Warlord (UK) – The Old Wharf – Saturday 20th June 2009

Before getting on to the bands' analysis, a pat on the back has to go to the BSP team for their fund raising efforts – this was a charity gig to support the oncology department at Birmingham Children's Hospital, and a not insignificant amount was raised. Great effort for a worthy cause.

Grimpen Mire got the show on the road and set a very high standard. They played a meticulous set of crushingly heavy doom, influenced both by traditional artists, and sludge and funeral bands. Impressively tight as a band, and having a very full and rich sound for a three piece, they impressed no end. Extreme metal vocals will not appeal to all, especially old school doom purists, but I thought they accompanied the music well. Hugely enjoyable (is this a contradiction in terms?!) hopefully I'll get the chance to check then out again soon. Setlist; “Crawl To Cold Earth”, “Foredoomed”, “Cross The Rubicon”, “Grimpen Mire Part One”, “Grimpen Mire Part Two”.

Mindless Torture get better every time you see them. If old school death metal is your thing, then they don't come much better than this. Furious onslaught is the only expression that comes remotely close to the carnage they unleashed. What's most impressive though is the amount of bounce, for want of a better expression, that they managed to fuse into the unrelenting savagery. Their EP was played in full along with their “fastest, heaviest” song to close. Solid as a rock musically, and more than ably led by Shadie, who seems increasingly comfortable with his frontman duties, this was a stunning display. Time for a few new tunes to add to the repertoire though fellas? Setlist; “Amputate”, “Ready Or Not”, “My Cross”, “Ashes”, “Sick And Disjointed”.

Hatework Conspiracy took the old school approach a step further back as they pummelled their way through a set of punk/hardcore that could easily have come form the late 70s or early 80s. As tight as they were as a band, I'd nominate the drummer as the star, mainly due to him being a single pedal player – a refreshing change in an age of kicker pedals, triggering, and constant blastbeating. He was still as quick as many two footed bass players on the circuit, and hit the snare incredibly hard too. There were a few moments of slower, almost doom or stoner, material, but for the most part this was an exercise in precision power and velocity. Definitely a band I need to see again soon. Setlist; “No Love Lost”, “Blinded By Greed”, “Belief System”, “False Hope”, “No Regrets”, “Catch 22”, “Locked Door”, “Love + Hate”, “Back To The Wall”.

Spread The Venom didn't do much for me I'm afraid. I'm not a fan of female extreme metal vocalists at the best of times, but her vocal tone and diminutive presence (physically and as a frontwoman) didn't work at all. Maybe I'm too old school, but extreme metal, with its wall of sound and unchecked aggression, needs a big physical presence to oversee the onslaught. Or maybe that's just my mindset? Oh, before I get howls of derision and accusations of chauvinism, check out my reviews of Severed Heaven's live and studio work... and they're all women (admittedly who could put most male death metal bands to shame). Couldn't work out why they needed a keyboard player either – occasional loops and EBM/industrial interludes excepted – as he didn't appear to be adding much to the overall sound. Clearly they could play, and certain of their songs had a good groove, but I was left distinctly underwhelmed by their efforts. Setlist; “Etched Mirror”, “Gears Of Chaos”, “Sucker”, “Manslaughter”, “Spread The Venom”, “Corpse Inside Of Me”.

Warlord (UK) were right up my street – precision thrash delivered clinically. They most reminded me of Destruction, Megadeth, and Sepultura, and, for me, played the best set of the night. Clearly they've honed their skills around the circuit for a while – although rhythm guitarist Daniella has only recently joined – and were as tight as they come musically. I enjoyed their cover of Killing Joke's “The Wait” which changed the style of the set slightly. I could waffle on ad infinitum but I'll keep this one punchy – a slick performance from a confident band is all you need to know. Setlist; “Maximum Carnage”, “Disintegration”, “Nowhere 2 Run”, “Theatre Of Destruction”, “Change”, “Evil Within” (which was also played as an encore), “The Wait” (cover), “Antisocial Disease”, “Alien Dictator”, “Vivisection”.

As this was my first visit to the Old Wharf I should really do a quick venue assessment. It's compact, which adds to the atmosphere, has a good sized stage, and most importantly has good acoustics. My thanks to BSP's Dawn and Ian for the warmth of their welcome, and for the running order and setlists. I'm sure I'll visit again soon!!