Morbid Angel + The Amenta + Ouroboros

The Manning Bar, Sydney

28 May 2011

Review by Gary Grim

There was a lengthy queue of metalheads waiting for the doors to open at the Manning Bar, all eager to witness death metal legends MORBID ANGEL. Not only that but there was a killer couple of local Sydney supports, namely tech-death band OUROBOROS and the maniacs from THE AMENTA. It has been a couple of years since the MORBID boys have graced our shores and there is talk within the crowd about whether we were going to hear any new tracks and whether Tim Yeung (ex-HATE ETERNAL) has the chops to cover for original MORBID ANGEL drummer Pete Sandoval who is in recovery from a recent back surgery. Only time would tell.

Upon entering the venue it wasn’t long before Sydney’s own OUROBOROS took to the stage. They launched straight into their set with a serious and stoic demeanour. The crowd was still slowly filtering in from the entrance and the band drew a small but appreciative audience to the front of the stage, all nodding along in time with the group’s technical death metal. Throughout their set, most of the band members didn’t really do much at all except play their instruments. It seemed like a lot of concentration was going into pulling off these rather technical songs. The singer, Evgeny Linnik, put on a bit of a show at the front of the stage with some furious windmills and some beckoning to the crowd to come up to the stage. When he was barking his vocals into the microphone, he stood with feet firmly apart, gripping the mic as if he was trying to strangle it with one hand. All of his moves were straight out of the George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher book of performance techniques. That said, he pulled it off extremely well, almost to the point where you could have sworn you were watching the CANNIBAL CORPSE frontman himself.

The other thing that caught my eye was lead guitarist, Chris Jones. His hair was slicked back, he was clad all in black with a shiny inverted cross hanging around his neck. While the other members of the band seemed to be concentrating quite hard on what they were playing, Jones seemingly effortlessly performed some immaculate solos without even breaking a sweat. This, however, was not the only immaculate quality of the band. For all that they lacked in stage presence they made up for it with a tight, practically flawless sound. Their songs were beautifully crafted pieces of death metal that put me in mind of bands such as DECAPITATED, NECROPHAGIST and VADER. Not being overly familiar with their songs, it was difficult to tell exactly what they played as each song was introduced with an indecipherable death metal growl but their performance displayed some astounding musicianship and when the band finished their set there was a grateful cheer and a barrage of horns pointed towards the stage from the growing crowd of early-comers in the audience.

Once OUROBOROS had left the stage, some of the members from THE AMENTA appeared already in their usual dishevelled, black and grey makeup to set up their gear. Now, I have to admit I love this band. They are easily one of my favourite Australian metal bands and I was just as eager to see these guys as I was MORBID ANGEL. It seemed as though I was not the only one keen to see them perform because they were greeted by an almost full venue with much enthusiasm. The band started their set facing away from the crowd and the singer, Cain Cressall, emerged onto the stage holding the mic stand aloft and giving the crowd a wide eyed, maniacal, almost anguished grin. The pit exploded as THE AMENTA played their unrelenting brand of industrial black metal grime. Throughout the set Timothy Pope, the guy who plays all their samples, would angrily yell abuse at the crowd, spit on them, and just generally freak people the hell out. Same goes for Cressall who looked like some kind of demented demon zombie from the depths of your worst nightmares. His eyes were often wide with a gaze that cut through the audience like a heated machete and was intensified by the white contact lenses he wears on stage. His performance was frightening but captivating as he writhed around the stage spewing fantastically disenchanting de-motivational  lyrics such as “YOU ARE VERMIN!” At one point between songs he even stated “I don’t know if they told you this before you came in here but anyone suffering from epilepsy or pregnancy please remove yourself from our set” as the band launched into Sekem in an explosion of strobe lights and aural devastation. The whole performance was amazing, the entire band evoked chaos from the mosh pit with a set list consisting of such tracks as Junky, Vermin and Nihil to name just a couple of the standouts. Although sometimes the sound seemed a little muddy from the sheer bombardment of noise being produced by the band, this minor quibble detracted from the intensity of the set not one iota. THE AMENTA is truly a band that needs to be seen to be believed and this performance cemented them in my mind as one of the Australian metal scenes greatest assets.

The curtains closed on the stage at the end of THE AMENTA’s ferocious performance as the crew started to set up for the arrival of Florida’s MORBID ANGEL. After some mic checking, drum bashing and guitar fiddling all set to the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, the curtains opened again to reveal a darkened stage. Trey Azagthoth poked his head out from the side of the stage that produced a mighty roar from the crowd. This reaction was met with a grin beaming through Azagthoth’s huge mass of hair and he threw up his horns to the audience before disappearing back to the side of the stage. After a few more moments, the entire band enters: Tim Yeung on drums, Thor Anders Myhren (Zyklon) on guitar then of course Trey Azgthoth on lead guitar and the burly David Vincent on bass and vocals. To say the crowd went apes hit is an understatement and this reaction seemed to certainly please Vincent who was smiling from ear to ear. The band lurched into Immortal Rites and the whole venue erupted, surging and writhing like the damned in Hell. It has been a long time since I have seen such an energetic reaction from a Sydney audience and the band was obviously feeding off of this energy as they played the song with vehemence and precision. The band stormed through Fall From Grace as the mosh pit was just a blur of metalheads practically beating the crap out of each other and loving it. Vincent greeted the crowd between songs and after they played Rapture he stated “Man, you guys have got some energy!” By now, any doubts anyone had about Yeung’s ability to fill Sandoval’s shoes had totally evaporated. It was almost like he was toying with the drum kit, effortlessly playing these technical and amazing songs. Myhren nodded along to each songs and was an intimidating presence on the stage but didn’t really do much else but play. Azagthoth, as usual, hid his face behind his bushy curls while he shredded his guitar strings playing those riffs and solos that made this band so famous and reminded everyone why he is often cited as one of the best guitarists in metal. As for Vincent, he seemed like a man quite pleased with himself as he slapped away at his bass, connecting with audience members using eye contact and happy nods. At one point he pointed to one guy in the crowd and then pointed to the mosh pit as if to say, “get in there!” His voice was booming and rich, his growls were intense. The band was an amazing spectacle to behold. The crowd was filled with excited smiles, shouted lyrics, people throwing their arms to the sky as if they were having some kind of unholy revelation. It seemed as though there was not one person in the whole place that was having a bad time.

A few more songs in (and after an appearance of some random girl who got up from the audience and wandered around the stage in the middle of Maze of Torment much to the amusement and bewilderment of the band) Vincent announced that he wanted to address a rumour that was going around about MORBID ANGEL. “The rumour is,” he said, “that we have a new record out now. This is not true....But it will be in about ten fuckin’ days!” The guys then showed us two new tracks that have been making their rounds on the Internet, Existo Vulgore and Nevermore. The new tracks got mixed reactions from all in attendance but I for one was excited to hear them and after seeing them performed live, I am even more eager to hear the rest of the album. The band continued on in their irreverent fashion playing songs such as Angel of Disease and Chapel of Ghouls during which Azagthoth played an amazing solo producing sounds which I have never heard emitted from a guitar like low groans, high pitched squeals, hammering notes and disjointed melodies. Trey seemed truly lost in a soundscape of his own creation. Nonetheless it seemed as though the punters in the pit were starting to lose their steam having worn themselves out the the chaos incited by these brutal songs. The band leaves the stage and slowly a chant of “MORBID! MORBID! MORBID!” rises from the crowd and the group comes back, opening their encore with Dawn of the Angry. The moshers still seem sluggish but explode with a new found energy when the band starts Where the Slime Live. A few more songs including the classic God of Emptiness and the band thank everyone before departing from the stage.

Overall, it was a great night with each band bringing a powerful performance to the Manning Bar. MORBID ANGEL proved that they are a force to be reckoned with, showing the Sydney crowd why they have lasted so long in the death metal scene. I went away satiated, energised and excited to hear what the band have in store for us with their new album Illud Divinum Insanus.

Morbid Angel

http://www.morbidangel.com/

The Amenta

http://www.theamenta.com/

Ouroboros

http://www.reverbnation.com/ouroborosmetal