Putrid Pile – The Swinging Sporran – Tuesday 30th June 2009

An evening showcasing five extreme metal bands, at a new gig venue for the Chopmeister, had to be good news?

Maggot Ejaculation, as the name suggests, definitely don't do subtlety. Their gore spattered brutal death metal was suitably vicious – apart from the fact that the drums were played via an i-Pod plugged into the PA. Hmm we'll discuss that later... The song titles tell you all you need to know, and they pummelled their way through their allocated time, culminating in a Dying Fetus cover. This should have been their penultimate song, but for a huge cock-up as the wrong button was pressed on the i-Pod and they didn't want to skip through to find the last backing track. At which point one of the guitarists had had enough and walked off, so the set ended as a shambles. My advice fellas would be to get a drummer so this doesn't happen again. Backing tracks in metal? Enough said. Setlist; “Erotic Human Disposal”, “Casket Birth”, “World Of Insects”, “Chainsaw Mastectomy”, “Reanimate To Masticate”, “Kill Your Mother”.

Visceral Deity fused old and new school death metal together frighteningly well. Combining old school brutality and chaos, with more contemporary sections, could easily have been a recipe for disaster, but they handled it effortlessly. Fast, precise, with subtle and effective tempo changes, they were as solid as a rock, and for me were the band of the night. They too played a cover (Deicide's “Kill The Christian”) amongst their originals. Due to start work on a full length follow up to their recent EP, I wish them all the best in the studio and hope they tour to promote it in the not too distant future. Setlist; “Disposing Of Human Filth” (intro), “Beneath Heaven”, “Conceived In Shit”, “Hail Dystopia”, “Vile Divide”, “Prey On The Weak”, “Kill The Christian”, “Humanity Once Existed”.

Cerebral Bore were good enough musicians but their grind/gore didn't really do much for me. Unlike Visceral Deity who had a rich sound with a lone guitarist, Cerebral Bore sounded a bit thin, and the pig squealer vocalist definitely didn't help. The faster sections traded power for velocity and didn't work, although the slower sections were suitably vicious. “Open Casket Priapism” was accompanied by a humorous introduction, but in general I found them a bit hit and miss.

Introrectal Gestation were from a similar mould, yet I warmed to them more. Perhaps it was the addition of a second guitarist, or maybe the vocals, which had a more hardcore edge, but whatever it was they were entertaining. They're not my favourite type of extreme metal band, but what they did they did well. Ludicrously fast at times, at others slow and menacing, they are another band to keep an eye on. Setlist; “Pissing Entrails”, “Cataclysmic Transmogrification”, “Hooves Of Human Teeth”, “Scrotalitarian”, “Corpulent Incestulinity”.

Putrid Pile consisted of one man and an i-Pod. In the studio this is fine, but not live. Visually as dull as Wimbledon Football Club during their halcyon days, this was a completely pointless performance, which didn't keep my attention for long – I left midway through the third song. Yes he can play guitar, albeit that the tone was somewhat odd, and he can deliver cookie monster and pig squealer vocals, but that's all you can say. Stay in the studio, or acquire a touring band is my opinion.

In the middle of a mini heatwave the Sporran was very much like a sauna – I half expected to be beaten with birch twigs. Don't know if this is the norm, but it made for distinctly uncomfortable viewing. The raised section where the bands play is a little on the small side, and with a low ceiling, yet the sound was surprisingly good. As for the acts, a mixed bag to be polite. If live music is about playing along to backing tracks then the scene is in serious trouble. Let's face it we're all quick enough to crucify boy/girl bands and the like, and Britney's lip-synching has been frowned upon by all and sundry, and whilst I accept that technology has advanced, and is there to be used, I feel it's a backwards step. Visceral Deity stood head and shoulders as band of the night, and I look forward to seeing them live again soon.