Opening the evening at The Garage were Decrepid, who unleashed their brand of old-school death metal for all to hear. As some of the headlining act’s gear had already been set up (including a large, covered drum set), the quintet were confined to the edge of the stage. This added an intimate vibe to Decrepid’s as the crowd and performing act were closer to each other than usual. There were moments when the members teetered off the edge, namely the lead vocalist who delivered high shrieks and low gutturals in the face of the photographers, sometimes windmilling away simultaneously. The audience were clearly digging the music, head banging along to the chainsaw riffs and pummelling blast beats. Despite only having thirty minutes to show what they were made of, their crushing songs made sure that they would be a highlight of the night. A fine start to the Sunday show from the London lads.
In Element from Argentina followed, appearing in their masks and body harnesses, and people looked on curiously as they tried to figure out what to expect from them. Their electronic metal sound divided the crowd and caused some to cheer them on excitedly while others looked on in perplexity. Apart from the few times, he stood on the barrier steps, the singer spent the duration of their slot in the photo pit, hyping people up whenever enthusiasm waned. There was also a lot of talking from the frontman in between tracks, which was mostly him asking someone to give him a beer. Everyone seemed to perk up when they heard a cover of Phil Collins’s “In The Air Tonight” as they clapped along to the intro and bopped their heads during the breakdown mid-song. Ending with a heavy number, the four-piece left people in high spirits, having surely earned themselves some new fans with their fun half-hour set.
Brazilian death metal trio Krisiun had the least band members but their colossal sixty-minute show suggested otherwise. Bassist-vocalist Alex Camargo drove the crowd crazy when he announced: “We are Krisiun and we are gonna f*ck this motherf*cker up!” Frenzied lights, gargling vocals, and their speedy musical delivery won the crowd over in no time, as many individuals threw their fists in the air early on. Alex gave a special mention to those in the mosh pit in between “Swords Into Flesh” and “Combustion Inferno”. “Scourge of the Enthroned” produced the night’s first stage diver, a woman in a red and black Krisiun tee who crowd-surfed again later on.
“Descending Abomination” made people chant “Krisiun! Krisiun! Krisiun!” This caused Moyses Kolesne on guitar to show his appreciation to all who were present. “Cheers my brothers and sisters of Babel,” he cried, before going on to offer a “shoutout to all the women in the house”. The songs “Blood Of Lions” and “Necronomical” were respectively catchy and heavy, with the latter of the two featuring some powerful drumming from Max Kolsesne that brought to life the Lovecraftian-themed lyrics. The three brothers left the ecstatic crowd with some words of advice: “Grab a beer, smoke some weed, and watch Nile!”
As the time for the main act to arrive approached, the venue became noticeably fuller. In the front row, there were even a few people with Nile tour shirts from over a decade ago. Once Nile’s sizeable drum kit was unveiled, fans began taking pictures of it, clearly in awe of the silver cymbals. Once George Kollias was behind the drums, metalheads were blown away as they watched him start to play “Sacrifice Unto Sebek”.
Replacing Brian Kingsland on guitar and vocals was Scott Eames, who proved his worth on songs such as “Defiling…” and “Kafir”, roaring and shrieking their lines alongside Karl in between riffing, while the former track had those in the pit screaming along to the lyrics “There is no God!” repeatedly.
Pleased with the positive reaction the set was getting after just three songs, Karl requested a “f*ck yes that kicks my a*s all the way back across the ocean?” ahead of Nile’s performance of “Call to Destruction” and the audience gave him what he asked for. Main man Karl mentioned that “some of the most metal as f*ck people on the planet in one place” is what he loves about visiting London.
Five songs in and Nile had their first crowd surfer land in the pit. “Long Shadows of Dread” demonstrated how well Eames’ piercing screams contrast with Sanders’ low death growls. After ”In the Name of Amun” and a quick guitar change for Karl, bassist Julian David Guillen was introduced by Nile’s only original member, which led to him being given a welcoming, unified cheer during the middle of their show.
“Are you motherf*ckers made of metal?” Fans were asked by the founding guitarist. Dissatisfied with the number of people who responded “yes”, he repeated the question and added “I know you speak English here!” gaining some laughs as well as more yeses. Direct support Krisiun were given a well-deserved shout-out, which received a massive round of applause. During the title track from their latest album, “Vile” Karl and Scott lock guitar necks and slide them across each other, giving fanatics yet another moment to capture digitally.
Ending with a blast from the past, “Black Seeds Of Vengeance” was the last chance moshers had to go crazy and they absolutely did. Front-rowers were pressed against the barriers as those behind them completely lost it and they circle-pitted and threw themselves around. All in all, an exciting seventy-five-minute set by technical death metal titans Nile!
Nile setlist:
- Sacrifice Unto Sebek
- Defiling the Gates of Ishtar
- Kafir!
- Call to Destruction
- Long Shadows of Dread
- In the Name of Amun
- Lashed to the Slave Stick
- The Howling of the Jinn
- Vile Nilotic Rites
- Sarcophagus
- 4th Arra of Dagon
[Invocation of the Gate of Aat-Ankh-es-en-Amenti] - Black Seeds of Vengeance