Kicking off the night was Desolated, a band that has long been a staple of the UK’s metallic hardcore underground. If anyone thought the opening act would ease the crowd into the evening, they were sorely mistaken. The sheer weight of ‘Numb’ and ‘The Beginning’ showed why Desolated are one of the most punishing live bands in the UK scene. Frontman Tony Evans prowled the stage like a caged animal, barking out lyrics with venomous intensity. ‘Bite Down’ was a particular highlight, its slow, crushing breakdown shaking the room as the entire front half of the crowd moved as one.
As it came to their last song, ‘Death By My Side’, the damage had been done. Desolated had set the bar sky-high for the rest of the night- ferocious, unrelenting, and utterly devastating.
The last time Gorod graced these shores was more than ten years ago, and their long absence only made the anticipation for their performance even greater. Hailing from the south of France, this tech-death metal group effortlessly commanded the stage, displaying a comfort that spoke volumes of their years of experience in the music world.
Their set kicked off with a thunderous intensity as the strings, paradoxically serene yet intricate, filled the room. The fury of the drums matched the complexity of the guitars, creating an atmosphere of chaos and beauty. As the set progressed, the mood shifted as funkier grooves worked their way into the mix.
The crowd, though not massive, was incredibly engaged, making plenty of noise and showing an enthusiasm that suggested they had been waiting just as long for this moment. The lead singer’s presence on stage immediately captured attention, evoking the raw energy of Henry Rollins while still delivering a range of clean, emotive vocals that were nothing short of mesmerizing. His vocal prowess truly stood out, adding another layer of energy to the music. The entire band clearly enjoys every moment, feeding off the crowd’s energy and giving it right back. Their engagement with the audience was executed with ease and without any apprehension.
Part sludge, part stoner, part melodic, pure filth, Oxford’s riff lords Desert Storm fit tonight’s opening slot like a glove. Joining the tour for tonight and London, the four piece waste little time in channelling destructive sledgehammer to the chest riffs. With just shy of twenty years as a band, the set is slick as all hell; a cacophony of concrete crumbling riffs and neck breaking grooves for those in attendance early. Tonight isn’t a sold out show by any means and although the space is only a sparsely populated when they start, it doesn’t phase the veterans one bit. The band kick things off hot, a medley of ‘Melatone’ and ‘Sway of The Tides’, which has been used as a strong opening statement from the band for a short while now. Swift transitions into stompy headbanger territory, ‘Vengeful Gods’ from 2020s Omens sends low end distorted rumbles through the chests of the audience.
Reminiscent of Bossk’s sludgier moments whilst routed in firmer stoner territory, there are similarities with the post-metal wall of sound tones and jaw shattering heft. Vocals swing from guttural roars to stressed cleans, bordering on breaking into roars that give the energy of early DOWN. Unreleased single ‘Cut Your Teeth’ sounds massive and promises something wicked coming from the Desert Storm camp this year, and seamlessly glides into the post-metal inspired intro of Death Rattle single ‘Bad Trip’. Closing their vicious thirty-minute opening set with the hypnotic neck breaking grooves of ‘Black Bile’; Desert Storm goes down a delectable, sludgy treat for those down early to catch their set.
Making an incredibly rare appearance outside the US for an extended run, Virginian aggro doom biker cult Satan’s Satyrs make for the perfect opening act on paper for this European and UK excursion. The lights dim, the band storm the stage and start blasting through ‘Thumper’s Theme’, battering the audience with strobes as a short intro to their discography spanning set list. Switching gears into the psychedelic occult garage rock of ‘Full Moon and Empty Veins’, the band are leaving little time between songs for anything more than a “hey Bristol” and smashing through old favourites like ‘Pulp Star’ and ‘Two Hands’. They forego showing off much of their recently released After Dark, giving just lead single ‘Quick, Quiet Raid’ and album track ‘Iron & Ivy’.
The final stretch pulls in a few more favourites; a double helping of Die Screaming with ‘Black Souls’ and ‘Show Me Your Skull’, before bringing their thirty-minute set to an end with blistering debut album cut ‘Alucard’. Something wasn’t quite right tonight in Bristol, the band lacked a certain je ne sais quoi, perhaps a heft to their stoner/psych-doom/garage rock sound, but it is hard to quantify. Despite the sizeable chunk of the sold out audience turning up early, perhaps it was just a bit too cold in the old factory, the response garnered from those in attendance was polite, if indifferent. Unfortunately though, this left a slightly sour taste considering how uncommon it is to see Satan’s Satyrs in the flesh. What should’ve been a double barrel shotgun blast to the face of scorching 70s biker cult fury ended up feeling like a polite glove slap for a gentleman’s duel in the meadow.
There is quite a large gap on SWX’s dance floor as German post-hardcore/alt-rock/“emo” four piece Shoreline step out despite the decent crowd that’s come down early, but their charismatic frontman Hansol Seung encourages the crowd to step forward and get involved and close the space. Working as a perfect opener tonight, they exude a strong early 2000s energy, showing off material from last year’s album To Figure Out and other tracks from their back catalogue. They’re true devotees to the punk rock ethos and want an inclusive audience; taking a moment to talk scene ethics and politics, bemoaning the predominantly white male centric rep in the punk and hardcore scene and encouraging more diversity.
Shoreline weaves from the impassioned screams and angular rhythms of post-hardcore to a more low-key influence of Saves The Day. The recently released single ‘Forgive’ (feat. Knuckle Puck’s Joe Taylor) is well received. You can see more pockets start to engage with the bands’ performance with growing cheers after each track, winning over a lot of new fans and rightfully so, the band play and sound great. Whilst not encouraging chaos and boundless energy from the audience, Shoreline’s opening set goes down a treat, a thirty-minute quick fire demonstration of one of Germany’s hottest prospects.
Regardless of the Utilita Arena’s achingly slow entry procedure leaving thousands queuing to get in throughout the duration of their entire set, tonight’s openers Orbit Culture still have a good chunk of the audience ready and waiting to be pulled under their spell. With tonight’s obvious stipulation of co-headline album sets, the viral Swedish rising stars only have half an hour to show off their groove laden bounce of their particular brand of melo-death and get the crowd warmed up. Opening with the title track of their 2023 album, Descent, they get off gnarly start and it’s safe to say that those in attendance were easily seized and pulled into orbit.
With a simple white backdrop and a couple banners on stands, this is all about the lighting and Orbit Culture’s penchant for stomp-heavy pit riffs that get the crowd warmed up. They sound at home in the large arena space and, as expected, gargantuan booming out of the towering PA system. The five song set is mainly focussed on their recent album, with a few throwbacks in the form of ‘North Star of Nija’ and ‘While We Serve’ making appearances for their diehards. Closing with mega single ‘Vultures of North’ goes down a treat and sets the night off to an excellent start, with the future of Orbit Culture looking bright with thousands of new fans joining their ranks across this run.
