Liverpool is very hit and miss when it comes to gigs. It’s metal scene cries out for action but when the action comes, those who are most vocal about it are reluctant to show up and support it. Massive attendances only seem to be for higher profile bands, thus starving the underground scene which despite the lack of opportunities in its home, is still thriving somehow… But for how long?

With the fall of Facemelting Entertainment due to gig apathy, Deathwave Promotions have stepped up to the mark to try and breathe life into a dying scene which is plagued by indifference, an inflated sense of self entitlement from a percentage of the punters and the council destroying the musical heritage of the city, one venue at a time.

But enough of the ranting, like many people, I find Thrash metal a great outlet for blowing off some steam, and when two thrash bands and one thrashy groove band are all on one bill, you know its going to be wild!

Opening the stage were Merseyside 2015 Metal To The Masses winners Deified. Before they even came on, the venue was filling up nicely, giving the local based band a damn good crowd to warm up and maybe to get some new fans from. Granted, before they came on, the venue was pitch black, almost as if someone hadn’t paid the ‘leccy bill with the only lighting coming from the stage, but when the five piece appeared, the lights came on a little and we could see. What we saw was a well oiled groove metal unit with a real thrashy edge to their sound. Rumbling feedback gave way to a pounding heavy groove with some real harsh and venomously delivered vocals. Tight as fuck with the relentless groove, the band sounded fantastic. Thunderous low end, a fantastic drummer and the energy of the crowd made for a perfect combination and when they played “Wetwork”, the crowd lapped it up. Sounding like a more thrash orientated Lamb Of God, Deified pounded away at the crowd who were begging for more groove and in this small venue, they sounded even bigger than they already did. Closing with “Ascend”, which ironically went down well (see what I did there ha!), the crowd loved every second of their punishing assault and the heartfelt thanks of the band for the turnout and participation really spurred everyone on. These guys are one to watch out for!

Following this up was Finish thrash fourpiece Lost Society who have just released their third album “Braindead”. Normally, you would associate Finland and the bands it often spawns  being of the doomier, blackened, symphonic or power metal varieties, but these turbo charged metalheads are thrash through and through which makes for a pleasant change. Full of energy from the off, you cannot deny they love being on stage. Old school sounds laid waste to the O2 and it was beautiful to witness.

Air raid siren vocals, frantic paced riffs and some serious speed really put the European representation on this tour down as a firm favorite of the crowd, and with the energy of the frontman, bouncing across the stage, hyping the crowd up even more who in turn drove him to be even more energetic was brilliant. Granted, they weren’t all about playing fast as fuck because they could. “Hollow Eyes” hit like a sledgehammer with a real powerful sound and solid steady thrash groove whilst “Terror” kicked things back up a few gears and really upped the pace of the evening once more whilst “I Am The Antidote” had the mandatory crowd participation sections which the majority of thrash acts utilise with the empowering ‘Oi! Oi!’ section with fists pounding rhythmically in the air. These guys were fantastic from start to finish and they really got everyone ready for Exodus.

Now, 31 years in Thrash is a pretty long time and let’s face it, line up changes will happen in this time and the guitarist shaped elephant in the room was of course the big issue for many (Personally, for me it was the fact that Dukes still hadn’t returned to vocal duties but Zetro was sufficient to say the least!).

Exodus took to the stage and it was pretty much like the last time I saw them indoors. In June 2015, they played Manchester Academy 3, a small room in the middle of a heatwave. March 3rd 2016, they played Liverpool O2 Academy 2, a small room but in the middle of a cold snap. Either way, extreme temperatures and thrash were involved but the cold matter little as the bay area veterans came out.

No fucks given and no prisoners taken, it was a maelstrom of chaos from the off with bodies flying left and right. Wild, classic sounding and raw as hell, the guys delivered exactly what everyone wanted. Jumping from their classic works to the most recent releases without a single beat missed, the old and the new went down exactly the same – flawlessly delivered. The lack of Gary was addressed on stage again but by now, no one really cares anymore, we get he’s going to pick Slayer over Exodus nine times out of ten and the way Exodus have simply carried on proves that one man doesn’t define a band with the legacy that the Bay Area titans have.

“A Lesson In Violence” was dedicated to Lemmy after they addressed how this was a fantastic night that they were having and after paying compliments of the highest order to Lost Society, they paid their own respects to the generation which came before them. Other favorites like “Blacklist”, “War Is My Shepherd” and the seldom played “Vlad The Impaler” were well received and the ending double shot of “Toxic Waltz” and “Strike Of The Beast” which signalled the obligatory build up wall of death spot closed the set, allowing the newer generation, the millennial metal kids to see just what the previous guard had to show them and it was a true lesson in violence.

By the end of it, there were few down in the action zone who weren’t going to be feeling it in the morning. For a wet and cold Wednesday night, the metal scene of Liverpool rallied and came out in force to attend a gig which this city should be capable of attracting but the same old will happen – people will moan that there is nothing on and the average gig attendance will drop back to 30-60 people tops. Still, negativity aside on that point, this was a fantastic night, a tremendous turn out and it did offer hope for those who love the live scene in Liverpool and maybe the efforts of Andy, the mastermind behind DeathWave Promotions who managed to get this gig going will be recognized and rewarded as the scene pull together to support each other once again.

Not wanting to sidetrack this any further, it was a phenomenal night and I highly recommend all three bands.

(Fraggle)