Korrozao - The Old Wharf, Birmingham - Sunday 13 June 2010

 

Two local bands, playing gigs early on in their existence, in support of a Brazilian grind band - what more could you want?

Collision Process featured Dan ex-Days Of Ruin on bass, and drummer Dave ex-Dark Paradise, two musicians who I have the utmost respect for. Playing their second ever gig, they fused melodic death metal, metalcore, modern prog, and nu-metal into their sound. In fact sound is the pertinent word in that last statement, as the sound they got was sludgy and did very little for them.

Unusual for the Wharf, but it happened. The vocalist got the short end of the stick and was just about indecipherable. Their Machine Head cover was the pick of the bunch, although I'd like to hear them again with a better sound to really form a considered opinion. Setlist: "Revelations", "Emperors", "Breaking Point", "Sleep Now Forever", "Imperium", "Divide".

Selfless were playing their first ever gig. Three members of local monolithic doom band I Am Colossus - Chris (guitar), Poon (vocals), and Tony (bass) - joined forces with drummer Simon (Police Bastard) to unleash a savage and relentless barrage of grind/crust. Short, sharp, blasts of mayhem were delivered clinically.

Raw, brutal, feral, uncomplicated, call it what you will, this was a hugely impressive performance. Simon was immense, a hard hitter who played at a ridiculously fast tempo, yet seemed to have all the time in the world. Searing blasts rubbed shoulders with slower sections of crushing power. I dread to think just how good they could be with a couple of months worth of gigging under their belt... guess we'll find out in time. Setlist: "Skies Burn Black", "Torn Apart", "Fear Me", "Operations Dictate", "Life's Blood", "Grapes Of Wrath", "Ashes To Ashes", "Dead Wrong", "A Certain Death", "Religion", "Seen To Be Scene", "Makin' Waves".

Korrozao continued where Selfless left off. Think of a Sepultura vinyl played at 45rpm instead of the regulation 33 and you'd be spot on. The drummer was astonishingly good - quite how he played at that velocity, mainly on a single bass pedal, is anybody's guess. Eighteen songs plus an encore in half an hour tells the story - this was a pulverising set of quality grind. Let's hope they visit these shores again soon! Setlist: "Vandalismo", "Democracia", "Mais Um FDP", "Mente Insana", "Deixem A Floresta", "Contra O Carnaval", "Zombies", "Alf", "Aparencias", "Boris Casoy", "Papa Nazista", "Acorda Vagabundo", "Boyzao", "Depressao", "Eu Nao Tenho Dinheiro", "Extincao Humana", "Redoma", "Universal". Encore: "Roots Bloody Roots".