Satanic extreme metal is the order of the night as co-headliners Austrian black/death adherents Belphegor and classic old school American death thrashers Possessed infect the capital on their unimpressively titled Evil Over Europe tour. This transatlantic bill is a diverse showcase of differing odes to extreme metal so the variety attracts advocates from throughout the extreme metal spectrum.
American black/thrash attackers Absu spice the bill up even further. Mainman Proscriptor hammers away on the drums while simultaneously spewing out growls, effectively fronting the band from the rear of the stage. Drawing inspiration from Celtic mythology, these Americans' brand of black thrash metal sounds uniquely epic while championing the bristling ferocity the genre usually wields. Proscriptor's drumming is particularly skilful and the guitar works its way through a variety of manifestations in each track. After a few songs, he abandons his position behind the drum, replaced by live drummer Gunslut, and strides to the front of the stage as a fully dedicated frontman.
With his microphone headset leaving his hands free, Proscriptor's stage presence is nothing short of lively, embarking on unusual angular dancing as he growls his way through the likes of 'Swords and Leather', 'Highland Tyrant Attack' and 'A Shield with an Iron Face', the set possessing a notable preference for the elder end of the Texans' discography but the venue's mixing betrays the music and leaves the sound thin and flimsy. The overall audience reaction is positive although punters towards the front look bemused by Proscriptor's moves. Final song 'Stone of Destiny (...for Magh Slécht and Ard Righ)' clocks in beyond seven minute and features everything from punching rhythms, scathing tremolo picking and atmospheric meandering riffs. The recorded version includes clean Dio-esque heavy metal vocals but these are all growled tonight. After a fantastic conclusion, Absu walk off the stage while taped bagpipe instrumental 'Tara (Recapitulation)' serenades them.
The first of the headliners tonight is death metal vanguards Possessed and frontman Jeff Becerra enters the crowd's vision on his wheelchair. The band launches into the remarkable 'Pentagram' from the classic debut release 'Seven Churches' album, widely regarded as the first death metal album ever, the genre itself named after the band's 1984 demo. The opener's rhythmic pulse demands heads bang and spurts of technicality conjoin bludgeoning riffs together. Unsurprisingly a mosh pit enflames the centre of the venue, a solid recommendation of the song's fury.
Possessed insistently propel themselves forward, merciless death metal missile after missile. 'Beyond the Gates' picks up on the more thrash metal assets of 'Seven Churches' and magnifies these, using Slayer-style riffs imbued with death brutality less apparent than on the debut album. 'The Eyes of Horror' follows, more loose in its intention yet more thrash-centric; 'The Heretic' and 'Swing of the Axe' both harness indomitable spirits with typical old school death metal constructions while 'My Belief' has an otherworldly texture that channels Deicide. 'Seven Churches' may be these Californians' pinnacle and it is evident that notable portions of the spectators are awaiting choices from this release to lose their minds to but the band appear wary of overloading their set with material from the album. New song 'Abandoned' dilutes the old school set potency but this fresh creation is ripe for headbanging and bulging with Possesses death/thrash signatures. When the 'Seven Churches' tracks do explode out, it is difficult to resist their brilliance – 'Satan's Curse' pummels effectively while the album's opener 'The Exorcist' bolts through the venue while ripping out the strongest response of the night so far. Following this outbreak, the Americans leave the venue promptly enough for keen eyes to believe an encore is eminent and indeed that is the case. Possessed return with one of their oldest songs in their repertoire, namely 'Death Metal', performed with dynamism and merciful sound like the rest of their set and a flawless way to bid London farewell.
With a hard show to surpass, Austria's death/black metal blasphemers Belphegor arrive to finish the night, instigating proceedings bravely with unrecorded track 'Feast Upon the Dead'. Having played London countless times over the years, perhaps this overexposure has detrimentally affected them as the audience's enthusiasm is clearly disintegrating. They may not have the retro profile of Possessed but their popularity among younger metalheads cannot be understated and being signed to Nuclear Blast Records undoubtedly continuously inflates their number of admirers.
Drenched in faux blood, Belphegor storm through a set that the highlights their more popular outputs. 'Bleeding Salvation' from 'Goatreich – Feshcult', the title track from 'Lucifer Incestus', 'Belphegor – Hell's Ambassador' from 'Pestapokalypse VI' and the title track from 'Bondage Goat Zombie' are examples of blackened death menace that hits the right spot with the Austrians' devotees tonight. Most recent emission 'Conjuring the Dead' from 2014 sees the band purify their sound to predominantly death metal and is represented by the title track and 'Gasmask Terror'. All of these songs are belted out accompanied by an austere stage presence but, compared to the highly creative nature of the previous two bands, Belphegor struggle to extract the same energy from the audience and as the set marches closer to its end, the crowd numbers substantially thin out. Nonetheless, their show is entertaining enough when considered in isolation. All in all, this was a brilliant night of metal's heavier efforts and should not be forgotten by the attendees.
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