It’s conflictingly warm and pleasant in Birmingham tonight, for the return of cult metal phenom Dragged Into Sunlight and the room is filling up as Bristol death-metal outfit Plague Pit take the stage. Speaking of outfits, the visual disharmony between the band and the vocalist’s stage attire is confusing and distracting, as they run through thirty minutes or so of death metal by numbers. They do their best to evoke a sense of menace and gloom, but it is every bit as drab and uninspired as the singer’s leather gloves and biker jacket getup. A very dull and moribund affair overall, but people seem moderately enthused, so… job done?
Where openers Plague Pit feel loose and unpolished, that is certainly no issue for Londoners Vacuous, who are nothing if not tight. They are a competent live act but even a stellar performance from their drummer cannot elevate their hardcore inflected Death worship beyond uninspiring monotony. Strangely, the sound and even the lightshow appears to have got worse since Plague Pit finished, and it certainly works against Vacuous. Trudging through every trope in the death-metal playbook, from discordant clean guitar intros (on almost every song) to tremolo picked dissonance and blasting drums, they offer nothing new or memorable. It’s a road well-beaten that the Londoners navigate, but they are clearly a talented bunch. Perhaps drawing from a more diverse pool of influences could be the thing that unlocks their potential.
Who wants to be trapped in the eye of a lightning storm for ninety panic-inducing minutes? because that’s effectively what cult favourites Dragged Into Sunlight offer up tonight. They do their level best to create an atmosphere of pure evil, with the incense burning as nearly ten minutes of floor-shaking drones and harsh noise unsettle the audience during their intro track. Their intent is clear, but by the time they take to the stage, the room feels sapped of its energy. Throw a stone and you’d surely hit one of about thirty odd candles on stage, although they won’t be lighting much tonight, as the band are known for performing with their backs turned to the audience, utilising a punishing strobe light to deepen the sensory pummelling the band deliver.
It’s all a bit cynical, and it’s not a gimmick that particularly serves them either, although it must be said that people here are lapping it up. Dragged Into Sunlight are a misanthropic bunch, and should probably be commended for committing wholeheartedly to their vision but if death metal is at its best when it is self-aware of its own absurdity, it is at its worst when it is this cynical and po-faced. Especially so when bands such as Wiegedood and Anaal Nathrakh offer a very similar experience with much more entertainment value. That’s not to say that it’s a bad show, not by any stretch, but the band start in fifth gear and flog a dead horse for a further hour and a bit. As a consequence, there is no real narrative at play here and it’s exhausting, without the catharsis that such artistry should elicit.
Occasionally Dragged Into Sunlight do demonstrate moments of brilliance. Such as, when they sound like they are pushing the absolute limits of human performance, and it all sounds like it could blast apart like a shrapnel bomb. Their recorded output speaks for itself but the show just feels like it is missing that touch of finesse. Judging by the small nuclei of people making their way home two-thirds of the way through their set, it’s clearly an endurance test most people can’t or don’t want to endure. Adoring fans will feel like they got their money’s worth tonight but for everyone else, it was probably just fine.
