Live Review: Decade of Hate – Thy Art Is Murder, Fit For An Autopsy, Heriot | The Dome, London | 10/04/2023
Ten years of Hate. Ten years of what is, understandably, often described as one of the greatest deathcore albums to ever throw itself upon the unworthy world. An event too good to miss for any fan of deathcore in the capital, Thy Art is Murder returned to British shores for two sold-out dates at the Dome.
Heriot
Tour support coming from long-term friends and fellow trailblazers of death-adjacent music Fit For An Autopsy, with the jewel in the crown of upcoming UK alternative music – Heriot – opening this, the first of the two shows. The queue wrapped like a boa around the block as hundreds of fans prepared for the closest thing to a religious experience that black-clad heavy music listeners can get.
Those unfamiliar with the band Heriot ought to climb from beneath whatever oppressive rock they live under and get themselves to the front for a live show. They are a band which, while showing undeniable quality on record, produce an atmosphere and energy so utterly harrowing in a live setting that they must been seen in the flesh. The combination of banshee-esque screams from Debbie Gough, the reverberation of every downtuned note in your spine and the fact that Erhan Alman looks like he wants to stamp on your throat with that evil onstage glare – these are just some of the components that make for such an intense and atmospheric live performance. This ability to build atmosphere is the differentiation between a good band and a great one. Heriot, much like both the other bands on this bill, do not create a live show made up of individual songs but instead build a complete live performance that stands to be reckoned with. As they impose strength through riff, fear through scathing vocals and aggression through raw power of rhythm, their entire set forges a feeling that sticks to your soul with an almost uneasy tinge to it. Heriot provided a live performance that captured the overarching feeling of terror which plays such a pivotal role in why heavy music is enjoyed. As guitars ring out and their set finishes to an audience in awe, it once again seems that they not only impress live – but they terrify.
Score: 8/10
Fit For An Autopsy
FFAA are no stranger to touring with Thy Art is Murder, nor are they unacquainted to UK crowds. As such, the electric buzz during their set could forgivably be mistaken for that of a headline band themselves. Surgically precise guitarwork lacerates the baying crowds as they tear through their opening track ‘A Higher Level of Hate’, until Joe Badolato steps up to the riser to deliver a thumb dragged across the throat to the call of “Refine, Eliminate” and unleash the first of a barrage of their schizophrenically-intense breakdowns onto the Dome. There is little that cannot be said in praise of FFAA, a band made up of some of the finest musicians, producers and people that roam the world of heavy music. Drums pound with a passion inimitable by most, Josean Orta being the very definition of machine efficiency in his percussive work. Tracks from each album inclusive of Hellbound through to their most recent Oh, What the Future Holds are charged and delivered throughout this performance. It is worth noting that FFAA seem to change their setlist regularly, with their last 3 UK outings all displaying a variety of differentiation but never lacking in quality – a testament to their skill.
Joe Badolato is a prime example of how consistency makes quality when it comes to live music. As always, he delivers every vocal line with venom and fluent annunciation while never faltering in his distortion. He, along with the whole band, command authority from the audience by virtue of their undeniable talent. By the time their final track ‘Far From Heaven’ crescendos into its last moments, the taste of communal joy and rage is pungent in the air. FFAA picked up where Heriot left off and continued the cultured display that this lineup teased in its’ initial announcement.
Score: 9/10
Thy Art Is Murder
Straight off the bat – it’s good to see that even on the decade anniversary tour of one of the most influential albums of its era, Thy Art is Murder still begin their set with Vengaboys. Thereon out, the mood was far more sinister. There was no real wait before ‘Reign of Darkness’ delivered exactly as expected. Instant chaos in the crowd, stopped only to deliver in unison the first of this albums’ stellar vocal moments – “You will see the true face of panic”. Then came ‘The Purest Strain of Hate’, another certified classic that shakes the foundations of the Dome. ‘Vile Creation’ and ‘Shadow of Eternal Sin’ follow, the former requires only 1 minute and three seconds exactly of buildup before Andy Marsh, Sean Delander and Kevin Butler initiate the hardest riff ever produced by human hand. It is only when you experience an album like Hate, front-to-back in this kind of live scenario, that you truly appreciate the quality on display.
Track after track of incendiary music provide a soundtrack to a night that many will not forget anytime soon. A setlist and album that effortlessly changes gear from swampy riffs laden with bending strings and guttural lows to apoplectically fast death metal. ‘Immolation’, another reminder of the genuine horror that Thy Art can conjure up for a receptive crowd begging for more. CJ McMahon, a vocalist needing no introduction if you have even a passing interest in extremity, offers lyrics that have stood the test of time and remain just as goosebump-inducing as ever. “Strike fear into the hearts of the children of god, show them the hell that awaits below” fills a rare void in instruments as the Australian deathcore royalty tear through ‘Dead Sun’ and ‘Gates of Misery’. ‘Defective Breed’ marks the ninth song of the album, a track which saw a reception just as primal as the opening of ‘Reign of Darkness’ thirty-five minutes earlier. The album comes to a close with ‘Doomed From Birth’ – serving a consistent rhythm to see out what was surely a bucket-list tick for many in the crowd. As the ambience built before the final breakdown, a quiet solace in relativity to the carnage so far, a sense of satisfaction was undeniable. To have experienced Hate in its most refined and true nature was a moment of heavy music history.
A forty-minute set would, however, have been an absolute joke for their first UK non-festival shows in over three years. So, a minute or two of waiting sees more or less none of the crowd exit as the lights once again dim and ‘Death Squad Anthem’ rolls through the speakers. ‘Holy War’ gets the rowdiest reception of the encore, a song crafted for the live stage which delivers on all fronts. Jesse Beahler must be commended as even at this stage he makes precisely zero mistakes behind the kit and clearly operates as a momentous part of the band since he joined a handful of years ago. ‘Puppet Master’ slung a final few riffs and dirty string-bends into the pit before the stage cleared and the infamous Thy Art Is Murder presumably went to wallow in Hell for 16 hours before doing it all over again. Just like that, they placed their hand on the metaphorical sword of Deathcore, drew its blade from the rock and sheathed it in one motion. There will be no other band like Thy Art is Murder, there will be no other album like Hate.
Score: 10/10