Live Review: Distant - Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
23rd May 2023
Support: Abbie Falls, Dagger Threat, The Extortionist
Words: Liam True
The merch stand is twenty people deep. The PA is playing music at a background level and people are watching the stage. ‘Can we kill the lights please?’ ask’s Abbie Falls vocalist Tomas Klar from behind the corner.
As the venue goes dark we get a flurry of drum and bass from the speakers as the lights flash in unison. The band make their way to the stage dabbing on their way out and taking their places the drum and bass stops. Then you hear ‘Semi-Automatic, Brap Brap Brap’ and a huge twist of more D'N'B with grime vocals over the top. The crowds eating this up and loving it and the band haven’t even played a single note. And when Klar takes the stage he’s all smiles before the band plow into Absolution with fury as lights flash and bodies are hurled about the floor. Before tonight I had barely head Abbie Falls and don’t know any of the songs apart from the ones that Klar announces. But Parasite goes down an absolute treat with the band demanding a circle pit with guitarist Adam Karasek getting into the thick of it before hopping back on stage with fellow guitar beatdown beasts Lukas Dekanovsky & Pitrs Gregovsky as the breakdowns continue.
With Petr Michovsky behind the kit who sets the pace and has machine gun legs with his double kick assault the band lay waste to Clwb Ifor Bach in just 10 songs. And before the band leave the stage, they take a picture with the crowd and just as fast as they played their unrelenting riffs and breakdowns, they’re gone. And I hope they return at some point because they were unmatched.
On a line-up of metal/deathcore bands, a hardcore band really isn’t a stand out as it’s normal to get the two genres touring together. Tonight, is Dagger Threat’s first time in Wales and they bring their A-game. With a dizzying thirty-minute set chock full of hardcore beatdowns, flailing limbs in the pit and more riffs than I can even count, they show why they should be on the bill and should tour more often. Frontman Tim Rogler prowls the stage between his harsh vocal deliveries as guitarists Dennis Vogt & Nicholas Hoff picking away at their guitars as the heavy bass of Fynn Diedrichsen blasts through the band at bursts giving the band a meaty edge. And with drummer Sascha Meier in tow destroying his kit in the process of beating the crowd to a pulp, Dagger threat have shown that they can command and conquer even as a supporting act.
Hailing from Idaho and having toured for many years, it’s surprising that The Extortionist have never come to Wales in their time. But now’s the time for both the crowd and band to show what each other has. The crowd has energy, Soul and the desire to form a circle pit not a minute in to the bands set. Extortionist however have pure fuelled deathcore aggression with Ben Hoagland’s vile vocal ability to squeal like a pig and then growl like the demon he is as he prowls the stage like a caged lion. Guitarist Jarad Suku stand in his spot swaying and diving to the breakdowns and even using his guitar as a sniper scope to target the crowd before another deathcore blow with fellow guitarist Clayton Blue on the other side of the stage. But it feels like he’s being a bit over shadowed by bassist Kip Treeman, but then again Clwb Ifor Bach has a tiny stage so the issue can’t be helped. Throughout their set they blend their deathcore down tempo strokes with hardcore beatdowns from drummer Dominic Guggino in a way that has the crowd riled up and cause havoc in the pit. Again, I’ve not heard of nor listened to Extortionist before tonight but I know that I’ve been missing out completely and they’ve gained a new fan three songs into their set. Mind blowingley brutal.
Distant are a band I’ve followed since they dropped Dawn Of Corruption back in 2020 and now they finally touring a place where extensive travel isn’t needed to get to. That’s quite rare as well. But since they dropped that fateful EP and exposed myself to the world of Tyrannotophia, the lore behind the band's albums and EP’s I’ve been waiting patiently for a tour and they’ve provided.
Starting the set off with Acid Rain as the atmospheric opener the band stand with their backs to the crowd as the crowd is almost as loud as the noise rumbling from the speakers. Then they burst into Paradigm Shift as the band explode with each other. Drummer Jan Mato sounds sublime behind the kit as guitarist Nouri Yetgin furiously keeps up with Yetgin’s kicks with his strings as bassist Elmer Maurits does the same with his 6-string bass that packs a powerful meaty punch to the crowd. And the voice of the evening on the riser overlooking the crowd is Alan Grnja. The demonic force that melts Cardiff’s faces.
Born Of Blood incites a riot that only a circle pit could quell. As Grnja introduces Exofilth the crowd loses it again forming yet another circle pit that leads into a mosh pit with limbs flailing everywhere. The band are feeding of this energy and are giving a blinding performance. The production is beautiful with the venue flashing like a thunderstorm as the band rages through my personal favourite songs, the earth shattering Hellmouth and force of nature that is Orphan Of Blight. Heritage see’s Grnja demand a wall of death, and the crowd give him what he wants and chaos ensues.
While their song is only eleven songs and ends with Aeons Of Oblivion & False Gods closing the show out, Distant have shown why they’re one of, if not the essential deathcore band around at this moment in time. Their heaviness combined with the lore behind each output they have is enough to garner attention. But the show they put on is immense. And as the band take a photo and leave the stage, we’re left stunned at what we saw. Simply put, if you’re a fan of deathcore or the more extreme variety of metal. You need to see and listen to this band sharpish. Vile. Evil. And brilliantly tight as a cohesive band.
Header image credit: Tim Finch Photography
