Decapitated, Decrepit Birth, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Rings Of Saturn, The Haarp Machine
Saturday, October 1 at Kingdom
I arrived expectantly at the newly-christened Kingdom at 10 Walnut Alley on Saturday, October 1st. The name may have changed, but much about the club remained the same; they even brought back the delicious pizza-oven snack bar and the old-school band posters on the walls. Mostly, it just seemed like a cleaner, less sketchy version of Alley Katz, and all the security seemed really friendly, allowing reasonable moshing and even picking up shoes and wallets that were dropped in the pit. Although the response to change in Richmond is sometimes reluctant, and I did overhear some grumbling about how “nothing could ever be as good as Alley Katz,” the overwhelming response of the crowd seemed to indicate that having a venue that could bring tours through that were slightly high-profile, but still too small for The National, was a good thing.
Although I missed local openers Mark of Asylum and Hydra Kill due to their not having been on the show flier, I got there just in time to check out The Haarp Machine, the first band officially on the bill. Although I am not a huge fan of the frantic time changes and sweep arpeggios that characterize more technical metal, I felt that The Haarp Machine pulled their set off well. The melodic quality prevalent in most of their songs at least made for an enjoyable listening experience, even if they aren’t necessarily a band I would want to listen to on CD.
Next up was Rings of Saturn, who describe themselves on MySpace as death metal/experimental/psychedelic. Although the sound they are going for combines straightforward brutal death metal with psychedelic, jazzy influences in much the same way as bands like Cephalic Carnage do, there are way too many typical breakdowns and annoying lapses into overdone and outdated territory for them to really hold my interest. Their name and imagery are really intriguing and they are certainly listenable, but I think they have a way to go before they fully grow into their sound. Although the few people who were watching them seemed really into them, I think that most of the crowd was waiting expectantly to see the last two bands.
Fleshgod Apocalypse played next, and seemed to be the night’s surprise standout band. Most of the crowd seemed completely blown away by their performance. They combined classical and operatic music with slightly melodic, highly chaotic, black-tinged death metal, and wore subtle corpse paint and bloody dress suits on stage. Although I liked the idea and was somewhat converted by listening to their album later, I honestly didn’t think that they put on a good show. Live, it just sounded to me like they were playing a opera album in the background and trying to drown it out with metal. The result went beyond chaotic and dissonant and just came off as abrasive and annoying. Still, there is something to be said for their recordings, and the overwhelming view of the band by the audience was much more positive than mine.
Finally Decrepit Birth played and, in my opinion, completely stole the show. I have always loved how melodic their blend of brutal, slightly technical death metal is, and I love the hippie aesthetic of Bill Robinson, their weathered-looking singer. Although there was nothing particularly stand-out about their performance, they don’t seem to have lost any steam over their years and played with as much soul and aggression as they always have. They were the first band to get a fantastic crowd response, and the reaction of the crowd finally seemed to match the intensity of the bands that were playing.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with Decapitated, since I stopped following them after their 2007 accident, in which original drummer Vitek died and singer Covan slipped into a coma. Since then, original guitarist Vogg has reformed the band with all new members. Rafal Piotrowski, their new singer, has a strong voice, but his vocals would be much better suited for a straightforward metal or hardcore band. Also, shallow as it may seem, his side-shaved dreadlocks and tough-guy appearance really make him a strange fit for the band. Although they ripped on classics like “Spheres of Madness,” and still definitely have the musical chops to set them apart from most bands in their genre, their new material seemed a bit weaker, and somewhat awkward in its presentation. Nonetheless, they closed out the night with a blistering set, and certainly did not disappoint.