Death Angel / Warbringer / Sodomized Cadaver. Hobos, Bridgend, Wales.10th August 2017.
San Francisco thrash legends Death Angel recently arrived in Bridgend, South Wales, for a night of sweaty, old school metal fun. Bringing along Warbringer and Sodomized Cadaver, the scene was set for extreme, high level extensive head banging. Rob Watkins donned his patch jacket and hi-top boots to get in on the mosh pit action.
Photo: Joshua Miller.
With anticipation high, Hobos was throbbing as an evening of high-calibre, high-intensity music was set to shake Wales to its core. As intimate a venue as there is to be found in this part of the world, the club soon filled up with old-school thrashers and new-school thrill seekers ready for Death Angel’s latest act of relentless retribution.
Before that, there was a brace of bands to warm things up for the Bay Area band. Sodomized Cadaver kicked off with intensity, via a brutal attack of the musical senses. A band this writer has witnessed a number of times, they’ve progressed to the point of sheer venomous abandon. With subtlety out the window, the band’s delightfully titled tracks like ‘Lords Of Rape’, and ‘Raped By Ebola’ deal with the everyday problems of being raped, buried and left for dead. Great sentiments these may be for the metal community, and the band whipped the frenzied attendees up into a storm early on.
Warbringer followed, and the five piece Californian thrashes ripped Bridgend a new one, instantly grasping every last person in Hobos by the balls. With the circle pit spinning like a tornado from the very first notes, vocalist John Kevill was totally in control, as the band’s duel riffage and pounding rhythms commanded total respect from the onlookers. Mixing hard and heavy grooves from their back catalogue with tracks from new album ‘Woe To The Vanquished’, this proper old school metal show proved that no frills, head banging anthems are far from a thing of the past.
Following wasn’t going to be easy, however it seemed that a special night was ready to unfold, with the musical climax a special treat for the Bridgend faithful. Death Angel’s reputation speaks for itself; an utter legendary and inspirational band straight out of the same Bay Area thrash scene of the mid-1980s that birthed Metallica, Exodus, Testament, and a host of others, their reception was assured before they hit the stage. Kicking off with ‘The Ultra-Violence / Evil Priest’, the San Francisco outfit had every last one of the crowd eating outta their hands.
With an old school mentality, and super cool stage presence to die for, the band are a revelation, even after almost four decades in existence. Their secret weapon is of course, vocalist Mark Osegueda. With death-defying screams, and pitch perfect tones, he’s a unique rarity. Partnered by original guitarist Rob Cavestany, alongside rhythm-meister Ted Aguilar, drummer Will Carroll and bassist Damien Sisson, there’s a real bond between the band, and audience. It's here in the up close and personal tight little musical environment that Death Angel thrive, and the energy levels in the venue defy the show’s Thursday night billing.
A night of anthemic, fist in the air tunes, performed with vigour, dedication and high energy, Death Angel’s closing slot crowned what had been a fantastic evening of quality music.
