Page 118 - Metal Hammer Issue 334 - UK (May 2020)

LIVE REVIEWS
Batushka: the less
ceremonial version…
BATUSHKA
MALEVOLENT CREATION/KNOKHRA
THE DOME, LONDON
Schism-riven black metallers refuse to stand on ceremony
KICKING OFF A stellar showcase
of extreme metal is no easy feat, but
groovy Danish death dealers KNOKHRA
zdup#xs#Wkh#Grph#wr#d#vwlľlqj#ghjuhh1#
Helping to shape the iconic Florida
sound, MALEVOLENT CREATION’s
technically accomplished and
relentless old-school death metal is
dq#lqvwdqw#furzg0sohdvhu1#Wkh|#udslgo|#
Ľuh#wkurxjk#d#vhwolvw#vzduplqj#zlwk#
classics, including mid-show tribute
to founding vocalist, the late Brett
Krļpdqq/#+Bloodbrothers) and
culminating in the band’s namesake
track taken from their landmark 1991
debut, The Ten Commandments1
After such a heavy dose of savagery,
lwġoo#eh#kdug#wr#wrs#lq#vkhhu#ihurflw|1#Lwġv# on the ceremonial aspects of the live
lucky then, that we’re thrown a stylistic
curveball in the choice of headliners
BATUSHKA – or at least one version
wkhuhri1#Wkh#kljko|#dwprvskhulf#
Eastern Orthodox Church-inspired
black metallers are a far cry from the
visceral aggression of the previous
dfwv1#Nu}|v}wri#Gudelnrzvnl#dqg#klv#
procession of unholy men enter amidst
the ambience of The Orthodox Singers’
We Bow Down Before Your Cross, lighting
the stage with candles and incense
before congregating around a casket
plplfnlqj#d#ixqhudo#fhuhprq|1#Wkh#
ureh0dgruqhg#Ľjxuhv#Ğ#rqh#fodvslqj#
a sacrilegious liturgy, two others
wielding eight-string guitars – deliver
wkh#Ľuvw#frppdqgphqw#lq#wkh#irup#
of Pesn’ 11#Wkuhh#wudfnv#lq#dqg#lwġv#fohdu#
that we’re being escorted through the
dank cavernous passages of 2019’s
Panihida1#Iroorzlqj#wkh#uhohdvh#ri#
Batushka’s much-celebrated debut,
Litourgiya, there has been a legal battle
between guitarist and songwriter
Drabikowski and his former bandmate,
yrfdolvw#Eduwôrplhm#Nu|vlxn1#Zkloh#
Nu|vlxnġv#Edwxvknd#irfxvhv#khdylo|#
show, taking breaks mid-set to
perform various rites, Drabikowski’s
vkrzv#qhhg#qr#vxfk#dgghg#fhuhprq|1#
Choosing to conclude with Litourgiya’s
opening track, Yekteniya 1, is a surprising
– given the current legal situation with
Nu|vlxn#Ğ#|hw#zhofrphg#Ľqdoh#wr#wklv#
unwavering assault of one of the most
transcendental black metal acts of the
odvw#ghfdgh1
ALICE PATTILLO
EMPLOYED TO SERVE
PALM READER
MAMA ROUX’S, BIRMINGHAM
Such is the mesmerising intensity of
Nottingham’s PALM READER that not
even a diminished early crowd can
h{wlqjxlvk#wkhlu#kdugfruh#Ľuh1#Wkh|#eduho|#
pause for breath, switching between
crushing blasts of nerve-shredding guitars
and emotive ambience; Coalesce’s epic
sprawl commands your full undivided
dwwhqwlrq1#Zlwk#iuhq}lhg#ehoorzv#ri#ģOhwġv#
ixfnlqj#kdyh#lw$Ĥ#hfkrlqj/#wkh#ex}}#lv#
palpable when EMPLOYED TO SERVE take
wkh#vwdjh1#Lwġv#xqghuvwdqgdeoh#zkhq#wkhlu#
recorded output to date has been so potent,
with their current release, Eternal Forward
Motion, serving as a nihilistic call-to-arms
iru#d#glvjuxqwohg#jhqhudwlrq1#Ghfnhg#rxw#
lq#pdwfklqj#jdue/#wkh#Zrnlqj#txlqwhw#duh#
akin to modern-day street soldiers and
tonight’s set strikes a balance between
xqeulgohg#fkdrv#dqg#fdwfklqhvv1#Dissonant
cuts like Dull Ache Behind My Eyes and Harsh
Truth twist and groove amidst bone-
shattering breakdowns and ultra-pissed
fkruxvhv1#Mxvwlqh#Mrqhv#sxvkhv#khu#
banshee shriek to new levels of scathing
intensity, while the ‘Owed nothing take
Owed Zero has the room spin-kicking and
everything!’ mosh call of caustic anthem
udlvlqj#Ľvwv1#Ixqqhoolqj#dqjvw#dqg#kdwuhg#
into 60 minutes of catharsis, you can
almost taste the vitriol pouring out of this
edqg#Ğ#dqg#Eluplqjkdp#oryhv#lw1#
SOPHIE MAUGHAN
VADER
DEFILED
UNDERWORLD, CAMDEN
Lwġoo#wdnh#pruh#wkdq#d#joredo#sdqghplf#wr#
ghwhu#wkh#pdvvhv#iurp#Ľoolqj#rxw#wkh#
Xqghuzruog1#Lqghhg/#lwġv#hqrxjk#wr#zdup#
the blackest hearts to see bodies clattering
about for tonight’s support, especially
vlqfh#wkh|#fdph#doo#wkh#zd|#iurp#Mdsdq1#
There’s nothing adventurous about the
straight-ahead death metal bludgeoning
DEFILED#so|/#exw#wkh#iuhq}lhg#fodwwhu#
jrhv#wr#vkrz#vrphwlphv#|rx#mxvw#qhhg#d#
kdpphu#wr#qdlo#surshuo|1#VADER kick into
ryhugulyh#iurp#wkh#rļ/#eduho|#nhhslqj#
things on the rails in a way that is utterly
thrilling to behold; the live stream will do
little to communicate the teeth-rattling
lqfhvvdqfh#ri#Mdphv#Vwhzduwġv#guxpplqj/#
ru#wkh#vzhdw#wkdw#ľlhv#gxulqj#Black To The
Blind and The Grand Deceiver1#Ydghu#juls#wkh#
room like a vice, new tune Shock And Awe
indicating staunch underground pride,
doubling down on their frenetic tendencies
wr#vkxq#wkh#pdlqvwuhdpġv#loo0Ľwwlqj#
vsrwoljkw1#Wkdw#grhvqġw#vwrs#vrph#duhqd0
vl}hg#judqghxu#fuhhslqj#lq#gxulqj#wkhlu#
closing covers of Steeler and Raining Blood
plqg/#d#vhlvplf#vkrz#ri#irufh#ehĽwwlqj#
their decade-spanning, world-traversing DEREK BREMNER
fduhhu1#Zkdw#d#edqg/#zkdw#d#ohjdf|1
RICH HOBSON