Getting a ticket to this Deathklok’s midsummer Saturday show was a bit of a nightmare, as I remember, having to do the ticket-site dash ‘n’ reftash only to initially come up nought. By happenstance, however, I managed to secure myself a standing ticket the next day, after they’d supposedly sold out, so, result.
Closer to the time, I was tempted by the prospect of a clashing show, namely the album release for UK death-crust band Under the Ashes, last seen supporting Inhuman Nature in May, whose new, and first, album, Sacrifices Heaped, comes highly recommended. The fact that the Ashes show was nearer by at Helgi’s, rather than all the way on the other side of the city in Shepherd’s Bush was also a strong incentive, especially as the closer proximity would allow for me to get back in time to rest up before the long journey to the post-punk Forever Now festival in Milton Keynes the next day.
Ultimately, however, it was an incentive I resisted.
After making the long journey to the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, being deprioritised for the O2 Priority queue by those who’d paid half a grand to meet the band getting in, grabbing a t-shirt or two, and hitting the loo, I set myself on the floor for Party Cannon, who burst onto the stage with their brand of perky death metal. The only other band that I’ve seen combine guttural death with an upbeat “party hard” performance is Plaguemace. Sadly, unlike with Plaguemace, Party Cannon’s material just ain’t permeable enough for me to enjoy, what with it being at the level of “extremity” that does away with distinctiveness and decipherability. That said, they succeeded at distinguishing themselves as a live band, deploying an ocular assault of cardboard cocks, inflatable dinghies, and devil-headed mascots, as well as an abundant helping of Caledonian chutzpah. The inclusion of the aforementioned dinghies certainly made the moshpit more of an amusing spectacle as did the mass push-ups that saw out the last track on their roster.
The headliners, by contrast, were more economical with their audience engagement, largely letting the music and animated visuals do the talking for them. Given that Dethklok first came to prominence as a fictional five-piece on the Adult Swim animated comedy Metapocalypse, it’s understandable that the actual musicians behind the riffage would assume summat of a low profile. As far as the show’s concerned, I’ve yet to see a single episode; twas the first Dethklok album, at first glimpsed via clips sent by friends and eventually in entirety via purchase, that sold me on this show.
And in the end, twas indeed a well executed affair, the visuals adding to the enjoyment of tracks such as alternative nativity anthem ‘Birthday Dethday’, the vigorous ‘Awaken’, the cyclically vengeful ‘Murmaider’, and the anthemically awesome ‘Hatredcopter’. The intermissionary PSAs by band mascot Facebones maintain the humour quotient between tracks, and the whole set breezed through in a pretty no-nonsense fashion. No doubt those who immersed themselves in the show and lore prior to the albums enjoyed the whole affair even more than I did.
That said, as much as I enjoyed the whole thing, I’m not sure I’d throw down coin so readily again. One could probably watch a decent YouTube upload of any given show and not miss much from the live performance. And as far as the discography’s concerned, that first album is where things peaked for me, the follow-ups, at least from belated initial listening, succumbing to the law of diminishing returns.
In any case, a night of curiosity satisfied is never a wasted one, and Dethklok fully delivered on that score. On top of that, the unexpected early finish gave me plenty of time to get home, prep, and rest up for the following day’s Milton Keynes post-punk adventure, so… result!
~MRDA~
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