Iniquity have been split up for ten years now, but to mark the fifteenth anniversary of their EP The Hidden Lore, they decided to regroup with their 1996-1998 lineup to play a few “last shows” and the final date of the tour saw them hit The Lomax in Liverpool.
Scottish death-metallers Scordatura opened up the show and they were utterly fantastic, really getting the night off to a great start. Their vocalist Daryl had a massively powerful voice and really worked hard at getting the crowd going. The band as a whole sounded extremely tight and together, which was a pleasure to see, and it was also awesome to see Enrico, the lead singer from Hideous Divinity, come up and join them for a song. Definitely a band to look out for.
However, the same cannot be said for the second band of the night, Crepitation. Their set began by some members joking about Lostprophets/Ian Watkins (which I found to be in extremely poor taste because it’s not really a subject that should be made light of) but unfortunately things didn’t get any better by the time they started to play some music. It almost felt like they were just making noise for the sake of it, with no real direction or structure, and it certainly didn’t make for a good set. Still, the crowd were really enthusiastic and into them, so maybe it was just me.
Things picked up by the time Unfathomable Ruination took to the stage dressed in sunglasses before launching into an aggressively noisy set – this is how you do it well! There was a lot of energy exerted by each member of the band and they played an engaging show. The set did drag a little as it progressed, due to the fact there was not a huge amount of variety between the songs, but it ended perfectly with the band once again donning the sunglasses for a fantastic cover of Manowar’s Hail And Kill.
Penultimate band Hideous Divinity took things up a notch and the room came alive for them as they blasted through a powerful set that showcased just how talented they were. In particular, their bassist Stefano was particularly deft at his instrument and it added a lot to the overall sound as a result. The set ended in absolute chaos, with members of the crowd onstage, singer Enrico in the crowd and the crowd a sea of bodies as everyone moved about.
Of course, it was always going to be Iniquity‘s night and to say it blew me away is somewhat of an understatement. As the introduction filled the room, the atmosphere just grew and grew until the band began to play the first song of the night, Tranquil Seizure. Already a song that you can’t help but headbang along to, in a live environment it was all the more phenomenal (even with the technical problems) and by the time the closing chords rang out, it was apparent that this was going to be one hell of a show.
Martin was a perfect frontman and it was pretty amusing when he introduced the songs from their 1998 EP The Hidden Lore as “new songs”, and indeed, one of the highlights of the set was the performance of the title track of that EP. It just had everything and was a pleasure to witness.
The crowd were mental from start to finish, which really added a lot to the already-phenomenal show, and were behind the band for the entire duration of the set, with their closer Son Of Cosmos (which was also dedicated to the memory of Iniquity’s founder, Brian Petrowsky) getting the hugest reception of the night, with the crowd chanting for more as the closing chords rang out. And after treating us all to a medley of a few more songs, Iniquity really were finished and the room was filled with well-deserved cheers and applause for the band.
An utterly phenomenal night, and a gig that no-doubt many people (myself included) thought they’d never get to witness. Absolutely faultless.
10/10
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