AA.VV.
Grind Your Mother - 07/07/2006 - Live@Cologne (BS)

'GRIND YOUR MOTHER' COLOGNE (BS) 07-07-06

The live report of this two-day festival dedicated to all enthusiasts in the field of Death Grind and organized by our very own The Spew Records arrives a bit late; unfortunately, I could only attend the first of the two concerts that featured Cibo, Vomit The Soul, Hour Of Penance, Cadaveric Crematorium, Leng T'che, Sinister and none other than Napalm Death. But let's go in order...

The place is not exactly handy but not that difficult to find either: by car, it can be easily reached from the Brescia station, and for those who love the taste of state railways, there is a station just a stone's throw from Birreria Music, the venue where the concert takes place. The ticket price (25 Euros) initially seemed a bit high to me, but considering that you can eat inside at more than fair prices, it is average.
In the small town not far from the venue, there is also a hotel for those (like myself) who don't feel like doing a bunch of kilometers at one o'clock in the night after a concert of over six hours. The gates are supposed to open at four pm but due to some (significant) delay, they open at six pm, the scheduled start time of the concert.

The atmosphere is calm, and there are no disturbances of any kind; inside the venue, which is more spacious than it seems from outside, there are stalls selling CDs and t-shirts that are truly rare to find around, and in the time interval that precedes the start of the concert, I have the opportunity to make some purchases and exchange a few words with a member of Fleshless (who was managing one of the stalls while waiting to play the next day). Fortunately, the organizers ensure that the concert starts with only a half-hour delay on the schedule, and around six-thirty, the music starts.

CIBO
They are the first to take the stage and have the tough task of opening a concert with the legendary Napalm Death as the main act: the quintet comes from my city (Turin), and I had already appreciated them about a year and a half ago in a very infamous club on the outskirts. Their music is Grind Rock with high comedic elements that vaguely reminds of the sound of the Australian Blood Duster: the audience, due to the unflattering name, is lukewarm and certainly does not facilitate the task for these very young guys who, however, prove capable of changing the opinion of skeptical and quite demanding spectators. They presented about ten songs, five of which were quite long compared to Grind standards (according to them, the most "labelable", i.e., the most interesting for the record companies). After the first song ends, the approval starts coming in; Cibo has gained momentum, heads begin to move, and people get carried away by the grotesque songs of the five. The technique is not at the highest levels, but they play without even a smudge, resulting in a serious band despite being inexperienced: the singer gives an excellent performance, able to effortlessly switch from the most schizophrenic screams to a decent growling (less often) and supported in one song by Mariano, his colleague serving in Septical Gorge (scheduled for the next day). Even the other members, primarily the drummer, do a good job emphasizing their blatantly Punk influence; indeed, their rhythms barely reference metal and allow very few slowdowns without reaching the typical speed peaks of traditional Death Grind groups. Undoubtedly their music is very fun and witty and the audience seeks fairness; a good performance and catchy songs make Cibo excellent openers, constantly improving technically and creatively (they have improved a lot since I last saw them) and genuinely enjoyable. Score: 8

VOMIT THE SOUL
A sudden change of course: from a rocky Grind, we switch to a truly relentless and pitch-black proposal: Vomit The Soul (also the title of a 'Cannibal Corpse' song), a trio from Lecco, set the stage and after some technical setup unleash hell. Honestly, I didn't expect that even here in Italy such a fierce and violent musical reality could find space, very similar to the American Devourment, Enmity, and Disgorge, in brief the most unconditional and blind massacre. Personally, I had already heard of this band but never had the chance to listen to anything, as their demos are decidedly hard to find. The singer-guitarist Max (who later allows me a long chat) is exceptional, especially vocally; undoubtedly he is the best of the evening, far surpassing even the legend of Mark "Barney" Greenway; alongside one of the lowest and most beastly growls in circulation, there are vocal openings that remind us of Giorgio Pescatore (Gorge Fisher for the pedantic), the archmaster of Cannibal Corpse's voice. But our compatriot doesn't lack expertise either and, focused as he appears on playing his instrument, gives life to quite a technical and difficult performance, engaging in an ornate and heavy riffing. His companions are equally good and play the bass and drums with the right balance between passion and clarity. The public is already quite warmed up and welcomes well the sound tortures proposed by Max and his associates: the Brutal reigns sovereign for a good half an hour, the songs are numerous, absolutely exhausting in a psycho-physical sense but well-cared for and well-played. The vocalist's warbles and the trio's fundamentalist brutality lead me to an ecstatic, almost mystical, state; the ensemble proves competitive on a European and world level and proudly upholds the Italian Brutal Death flag. Bravo, bravi Score: 9

HOUR OF PENANCE
The Hour Of Penance from the capital I had already met just before the concert started, when I bought their t-shirt: they also proved to be friendly and down-to-earth, and we chatted for a few minutes. When they take the stage, the audience is now ready to give their best; it begins with an intro after which starts what will be, in my opinion, the best performance of this first round. The quintet's genre is a Brutal Death slightly less extreme than that of the previous act, allowing some small opening not found in the sound of Vomit The Soul: in any case, these two groups represented the hardest and damned heaviest core of the evening, gifting (me) a massive dose of destruction that is so dear to my ears (my favorite genre, in short). Also, due to a longer performance time, the Romans push hard with extremely powerful songs with a simultaneously high technical rate: the compositions are faithful to the studio recordings but played with the increased energy typical of live concerts. Their Brutal Death, decidedly closer to the new trends than to the old school, is based on killer tempos accompanied by notable creativity by the drummer, a bass played with the mastery of big names, and the guitars spouting intricate and powerful riffs; the singer ranks a step below the aforementioned singer of Vomit The Soul for lesser versatility, but nonetheless demonstrates great endurance and longevity. Worth noting is the flawless execution of “Catatonia” a cover by Suffocation, and “Shreds Of Martyr,” one of their most successful songs. What else can be said to understand the effectiveness of this show? I will only say that it was the last act in which my neck managed to turn... then a piercing pain came, keeping me away from the stage for the entire evening. The Hour Of Penance, like the group that preceded them, consecrate themselves as a band of professionals, authors of a great performance, perhaps the one that best reflects the feeling of the evening.
Score: 9,5

CADAVERIC CREMATORIUM
I am always sorry to have to harshly criticize local groups, but I think it is not right to praise bands that do not deserve the large following they get. The 'Cadaveric Crematorium' is an Italian band that has the presumption to want to combine "res dissociabiles", as the good Tacitus said referring to freedom and empire, i.e., Brutal and comedy. The intent, besides being daring, is also somewhat poorly executed and, indeed, resolves in a heavy music whose dark mood is swept away by an extraordinary series of foolishness: let me clarify that it is not comedic Grind, but comedic Brutal Death, which is to say an oxymoron, two things that cannot coexist. For example, Cibo offers comedic grind while Vomit The Soul a very heavy Brutal Death; Cadaveric Crematorium opts for a middle way and in my opinion, make a splash. Instead, the public seems to appreciate, and a lot, influenced in my opinion more by the (undoubtedly entertaining) scene tricks of our guys than by the music itself. Nothing to say about the songs, well-played and well-written, but the approach is wrong and they don't convince me. The show drags on for a long, too long time, generating dead times due to the repetitiveness of the pieces that makes me lose track and distract a lot: probably, listening only to the music without knowing anything about their "poetry" they might even be enjoyable, at least for a trained ear, but seeing how they manage to mock this genre they cannot do anything but dry me up. However, for them, it's a success and they leave the stage with heads held high: in conclusion, a good performance ruined (for me) by the idiocy of our guys, good musicians but ineffective. Score: 6,5

LENG T’CHE
The first of the three foreign bands of the evening starts taking the stage, the Belgian Leng T’Che, dedicated to a strange mix between Grind Rock and Death metal (to a much lesser extent). Despite everything, the audience proves less willing than towards the bands that played earlier and takes a bit to loosen up (in short, it is the singer who invites more noise). In contrast, they do not hold back on giving a show and become the protagonists of the most dynamic and lively act of the evening (without abandoning the technical aspect). The singer is excellent, author of a great performance even if not at the level of the oft-mentioned Max of Vomit The Soul. The band, now on their third LP, decides to advertise it grandly (small posters portraying its cover appear on the walls) and also in the tracklist one notices that unfortunately, the preference has fallen precisely on the latest songs, qualitatively very much inferior to those of the early works. This is essentially what will severely penalize this performance, more intent on promoting the new CD than satisfying the public's desire. All in all, however, Leng T’che manage to turn songs that on their own, on record, are only sufficient into real explosions: the execution is impeccable and, although the required technical baggage to play these is considerably less taxing than that of other bands of the evening, it is still quite technical and clean. The drummer stands out, engaged in not very complicated rhythms but characterized by an impact of sure effect. In conclusion, the show, lasting about an hour, achieves its objectives which are to entertain and to vomit onto the spectators powerful and violent songs with the right degree of irony; surely, with a more careful selection of songs to perform, they could have achieved much more than they did.
PS; Leng T’che are absolutely crazy, both on and off stage… word of Francesco Amadori
Score: 8,5

SINISTER
Here they are, one of the two “legends” of the evening, the Dutch group in circulation since the beginning of the last decade and author of some undisputed masterpieces of Death ("Hate" to name one among many): frankly, it was more for them than for Napalm Death that I traveled three hundred kilometers and I was not at all repaid for my puerile dedication. But, again, let's proceed in order. Sinister is now a “wrecked” band (after this you can crucify me upside down); after their golden age, which lasted until about 1996, our guys began a dark epoch that saw them also welcome a woman into their ranks (which, with all due respect for women, is not really the best thing to do in a Death band). Having realized that perhaps it was not the best choice, but only after releasing authentic musical jokes, they graciously dismissed the lady, upsetting the lineup but practically refounding Sinister. And it's these new Sinister that I saw and that, it must be said, disappointed me. The four take the stage after spending a long time setting up the instruments, and already from the first song, it becomes clear that the sound is of poor quality: the bass tones are excessively highlighted and cause an unpleasant sensation in the ears, compelling, unless for a few minutes or unless drunk, watching the act away from the stage (there were also those who had drunk "just one bottle of whiskey" and stood steady getting their eardrums crushed). Like Leng T’che, even the four Dutch decide to give more space to their latest creations from "Afterburner" which are not bad, but surely far from the glories of the past: nothing from "Hate," our guys do not satisfy those in the audience loudly asking for "To Mega Therion" or "Awaiting the Absu" (yes, I was there too, I admit). If those coming into contact for the first time with the band are satisfied with songs like "The Grey Massacre," surely the connoisseurs feel only boredom and disappointment, seeing vanishing track after track the chance to hear live the pieces that made the history of the group. The songs picked from their first and second works do not exceed a couple, all the rest of the time (a lot, I assure you) is reserved for songs from the most inferior albums and almost the whole new LP; probably the reason for this is the continuously increasing number of members going in and out, only prepared on more recent material. Technically the performance is excellent and, despite Sinister not being among the most technical bands in circulation, they show they can play decidedly well; the guitarist, devoid of a colleague, works a lot managing in a riffing far from simple, followed by a worthy bassist and an efficient drummer. The vocals are also good but are put to shame when compared with those of other "stars" of the evening much less "stars" than this vocalist. In total, I can speak without fear of a mediocre performance, which gets the score it gets only by virtue of correct execution and a glorious past: bands of this caliber still have a duty to give more, especially in front of fans who have followed them for years.
Score: 7

NAPALM DEATH
Finally, the moment everyone was waiting for, it is now past midnight and the headliners of the evening have arrived less than an hour ago; while Sinister were still playing, my sister talked with the guitarist without even realizing who he is and she only tells me when she recognizes him among "those up there on stage" (and here is THE swear word). First important consideration: the vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway has gained even more weight, perhaps in the desperate attempt to roll as fast as the famous bassist Shane Embury, who has now reached the size of a sumo wrestler (with Branduardi-style hair, however). Joking aside, seeing them on the street, no one would say they are the legends of Death Metal and Grindcore, but they would consider them some random nostalgic gluttons of the NWOBHM... It takes hearing them open the concert with “Unchallanged Hate” to quickly change the mind: Napalm Death has aged but they are more charged than ever and still have energy to sell. The only one who eventually shows signs of fatigue is the singer, who, however, keeps his vocal standards high and provides a more than dignified performance: otherwise, it seems like seeing Napalm Death from fifteen years ago, still fresh and at the height of their career. It's a pity to see how the opening track is just a treat given to the public (which meanwhile has grown immensely) and then the choice shifts (what a coincidence) to the songs from their latest work; however, there are no drops in tension, and their discography is retraced a bit in its entirety, although, as already said, with a preference for the latest songs. The Englishmen's expertise is good, and the songs, as expected from professionals like them with such a career behind, are performed flawlessly. I'm a bit sorry not to have seen Jesse Pintado in action, now replaced by a new guitarist who still proves up to the level of his illustrious predecessor. The conclusion of the concert was almost predictable, a performance that does not overshadow others of the evening but which, for obvious reasons, achieves triumph: Napalm Death show everyone what the spirit should be when making music and specifically this kind of music. A twenty-year career that seems never to have to end, a grit beyond the ordinary which nonetheless must contend with the quite legitimate ambitions of the new talents and which, although at times faltering, holds strong and does not yield. The show concludes like this, with Napalm Death thanking the audience and the audience thanking Napalm Death; but one must be objective, perhaps cruel, and give the Birmingham group not a lifetime achievement award but a judgement on their very long presence on stage. Sometimes the rhythm stalls and boredom creeps in, perhaps because it's late, and the concert was hard-going, or perhaps because the choice of songs is not the happiest. Nothing terrible, heaven forbid, but the five transpose live the flaws they have in the studio, i.e., the alternation of highs and lows, of adrenaline-pumping songs and drowsy ones (while adhering to the strict canons of Death Grind). In short, Napalm Death are a living legend but perhaps it would have been better to pair them with bands closer to them in age and sound; ours, in fact, finds themselves flanked by bands devoid of reverential fears and determined to give everything, perhaps more than them. And I know that someone here (maybe Sfascia) will say to me "pourquoi Ella, cordiale de-Tepes, non attende di poterli nella eventualitade de-observare indi aubscultare tra approssimativa/mind perlo-meno two decadi (antziquénon) ?" and I have nothing to object to this; but now, although they do not falter, they demonstrate a certain difficulty in keeping pace with the others. Don't be surprised, therefore, to read a vote that doesn't match a Headliner, much less if it is among the Founding Fathers of Death and Grind; even if I bow to their glory, a bit of critical sense doesn't hurt.
Score: 8,5