As Electric Ballroom slowly filled up for Bloodbath’s debut UK gig, there was already a great atmosphere as people waited with great anticipation to see the band on a smaller stage rather than a large festival stage, and needless to say they absolutely didn’t disappoint.
Openers Ancient Ascendant, who won a competition Bloodbath had run for a band to open the show, got the night off to a good start. Although the set as a whole showcased a fairly standard performance from the outfit, it was nevertheless a strong start to the night and they warmed up the crowd up nicely. The music was nice and heavy, with a lot of power behind the songs, so although it may not have been the most memorable of performances, it was an enjoyable show all the same.
Up next was Aborted, who took to the stage to raucous cheers from the whole room. There was a tremendous urgency to to the set, with frontman Sven an incredibly involved performer who couldn’t be tied down – if you so much as blinked, he’d be somewhere else onstage! Constantly asking for the crowd to headbang and demanding circle pits, the room came alive in response and it was an absolute pleasure to witness, especially since everyone – both on the stage and in the crowd- was clearly giving it their absolute all. And with Aborted even throwing in some new material for good measure, we can all be sure that their next release is going to be an absolute cracker.
Of course, the night belonged to Bloodbath and it was both an honour and a privilege to bear witness to one of their very first ‘club’ shows. The band’s new frontman Nick Holmes (also of Paradise Lost) was an excellent fit and it looked like he’d always been a part of the band! Peppering the set with a few jokes, such as them actually being Christians and the cross around his neck being upside down, it gave the performance another dimension and a little more variety, rather than the band simply moving from one song to the next.
The set itself was a good mixture of old and new, spanning across all four of their albums, with highlights being Mock The Cross and Unite In Pain, but it was their track Eaten that stole the show – the way the crowd screamed along was truly something to behold!
With an excellent crowd, excellent set and excellent atmosphere, what more could you want from a show? A great all-round night.
9/10
