Live @ Battlefield, Trutnov, Czech Republic
July 18, 2014
Krüger, worth getting up for. But the treat of Friday morning was Deaf Kids from Brazil. Haunting, hanging screams over noise. Stood apart from the rest of the bands for certain, I must see them in a more intimate setting. Too heavy and atmospheric to be digested in a 25 minute set before noon on a weekday. What a ridiculous festival.
Nazareno El Violento were heavily anticipated, and like everything I was looking forward to failed to disappoint. Hard as fuck, should have bought a shirt as they seemed to have some of the best designs not involving shit, vomit, extreme gore or genitals. Nothing wrong with that but there are only so many places you can were a Jig-Ai top if you don't want to spend the entire evening talking about your shirt.
Nazareno El Violento were heavily anticipated, and like everything I was looking forward to failed to disappoint. Hard as fuck, should have bought a shirt as they seemed to have some of the best designs not involving shit, vomit, extreme gore or genitals. Nothing wrong with that but there are only so many places you can were a Jig-Ai top if you don't want to spend the entire evening talking about your shirt.
Besta, wow! Something about the Spanish/Portuguese languages, from Europe to Central and South America, just make them the most perfectly suited for d-beat and crust. I don't even know if they sing in English or not but damned if I haven't developed a positive stereotype for d-bands from these regions. Add Nazareno and Besta to the list.
Warcollapse remind me that Sweden isn't far behind when it comes to this sort of d-thing. Between these guys, Massgrav, Skitsystem, it's like a warm hug from an old friend every time.
Vitamin X had insane energy. Absurdly animated frontman who refused to stop jumping. The bands at this festival have a knack for sounding exactly like their names, maybe it's the genrefication and generification of heavy music, or maybe it's just by confirmation bias talking. Daresay the most energetic punk act of the weekend, rivaled only by Italian hardcore night.
Warcollapse remind me that Sweden isn't far behind when it comes to this sort of d-thing. Between these guys, Massgrav, Skitsystem, it's like a warm hug from an old friend every time.
Vitamin X had insane energy. Absurdly animated frontman who refused to stop jumping. The bands at this festival have a knack for sounding exactly like their names, maybe it's the genrefication and generification of heavy music, or maybe it's just by confirmation bias talking. Daresay the most energetic punk act of the weekend, rivaled only by Italian hardcore night.
Nunslaughter - the most blasphemous band I've seen in a while, hilarious banter from the drummer, great energy, a perfect band for OEF. They have thousands of songs and played almost half of them. I will forever associate the inverted cross drumstick salute with this band. Good luck finding a band that hates Christians more than these guys.
Cattle Decapitation were sorely missed. Wehrmacht did basically the same set two nights in a row, even closing with the same Iron Maiden cover and everybody-up-on-stage routine both times. A little heavier on the Cryptic Slaughter on night two. It seems like way too many farewells this weekend, in this case from a band I've barely met. Will have to explore both these acts on record in the near future.
Brutal Truth were also saying goodbye. Nothing too specific or profound in the farewell address, but you know when a band that's been in the game is stopping for speeches and each member is snapping their own cellphone photos that it's a special night. This was perhaps the headliner of the weekend based on crowd energy and I find it hard to disagree with them. Lucky to see this final European show, and at a club gig once before. Dynamically different experiences between the stage diving, moshing insanity here and the (comparatively) downright sombre atmosphere at the Zoo years ago surrounded by arms-crossed headbangers. There you can digest every note of the music, here much of it is lost in the swirling chaos that is Obscene Extreme. But you wouldn't want it any other way.
Possessed, this far removed from "their" heyday could hardly have been better. There is some sneaking feeling that what you're seeing isn't quite the original thing. But that's what happens with so many of these long-neglected cult projects. You could hardly expect Larry Lalonde to take a break from Primus and show his face. That was a long time ago. Possessed 2014? Still worth it. For being so influential you don't hear them covered all that much, especially live. And Jeff Becerra still brings the black metal magic.
Eyehategod rounded out "USA night." A bit of a sonic anomaly in this setting, but thematically they fit right in.
