue with older cuts like Snap and Leeches punching just as hard as newer hard hitters. SPITE are an outfit who rarely pull their punches, with constant time switch ups that knock you off balance like a kick to the knee, leaving you gurning nearly as much as guitarist Alex Tehrani does as he chugs through brutal riffs. They close their encore with old school puncher Death Sentence which sees a flood of bodies leap off the stage into what has become a pool of corpses in the pit, devoid of energy and doused in sweat. SPITE have spearheaded a bill of relentless brutality and stood atop it all as rightful headliners, and it is surely a gig that will not soon be forgotten by any in the room, if they can muster the energy.

Rating: 9/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Manchester from Jess Robinson here: 

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