Belfast’s Strangle Wire open the night with killer riffs, intense double bass, and animated facial expressions amidst brutal vocals from frontman Pete Clarke. “This isn’t the heaviest song in the world, but it’s fucking close enough” Clarke jokes, with the band delivering performances from releases The Dark Triad and Shaped By Human Frailty. Fresh from their successful US tour, Strangle Wire are a steadfast Death Metal band that are brimming with quality, be it live or on album. A band that needs your attention.
Not too far away from the their supporters, Lisburn’s The Crawling present a quickly growing venue audience with their eclectic blend of doom, death, and at times groove metal – with one audience member amusedly confusing the beginning of The Right To Crawl for a very down tempo cover of Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics.
Having conquered a number of festivals across the UK and Europe, The Crawling are destined for big things. No doubt, there will be news of new music, and more live shows to be announced in the near future. Watch this space…
The Crawling – Down The Barrel Photography.
www.overdrive.ie © 2023
A giant backdrop displaying a rainbow glitched-out error screen with ‘CARCASS TV‘ prepares the audience for the band entrance, opening with The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue – and the ground floor crowd waste absolutely no time delving straight into a rough but friendly mosh pit.
Having supported Arch Enemy and Behemoth in the 3Olympia only six months ago, as well as being on a hiatus for 11 years, there was much opportunity for the band to have perhaps slipped under the radar for a younger generation back in the late 90’s, and early 00’s.
Carcass – Down The Barrel Photography.
www.overdrive.ie © 2023
This tour cycle promotes their 2021 release, Torn Arteries, (which also became victim to not getting a scheduled release date or fresh tour run due to the Great Worldwide Grounding of 2020-2022), but the 19 song setlist makes sure to keep older, and dedicated fans entertained by touching back as far as 1988’s Reek of Putrefaction to perform Genital Grinder and Exhume to Consume from 1989’s Symphonies of Sickness.
Notorious for his sarcastic comments, bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker breaks the lack of banter with the crowd by proclaiming that Carcass had not set foot in Ireland since, “what was it.. 2013? 2014?” to a dichotomy of laughter and confusion (note: the band were here in September 2022 – Walker just like to rip the piss).
The introduction to Black Star perks the crowd up, but the group take a surprising turns by cutting the song short and ploughing into Keep On Rotting in the Free World, accompanied by an impressive spotlighted solo from drummer Daniel Wilding (ex-Aborted, ex-Trigger The Bloodshed) before the crowd once again erupt into a floor sized mosh pit. “Who wants a bass solo?”, Walker asks an excited crowd, before he hilariously disregards the statement, and instead opts to continue on with the setlist as planned.
Carcass – Down The Barrel Photography.
www.overdrive.ie © 2023
A familiar audio sample stating “”Identifying the bodies which are decomposed, dismembered, skeletonised...” rings out over the speakers and gear the audience up for fan favourite Corporal Jigsore Quandary which keeps security on their feet as the crowd turn chaotic with the biggest pit, and movement of the night.
Major kudos must go to the engineer for delivering an absolutely crystal clear sound to the 850 strong crowd for the nights show, highlighted with Carcass‘ simple but apt backdrop; a giant heart-shaped ribcage overlapped with flashing images of surgical tools.
Wrapping up with a live blend of Ruptured in Purulence, Heartwork, and Carneous Cacoffiny, the band take a moment off stage before returning for encores Mount of Execution and Tools of the Trade.
As always, Carcass leave the venue begging for more and smiling from ear-to-ear. Let’s hope that we don’t have to wait a long as we did for another headline run of dates. Fantastic stuff indeed.
Carcass – Down The Barrel Photography
www.overdrive.ie ©2023
Nora Kivlehan
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