The metal community united to spend the evening partying in London’s Koko with Suicide Silence and special guests Deez Nuts and Venom Prison on the 23rd March 2017. An event many had been waiting for since last year. The bands did not fail to disappoint and put on a blistering, heart pounding show. It was definitely one to remember, although to my disappointment half of the venue was cordoned off due to poor ticket sales.
Death metal band Venom Prison from Wales kicked off the havoc. A relatively unknown band, but seriously talented musicians play on the classic death metal sound. Female vocalist Larissa Stupar put all her energy into her performance, but maybe because they were on first with an early set time or the fact that the venue was virtually empty the crowd could not get into the mood. However, I was impressed by drummer Joe Sheehy‘s skills as he pounded those drums and hit out blast beats as fast as the strobe lights. I would say good lighting added effect to their stage presence. By the time the crowd finally warmed to the band their set was over. Venom Prison has achieved a lot since their inception to support Suicide Silence during this tour.
When Deez Nuts took to the stage the venue was seemingly full. The fierce quartet packed a punch with their hardcore party vibe which had the crowd respond by opening up the circle pit pouring out pure brutality! The rap metal and hip hop influences were apparent in their sound and this was received well by the audience. As heard in “Shot After Shot” vocalist JJ Peters was on top form with his vicious stamina throughout and no clean vocal parts. With Matt Rogers‘ thick guitar crunches Deez Nuts has remained true to the heavy hardcore sound. This really stood out for me during “Your Mother Should Have Swallowed You” which was helped along with Sean Kennedy‘s epic bass lines. This band definitely impacted the crowd as they chanted “Deez Nuts, Deez Nuts” during a technical glitch. Deez Nuts spent the evening on stage reinforcing the party vibe that they have adopted and that was lapped up by the crowd.
After two solid metal talents headliners Suicide Silence hit the stage full throttle around 8:40pm and kicked ass with their performance opening with “Doris.” In my opinion this was a statement of strength and determination by the band to stick to their guns and continue progressing in the musical direction that they have chosen. The defiant front man Eddie Hermida ploughed on with the set to an audience of 500 people with “No Pity For A Coward” and “Silence” to shirtless moshers falling over themselves in one big pit party. Fans were treated to a variety of old and new Suicide Silence songs taken from all albums. Eddie did not disappoint the crowd and demonstrated his vocal range and versatility using death growls, high pitched screams and clean vocals. Most notably in “Dying In A Red Room” where his voice was stunning and mesmerising. Also coupled with Mark Heylmun’s rhythmic chords had the crowd focused on one thing and that was Eddie.
Further, the front man told the crowd to split in two to create the wall of death during “Disengage.” The blunt force trauma of this had the crowd go crazy. It was brutal and not for the faint hearted! Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better Eddie stage dived and crowd surfed across the length of the venue while singing, which sent the fans into an extreme state of excitement. It was nothing less than mental with people retrieving their shoes from the pit and we would not expect anything less from a Suicide Silence show. This brutal entertainment ended with “You Only Live Once” where birthday boy Eddie was pied in the face with a birthday cake. The band continued the fun and destroyed all their instruments. Banging and crashing cymbals and drums as well as shattering guitars. It was pure hilarity and fascination seeing them live for the first time. Additionally, for extra amusement they sent an amp and bass drum into the audience which found its way out of the front door before it was retrieved by security!
Overall, it was a bitter disappointment with 500 ticket sales for a venue that has a capacity for 1,500. It is a shame that people generally skip support bands because Venom Prison and Deez Nuts showcased their musical talent in the fiercest manner and certainly warmed up the crowd for the headlining band. I completely agree with Eddie Hermida’s statement when he said people should give their new approach to music a chance by attending live shows. For a guaranteed blast and with upcoming European festivals and US tour dates planned I would urge old and new Suicide Silence fans to catch these guys in action.