Review By Paul Taggart Photos By Barry Douglas
There is something elemental about small venue shows. You’re face to face with the performers, there is nowhere to escape! Nowhere to go, there I was in the fucking Cavalera crosshairs and it went bang. Such a place is an intimate gift handed to you by the Greek gods when said acts are half of the original Sepultura line-up playing 80s Sepultura tunes.The place is packed with the converted, worshipping at the altar of heavy. A mass of lager-guzzling thrash fans in their prime.
“We are the real Sepultura!” Max declares at one point.
Portentous guitar work ensued.
Fuckin weapons drawn but before all that, local act Centrilia are up in a support slot. Drummer, vocalist and a heavy weapons metal guitarist, but no bass but they rock hard. To me I got late 90s vibes of Earth Crisis and Snapcase but with Slayer licks and added blast beats. I would see these guys again in a heartbeat. Just a regular heartbeat, not an energy drink one.
Then Cavalera Conspiracy hit the stage. Primitive 80s molten Brazilian thrash is re-cast before my eyes into something as fresh and as fucking loud as anything 2024 can offer. Max preaches heavy metal from vibes alone, standing with metal studded bracelets and an appropriate metal warrior outfit.
It really is a night of complete in your face 80s underground metal. The band history aside, this was always raw music for a raw audience but every tune goes down like a nuclear warhead but without pandering to the nostalgia brigade that might seek Bloody Roots.
‘Bestial Devastation’, ‘Morbid Visions’ and the likes of ‘Funeral rites’ have the audience buzzing and moshing like fuck. Seeing folk in their 40s and plus still embracing jumping around like a loon makes me happy. It is that physical reminder in this digital age that a legacy of heavy matters and there will always be an audience for it.
The encore of ‘Refuse/Resist’, ‘Territory’, and ‘troops Of Doom’ tore the place apart, I’m lucky to still be alive.
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