A devastating thrash attack is lined up to ignite the capital's thrash metal legions with Teutonic titans Destruction and American attackers Flotsam & Jetsam live in London. The outside of Camden's Underworld is densely populated with smokers and street drinkers in wait for these '80s thrash metallers. Both bands should be commended for avoiding the misfortune of splitting up when the thrash scene grew tough as a plethora of big name acts did, only to reform recently when the genre found itself in vogue again.
This year saw Flotsam & Jetsam release their twelfth full-length, a self-titled effort, and tonight they waste no time opening their set with new song 'Seventh Seal'. This successfully whets the audience's appetite but revisiting their '80s heyday with 'Dreams of Death' truly gets fists pumping and heads banging among the attendees. Eric A.K.'s vocals are well-preserved and the riffs of Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley still have teeth. 'Hammerhead' from the band's 1986 debut 'Doomsday for the Deceiver' is one of the best songs they have penned and evokes an even more intense response. The venue's sound is not fair to the band but this does not appear to sour fans' enjoyment. It is hard for any thrasher to resist razor-sharp riffing coupled with the youthful exuberance of the five-piece on stage.
'Flotsam & Jetsam' receives solid representation in the form of 'Monkey Wrench', 'Life's a Mess' and 'Iron Maiden', a display of modern thrash metal intersected by heavy metal melodies. The remainder of the evening draws songs from the first two albums with 'Desecrator' and 'Hard on You' being two highlights of the set. The venue is absolutely rammed, making a clear view point tricky to obtain but by the time the Americans conclude their set with 'No Place for Disgrace', the venue still remains bunged up, contrary to what support acts usually get - a sizeable portion of the spectators having seen enough to pique their curiosity way before the end and would rather head out for a smoke, beer or conversation. Flotsam & Jetsam deserve all the respect they garner.
The audience explodes as German thrash icons Destruction grace London with their presence yet again, opening fire with the title track from this year's 'Under Attack', an assault of blistering cotemporary thrash that quickly instigates mosh pits. The follow up track is live staple 'Curse the Gods', securing a hail of approving roars. As is customary with Destruction live shows these days, the guitar tone has been modernised and as a result, the sinister nature of the riffs has been depleted but the thrash anthems certainly remain entertaining. The usual fan favourites are blasted out including the punishing 'Nailed to the Cross', the relentless 'Mad Butcher' and the feral 'Life Without Sense' but less common material appears too, such as 'Infernal Overkill' selections 'Thrash Attack' and 'Black Death'. New tracks 'Second to None', 'Pathogenic' and 'Dethroned' comparatively seem to lack the edge of this earlier material but the fans still headbang and mosh throughout.
With a microphone cleverly at either end of the stage, the trio have more freedom to move around on stage with frontman Schmier not being restricted with his bass and vocal duties. The Germans certainly appear to take pride in shooting out such striking thrash. The frolicking 'The Butcher Strikes Back' appears to close the set but the audience refuses to budge, chanting the band's name until they pull out an encore. Of course they do with the punctuating 'Thrash 'til Death' followed by the dirty 'Bestial Invasion', summoning one final mosh pit before concluding their set.
Thrash metal is one of the most aggressive forms of metal in the live environment and it is heartening to see the original '80s bands still tirelessly going at it with satisfying age-defying results. Destruction play the UK with regularity nowadays yet they can still manage to cram the Underworld. This is hardcore evidence that their appeal shows no sign of waning and for excellent reason.
FUTURE GIGS
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