Head Cleaner, Mass Infection, Slavebreed, Necrorgasm, Alterself, Trigger, Blessed By Perversion // 7Sins Club, Athens, Greece // 14.12.13
A brutal Death/Grind Saturday night lied in store for the ones present at 7Sins club to a really strong package full of young and promising bands of the scene. First ones to take the stage are the brand new Blessed By Perversion. Their EP “Destroy The Image Of God” is a kick ass Death metal release in the vein of Morbid Angel and Deicide with some Death/Obituary influence in the lead department. They were really energetic and made the crowd at the time headbang as hard as possible with their material (including a new song keeping up on the same path musicwise). Their frontman didn’t forget to thank everybody in the audience for being there and especially Metalpaths.com for inviting them on this event. Everyone were pleased and some were proudly wearing their t-shirts at the end (the writer doing so at the very end of the gig!).
Without any further ado, Trigger hit the stage, the only non-Death/Grind band of the evening. With a sound close to bands like Soulfly, Machine Head and a bit of metalcore/NWOAHM they were really energetic and did a great show, even though it was a sudden change from the brutality of the previous and upcoming bands. I sincerely believe that not everybody was expecting that kind of band to be in that billing in terms of music style. It was a really good break from the brutal assault of the rest, truth be told, every one of us enjoyed them and gave them the applause they deserved.
Coming up next we had a more modern Death metal band called Alterself, somewhere in the style of early Death, Incantation but without a good sound to support their material. It’s a pity since they seemed like a good case of a band. Great soloing from what I could tell, and brought the first pits into the show as well. A touching moment when they dedicated a new song to the grandfather of the one guitar player who passed away about a week ago.
Stuff got serious with Necrorgasm, playing a style of Brutal Death metal in the vein of masters Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation with gore lyrics and lots of crazy mood from an amazingly passionate frontman and solid guitar sound. We need more guys like him in the scene in general. Whipped the crowd into a frenzy and the first serious circle pits occured. Another band that came from the North of Greece, showing the guts to rip the stage apart. My respects guys.
Things got out of hand with the Grind assault of Slavebreed. The crowd was familiar with their material and moshed along as hard as possible turning this small space into a circle of hell (in the words of Thrashers Exodus!). One of the best live bands of the event, ripping it out even for people who weren’t familiar with their material. Showing enormous amounts of energy, we wish them the best and hope to see them again. They’ve been a pleasure to watch
Up next the well-known in the Greek Death metal underground Mass Infection came to show their own brand of Death metal inspired by American legends like Deicide, Cryptopsy and Morbid Angel. They played stuff from both of their records “Atonement Of Iniquity” and “The Age Of Recreation” and we hope they have more of that in store. Some great vocals that would make Glen Benton proud. Those guys left me speechless with their solid execution of songs and overall material. Well done.
Finally, the grinding folks from Salonica Head Cleaner. With strong political lyrics about believing in one’s self and being against any form of oppression, they brought chaos into the pit with the heads in the crowd going like a pop corn machine. They played material from “Of Worms And Men” as well as from “Resistance, Determination And The Sheer Will To Overcome“. They even dedicated a song to the late Hip Hop artist Paul Fyssas who was killed by members of the Nazi party (“Too bad he’s not here with us” the actual frontmans words) some months ago called “The Blood On Your Hands” which was the most sentimental moment of the whole show. The band ended their show
in a round of high fives and applause.
Each and every band thanked everybody from Metalpaths and 7Sins club for putting this event up and giving the opportunity to young and promising bands to show what they’ve got. This is the way we’ve always done it, supporting younger bands who want to take things a step further and become known to a bigger audience. Support the underground and wish every band well.
Report: John Savvidis