It’s a Sunday… not just a Sunday but the Sunday after ‘Halloween Party’ Saturday. I’m feeling rough but ready for a night of death metal in deepest darkest Digbeth. I’d heard a lot about Mama Roux’s… the interesting little venue has been hosting many gigs of late whilst the Rainbow is being refurbished. I was very much looking forward to seeing a death metal show surrounded by Mama’s quirky New Orleans-style shabby chic building frontages.
Burial
I had heard word that; unfortunately, Wales’ Sodomized Cadaver had had to pull out of the show at the last minute. Hopefully we will see them back in Birmingham soon – they always deliver an engaging onslaught of brutality and I would have enjoyed seeing them amongst the hanging baskets that adorn Mama’s.
Manchester’s BURIAL brings a blackened tinge to tonight’s death fest. I thoroughly enjoyed it – my dark little soul revelled in the satanic themes and Derek Carley’s tormented vocals. Last time I saw the band they supported Stahlsarg and The Infernal Sea – at the time I, harshly, didn’t think they were black enough for that line up. To be honest, any band that gets between me and my beloved Stahlsarg is going to have a hard time of it. But tonight the blackness comes through nicely – bleak and grim. To be blunt, it’s not possible for me to dislike a set that ends with “a song about f*cking nuns… as it’s a Sunday”. “Nun F*cking Black Metal” and other highlights such as, “Coven of Death” and “Nothing Awaits”, all come from their 2016 album “Unholy Sedition” – check it out!
Rannoch
A quick changeover brings us RANNOCH. The Midlands’ progressive death outfit deliver a somewhat self-indulgent set, but you’ve got to love them for it! It’s always a treat to watch these technically brilliant musicians do their thing. They open by immediately hitting the crowd with the intensity and heavy riffs of “Age of the Locust”. I’m a recent convert to the progressive death metal genre, naturally gravitating to the more traditional/brutal side of things, but RANNOCH is one of the bands that introduced me to the simple pleasures of losing oneself in beautiful soundscapes. They close the set with the vast magnificence that is “Between Two Worlds” – as the three-part epic is rolled out before the crowd, it’s both compelling and exhausting to behold.
Mithras
Rugby’s technical death metal merchants MITHRAS are tonight’s headliners; they’ve been touring their new album, “On Strange Loops” all month; a tour which will culminate with a slot at Damnation Festival in Leeds. The set begins with a rather lovely intro to “Odyssey’s End”; lilting notes lull me into a false sense of security before the bass kicked in for what was to be an unrelenting set.
MITHRAS delivers crushing riffs, tremolo picking; drawing many comparisons with Morbid Angel. They combine this with otherworldly guitar solos and lyrics dealing with astrophysics and sci-fi. Although they’re clearly excellent musicians – something about the set left me cold. I don’t know if it was the acoustics in the room or the music itself, but I felt unable to engage with MITHRAS’s performance tonight. That being said, I did particularly enjoy “Wrath of God”, before technical issues caused the set to be paused briefly. “When the Stars Align”, also from “On Strange Loops”, was a highpoint of the set.
All in all Sirius Promotions put on an excellent night of death metal. You can catch the next show at The Flapper on 16 November featuring Ares Kingdom, Pentacle and Absolution. It’s sure to be a night of old school death metal bliss.
MITHRAS set list
Odyssey’s End
Lords and Masters
Under The Three Spheres
Tomb of Kings
Wrath of God
Time Never Lasts
To Where The Sun Never Sets
When The Stars Align
Worlds Beyond The Veil
Thrown Upon The Waves
