Dying Fetus + Job for a Cowboy + Revocation + Cerebral Bore: 22 Sept 2012 – Dublin

You know you are about to witness some serious acts of brutality when Dublin’s premiere underground metal venue, the Pint, has moved band merchandise from the venue to the pub downstairs. The Pint — with a capacity of 300 — is a dark, claustrophobic asylum for every dastardly genre within underground metal. This year it has played host to titans of black metal and death metal: Absu, Exhumed, Obscura, Altar of Plagues, and Suffocation, as well as occult-rocker the Devil’s Blood and heavy metal traditionalists 3 Inches of Blood — none of which saw the merchandise stalls moved to create extra muscle room. Tonight however, sees the return of one of the most well respected, influential, and consistent death metal bands ever to retch their aural abominations upon the world… Dying Fetus. Joining the Maryland power trio on a lengthy European jaunt are three hungry bands carving individual careers in this most uncompromising of genres: Job for a Cowboy, Revocation and Cerebral Bore.

Death metal has always had a strong following in Ireland and judging by the eager young fans stalking the merch tables — as well as the large turn out from the old guard — its popularity remains steadfast. Testosterone hangs heavy over the first five rows of fans at the front of the stage as Scottish/Dutch four-piece Cerebral Bore batter all with their frills-free approach to the genre. This band have been slowly gathering speed ever since Simone “Som” Pluijmers took the over the role of vocalist, and her unassuming stature and gentle features are betrayed by a bestial growl in desperate need of an exorcism. Such hellacious vocals—not unlike a female Glen Benton—are equally matched by blunt force musicianship on the likes of “Maniacal Miscreation” and “The Bald Cadaver”, and the crowd (especially the rubber-necked fans at the front) do not hold back in their appreciation of this effective death metal band.

The fact that each of the support bands are sharing the same drum kit and helping each other hulk gear means that the interchanges between bands are rapidly dealt with. Revocation are next to take to the stage and their technical thrash infused death metal is a revelation to behold in a live setting. Jaw-dropping musical flair and a surprising amount of showmanship makes for a thrilling set, as the band (complete with new bass player Brett Bamberger) rip through “ReaniManiac”, “Dismantle the Dictator”, “Conjuring the Cataclysm”, and the instrumental thrash extravaganza of “Across Forests and Fjords” from their acclaimed albums Existence is Futile and Chaos of Forms. They also treated fans to an airing of “Bound by Desire” off their upcoming EP Teratogenesis — a song that contains an eye-watering solo which will further cement David Davidson as one of the greatest guitarists of our generation. Revocation ends their set with “No Funeral” and it’s clear that this band has surprised the unfamiliar and garnered plenty of new fans in Dublin, tonight.

Job for a Cowboy don’t need any introduction considering the amount of band t-shirts affixed to sweaty chests throughout the crowd. A young fanbase gathers close to witness Jonny Davy dominate this small stage with his politically focused death metal diatribes. This band has faced ample adversity since their inception, but credit must be given to Job for a Cowboy for overcoming multiple member changes and accusations of being fake/trendy from the death metal seniors. “Imperium Wolves” and “Children of Deceit” from their latest album Demonocracy blast their way through any remaining reservations, as does set highlight “Regurgitated Misinformation” with drummer Jon Rice’s rail-riding double bass patterns causing the confined crowd at the front to smash into each other. Job for a Cowboy have proved their critics wrong and have bypassed the malignant deathcore movement by staying true to death metal’s core characteristics. Nevertheless, should they fail to maintain a stable line-up their downfall will come from their own hands and not those of the naysayers.

Dying Fetus‘ John Gallagher (guitar/vocals), Sean Beasley (bass/vocals), and Trey Williams (drums) know all about surviving line-up changes and remaining true to their signature sound, prevailing over fleeting trends and dips in genre popularity. Condensing the line-up to a trio on 2009’s Descend into Depravity, Dying Fetus has continued down the death metal road much travelled, slamming those hardcore half-time beatdowns into death metal unyielding structures and spicing things up with Gallagher’s sweeping solos and the duelling vocal grunts that he shares with Beasley. Typically, younger bands have dived on the sound Dying Fetus have pulverized listeners with for almost 20 years. But those gathered here in the Pint know who the originators are and they have come to support the career efforts of Dying Fetus, and the band thank those in attendance with a set-list that spans their entire discography.

Ploughing through the grooves of “From Womb to Waste” and the biting death metal of “Schematics” and “Your Treachery Will Die With You” in a workman-like fashion, Dying Fetus are not about creating a spectacle, preferring to allow the face smashing intensity of “Procreate the Malformed” and “Epidemic of Hate” do the talking. At random fans jump on and off the stage, as “Subjected to a Beating” and “Invert the Idols” from latest album Reign Supreme slot in seamlessly between the dentist drill riff-grind of “Fornication Terrorists” and older tracks like “Tearing Inside the Womb” and the bluntly-titled “Skull Fucked”. Cheers meet the end of each song, most emphatically at the end of War of Attritions‘ “Homicidal Retribution”. The band took a breather before the pairing of fan favourites “Pissing in the Mainstream” and “Kill Your Mother/Fuck Your Dog” to finish their set, furiously. It seems that the Pint has just about managed to survive with the walls intact, but the rest of the venues that hold the remaining gigs on Dying Fetus’ “From Womb to Waste” tour may not be as lucky. Enter at your own risk.

SET LIST for Dying Fetus

01. From Womb to Waste

02. Schematics

03. Your Treachery Will Die With You

04. Procreate the Malformed

05. Subjected to a Beating

06. Epidemic of Hate

07. Skull Fucked

08. Tearing Inside the Womb

09. Invert the Idols

10. Fornication Terrorists

11. In the Trenches

12. Homicidal Retribution

13. Pissing in the Mainstream

14. Kill Your Mother/Fuck Your Dog