The Black Dahlia MurderCardiff's Barfly, 18th August 2007 |
Reviewed by Nadine Ballantyne
The Ocean
The Black Dahlia Murder
The Barfly is packed tonight, with attendees ranging from Metal heads to Nu Rave kids (someone had a glow stick at one point). This is Metal from around the world, literally; Welsh, German and American. You can't get more intimate than Barfly, so prepare for some sweaty, torn up bodies. Unfortunately missing Anterior’s set after hearing many good things about them, on a personal note I am gutted I missed their set. I hope to catch them soon.
The Ocean
Second on are The Ocean, a German quintet which sound invincible live. Every group member puts a gracious amount of energy into the show, appearing as though they’re here to perform and to show you what Metal is made of. Tthey sound much better live than any full length effort or Myspace track could make them. During certain moments the singer sounds like he’s howling from the depths of Hell, a voice comparable to that of Randy Blythe of Virginian Metal act Lamb of God. Strong and consistent, you can feel the emotion he radiates when screaming into the microphone and relate. The amount of energy this little guy gives off when playing towards the crowd is also comparable to Blythe. Barfly may be small, though if the singers are confident enough they’ll play around and usually climb on the poles, amps and scream into some poor guy's ear plug. The Ocean have no fear as can be seen tonight, ending the set with the singer hanging from a pole. Viciously kicking his legs everywhere, he smacks of a facial look which suggests this is an emotional ride for them on a musical level.
The Black Dahlia Murder
The Black Dahlia Murder come onto the stafe, placing the responsibility upon themselves to make sure crowd members destroy this place. They’re fast, angry and couldn’t give a shit. The singer is constantly in the security pit, throwing himself into the crowd. This makes the situation havoc for the three guards, a guy filming and the photographer. The guitarists decide they want a piece of the crowd also, and each member knows how to play off each other. They seem to enjoy things on stage, and inject some fun with their fast Death Metal. Between songs they chat to the crowd, and speak none of this “we love you bullshit”. This general chat that takes them down to earth, and on the social level of the crowd themselves. It's then back their insanely fast and tight sounding set, and that brings on more carnage. Again and again with these types of bands you'll discover one common thing; they sound much better live, and to experience it is something unique. Even the new songs the band choose to unveil sound as though they’ve been played for years, and fans begin endless pits and head banging galore. The Black Dahlia Murder come to realise that the crowd will do anything they say, well nearly everything. The last song they play creates a storm, and people run to get in the pit. The security go mental, and the singer throws himself into the adoring crowd one last time. It's been an incredible live show, and that goes for all the bands tonight.