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Obituary Redneck Stomps Over Bristol With Overpower

It seems strange seeing a band mere weeks after witnessing them less than a month before. Then again, most bands aren't genre pioneering heavyweights with an incredible catalogue, so, only about three weeks on from Obituary's set supporting Sepultura in London, it was on the train to Bristol to see them headline their own tour of the United Kingdom. Dubbed the "One for the old school" tour, it was supposed to feature support from thrash metal veterans Sadus, but only one date into the tour, they were forced to leave after some truly horrific actions on the part of one member. So, without one of the tour's main attractions, how would it fare?

Without Sadus, Obituary opted to invite local bands to open for them on the remainder of the trek, and in Bristol the opportunity fell to Overpower. Kudos has to be given for them being willing to step up to the plate so quickly, especially since they were in very real danger of one of their members not being able to make it. As for the performance, they clearly had some friends in attendance, and probably a few fans of their own, but I don't think they made too much of an impression. The vocals were grating, the music unoriginal and the stage banter was painful. The only thing worse than sitting through a band you're not enjoying is one that thinks they're funny on top of it. As mentioned, fair play to them for having the guts and eagerness to take this opportunity, but I can't try and smooth over what felt like an incredibly long and joyless time.

Since there was only one support act tonight, old school death metal fans were soon given what they came here for, as Florida's most grizzly sons Obituary entered the stage following the "Snortin' Whiskey" intro tape, launching into the traditional opening instrumental, "Redneck Stomp." Just like their supporting slot in Hammersmith, the quintet then gave a double barreled blast of "Back From The Dead" in the form of "Threatening Skies" and "By The Light," mixing the old and the new by performing "The Wrong Time" from their latest album, "Dying Of Everything," then reaching back to their debut for "Deadly Intentions." They then gave fans a real treat with their rendition of the Celtic Frost classic, "Circle Of The Tyrants," which went down very well and was a nice call back to their classic sophomore album, "Cause Of Death."

The album was revisited later on, thanks to the combination of "Chopped In Half/Turned Inside Out" and "Dying," delighting those who have loved this essential death metal staple for so long. Obituary does, as has been said, have a lot to choose from when it comes to their setlists, so it was cool to hear albums like "World Demise" and "The End Complete" represented via "Solid State" and "I'm In Pain" respectively. When it comes to live performances, Obituary has always been a band that lets the music do the talking, rather than risk using cliched lines like "Are you ready to party!?" and it helps make their show that much more intense and powerful. Indeed, they created a superb atmosphere with the sound and lighting effects of "War," the first song of their encore, which concluded with "Dying Of Everything" and the classic, "Slowly We Rot," once more showcasing the new and old tunes against each other. Much like last month, Obituary were in tremendnous form here, perhaps even better and once again, my only complaint was that we didn't get to hear "Don't Care" or "Violence." I can't wait to hear what they'll do next while they're on top of their game.