Live Review: Decapitated - The Fleece, Bristol
29th November 2023
Support: Obscura, Inferi & The Materia
Words: Richard Oliver
Photos: Julian Tanner
The opening night of a tour can be daunting for everyone involved due to many factors be it the readjustment to touring life, shaking off the cobwebs after having not performed on stage for a while to fine tuning the technical and logistical aspects The combined forces of Decapitated, Obscura, Inferi and The Materia are embarking on a lengthy UK tour and the opening show was in Bristol at the excellent Fleece venue. Although the night was pulled off, things definitely did not go smoothly…
The venue was meant to open at 18:30 with opening band The Materia hitting the stage at 18:45. The doors to the venue were finally opened at 19:00 with the band ready to perform at 19:15. What caused this delay is unknown whether it was a logistical issue or a miscommunication but everyone was glad to finally get in the venue after a long stand in the freezing conditions outside.
The Materia were a band I had never heard of before this evening and they provided an interesting mix of genres on stage from groove metal to metalcore to djent. In their short set they showcased a variation of sounds from groove laden and chuggy to the technical and the progressive. Each song sounded different from the one before it, ensuring that the band's set sounded fresh and interesting from start to finish with the band getting some moshpit action towards the end of their set. It was only a short six song set but it was a fine start to the evening and demonstrated the skill that these guys from Poland have.
Next up were Tennessee technical death metal band Inferi who had a far more difficult time of it this evening. It was clear when the band were setting up and soundchecking that things were going wrong. The Inferi guys looked clearly flustered and frustrated during a lengthy set up but when they were finally ready and able to play, they channelled their frustrations into a furious performance. Unfortunately from where I was standing in the venue, I could not really hear the fruits of their anger as the band suffered from an absolutely appalling sound mix. The vocals from frontman Stevie Boiser were barely audible at times whilst the intricate guitar work was lost in a wall of muddiness.
Their bass player was absent from the show so the bass was a pre-recorded backing track but this could either be not heard at all or the only thing you could hear. The only thing that came through with perfect clarity was the drumming from Spencer Moore who is an insane drummer and battered his kit like it had offended him personally. It was hard not to feel sorry for Inferi as the technical issues worked badly against them but this is the way it goes sometimes. It was a real shame as Inferi were a band that were hyped up to me by multiple people. I would love the chance to see Inferi live again and at full power.
In the main support slot were German technical and progressive death metallers Obscura. Obscura are no strangers to Bristol having headlined their own show at The Exchange last September and they were clearly happy to be back. The technical issues and sound problems were still prevalent for the band but they dealt with it admirably and although the sound wasn’t perfect it was a marked improvement than what Inferi had to deal with.
A short but very sweet set of technical, melodic and progressive death metal is what Obscura delivered with stunning precision and terrifying fury with the devastating drumming of Gabe Seeber hitting hard, the fretless bass playing of Alex Weber being suitably impressive and of course the dual guitar attack of Christian Münzner and Steffen Kummerer having jaws dropped and any guitarists in the crowd watching with awe and envy.
The band were also hit with some technical issues such as when the laptop with the backing tracks failing to come to life at the start of ‘Akróasis’. Cue several band members standing around a laptop screen looking frustrated and concerned. It did not affect the audiences enjoyment though as the cheers were loud and the applause delivered in plentiful amounts especially during the bands classic ‘The Anticosmic Overload’ which had people banging their heads and diving around. Despite setbacks Obscura proved themselves and reminded us that they one of the best acts in technical death metal.
Headlining the night were Polish death metal extraordinaires Decapitated. This tour is a bit of a special one celebrating the anniversary of their fantastic album “Nihility” by performing it in full from start to finish. The issues that had plagued the support acts were all eliminated by the time Decapitated hit the stage with a clear and bludgeoning sound that ensured that the power of these songs were fully felt and embraced in violent fashion by a pit hungry audience.
As promised the band performed “Nihility” in full which kicked off the show and although I have heard songs from the album performed live before, seeing the whole thing was a real treat with songs such as ‘Eternity Too Short’ and ‘Spheres Of Madness’ making sure that necks were wrecked. The band even performed their cover of the Napalm Death ‘Suffer The Children’ which was a bonus song on the special edition version of the album. After “Nihility” have rippled through the venue and the crowd, it was time for the second half of the set which mainly focused on later material from the band, especially their latest album “Cancer Culture”. These songs were just as well received and equally as ferocious as the earlier material and the moshpit did not pause for breath.
The band themselves are a well oiled death metal killing machine with the riffs from Vogg being truly ferocious and could easily be weaponized whilst the merciless vocal attack from Rasta sat comfortably with his friendly demeanour. British drummer James Stewart has been a worthy addition to the band having worked his way round many esteemed extreme metal bands and his skills behind the kit are put to incredible use in Decapitated with an astonishing performance.
Despite the show running late, Decapitated got to play their full set with the show running over but it was still a packed house by the end with very few running off to get their trains or buses. The band seemed absolutely thrilled to be back on stage at The Fleece and the audience were equally thrilled to be watching them. If the kinks that affected the support acts can be ironed out then this is a must see tour this December. Fingers crossed it was just the opening night gremlins doing their worst and the rest of the tour will go off without no issues.
Photo credits: Julian Tanner
