Saturday 29 November 2014

Live Review: Revocation/Cannibal Corpse. Kentish Town Forum, London. 31.10.14


The Kentish Town Forum played host to three heavy hitters in death metal on Halloween. Fully expecting hundreds of bloodied up zombies and people in costume, I was slightly disappointed to see that the only person who really made the effort was a young lad dressed as a giant penis. I also unfortunately missed Aeon, who I was assured absolutely slayed it.

The first band I caught was the mighty Revocation. Lead by the ever talented man with a name like a comic book character, Dave Davidson, they played their punishing technical death metal with speed and precision. Together they make a mighty team, brimming with energy and radiating charisma, they showed the Forum what it meant to be a death metal band on top of your game. After a heavy touring schedule, they had not stepped down their game or showed any signs of tiredness, they are obviously well versed in their craft and such dedication really paid off with their cracking performance. The only gleaming problem was the extremely muddy sound; however this was easily ignored by tuning out and concentrating on what was being played, as opposed to the pandemonium of fans. Happily they told the crowd that we were the best they’ve ever played too, but in the same way a Lothario might say to the girl he wants to bang, I’m sure that was just flattery.

Next up were old school titans Cannibal Corpse. Anyone who has caught these fellas before, know of the savagery and spot on performance they give. George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher was of course hilarious, threatening to murder the whole crowd unless they made a bigger circle pit. They played a great mix of fan favourites and really old school stuff, with a smattering of tunes from the new album thrown in for good measure. Songs like ‘I Cum Blood’ and ‘Fucked with a Knife’ really got the crowd going. From my vantage point by the mixing desk I was 100% certain I was in no way going to join the absolute madness of sweating bodies swirling in a wall to wall circle pit. The Cannibal Corpse fans are a great bunch, so much energy and enthusiasm. The band must love it; it’s a merit to their long years of hard work.

The new songs they played were stellar too. The lead single ‘Kill or Become’ from the new album is sure to become a regular in their set, it marries perfect technicality and fast pacing.  Overall there was no comparison between the two bands. I’m pretty certain that Revocation will get to that point though, especially in England, where they could headline a venue like the Kentish Town Forum supported by the next generation of technical death metal bands, they certainly drew the crowd for it considering they weren’t headlining! Thanks for reading Y’all!


Words by: Asher G. Alexander