Serving as the main support act for the co-headliners tonight, Scottish technical death metallers MAN MUST DIE, delivered a decent 30 minute set, which got the crowd going and warmed up nicely for the first headliner. They did impress me enough that I will definitely be checking them out again at next months HAMMERFEST.

Everytime I have seen the might of KATAKLYSM, they have been outstanding, and tonight was no different. Technically, these guys are on another planet and with quality material to back them up, it’s amazing these guys aren’t bigger than they are. Still, the fans who turned up tonight would have been thoroughly delighted at what was on offer.

As they kicked in with ‘Like Angels Weeping (The Dark)’, other crowd pleasers like ‘As I Slither’, ‘Manipulator of Souls’ and the ever present ‘Crippled & Broken’ all went down a storm with the crowd, as they headbanged in unison with the band, as well as plenty of moshpits breaking out. What made the set even better was the sound was crisp and clear, so every bit of guitarwork and drum pattern was showed off to its full potential.

Brutal renditions of ‘The Ambassador of Pain’ and ‘The Resurrected’ were note perfect, whilst the doomier and the intertwined slower tempos of ‘Centuries (Beneath The Dark Waters)’ added a bit more atmosphere to what was, a superb set.

With this tour being DECAPITATED‘s first since the accident that saw Covan enter a coma and Vitek taken from us, of which there were many chants for him throughout the set showing he may be gone, but definitley not forgotten, it was great to see the band’s mastermind Vogg back in action doing what he does best. With three new members to the band, in the short space of time they have been together, they have gelled extremely quickly.

Krimh, Vitek’s replacement, was absolutley brilliant tonight as he performed complex drum pattern after drum pattern that would have made his predecessor proud, whilst although new vocalist Rafal Piotrowski (who could be mistaken for a young Chris Barnes) wasn’t the most interactive with the crowd, he didn’t have to be as this was only about the music speaking for itself.

The set was mainly made up from the last album, ‘Organic Hallucinosis’, with the first three songs, ‘A Poem About An Old Prison Man’, ‘Day 69′ and ‘Post(?) Organic’, being intertwined together with relative ease by the band, while the rest of the album back catalogue got a showing with the likes of ‘Winds of Creation’, ‘Mother War’ and ‘Three Dimensional Defect’.

A blistering rendition of ‘Spheres of Madness’ got the crowd going once again as they began to headbang with sheer ferocity, and as the final notes were played, this closed what was another excellent set of technical death metal of the night.

As the crowd began to disperse with probably some aches and for some, whiplash, you couldn’t argue that you saw two bands on top of their game tonight. It will be a gig that will be in my mind for sometime to come. Let’s hope its not too long before these two great bands are back gracing the shores and stages of the UK.

Ratings:

Review By Adam Fredericks