(((O))) Live: Suffocation – Electric Brixton

The Electric Brixton has really cemented itself as a major metal venue in the last few years – I enjoyed Cattle Decapitation and Alcest here recently – and tonight is another example of a fine metal show, coordinated with both efficiency and atmosphere.  

With 5pm doors and a 9:50pm final song for tonight’s show, I clearly wasn’t the only person to miss the first support and most of the second, judging by the slightly thin crowd for Fuming Mouth. Walking in for their final two songs, I was reminded of how good they were at the New Cross Inn last year: a packed show with a real fiery energy in the room. Those who are down the front in the Electric Brixton’s wide pit area aren’t wasting any time getting the energy flowing, with a push-pit swirling as Massachusetts’ finest, crusty death crew deliver their raw and raucous grooves. I’m all for pushing the boat out and expanding one’s horizons but I have to admit the closing song – something of a ballad with clean vocals – trails the set off somewhat.  

Next up, Angelmaker – a deathcore band from British Columbia – have a huge band and a sound to match. Does a metal band really need seven members? Few do, I’d say. Here we have three guitarists, which seems to be a decision made to achieve thick layering rather than intricate harmonies, judging by what I can see of their interlocking parts. There’s some two-handed tapping on the seventh string, though, for the riffs, which is enjoyable and interesting to watch, as well as some juicy melodic leads. 

But the most notable justification for having such a large band is the energy and dynamic achieved by having two vocalists – one covering high screams and the other gruff contrasting growls. With both singers unencumbered by instruments, they can work the crowd from the outset, achieving immediate momentum and drive, as well as using their contrasting styles to keep the sound varied. For the best bits, this achieves a real one-two, left-right, quick jabs from either side, feel to the songs.  

Announcing ‘Leech’, clearly a well-known song, one of our vocalists comes right up to the crowd, spitting the angry lyrics back and forth: “You’re a fucking coward/No pity for the weak/Sever the ties/You suck the life out of me.” 

Ending on an (apparently) ten-year-old song ‘A Dark Omen’, both vocalists signal for a wall of death, signalling to part the crowd like some kind of sports goth Moses, and delivering punchy, juddering riffs as the two halves smash together.  

“Don’t ever be discouraged by anyone – fuck ‘em!”, advises one of our vocalists, and it’s clearly a creed that Angelmaker live by.  

I think this is my third time seeing Suffocation, and they don’t disappoint in providing – once again – the kind of tight, varied, and powerful set that most bands in the death metal sub-genre strive for. This might come as no surprise, given that they have been around since 1988, but that’s a span of time in which many fine bands can stop innovating and start stagnating. While Suffocation may not be releasing the most wildly innovative albums around, their latest Hymns From The Apocrypha is yet another masterpiece in brutality released under their name, and the three or four we get from it tonight sound incredible. Everything about their performance is flawless and delivered with an energy that would be impressive from a band of half their age. Vocalist Ricky Myers, who joined the fold relatively recently in 2019, is a brilliant frontperson and vocalist: tall, athletic, he’s a guy with a big stage presence, an even bigger voice, and he commands the crowd in a manner that looks effortless. Then there’s my favourite member: Derek on bass, delivering precision lines with a clanky tone that cuts through the mix perfectly, his axe resting on the floor for most of the show, at the end of an absurdly low strap.  

What I love most about Suffocation are the intricacies and diversity of their riffs: each a perfectly crafted, hybrid bundle of different techniques and modes, woven together and delivered in a frantic burst of ideas; they are technical riffs but written to provide a sense of narrative and strong song-writing rather than to be complex for its own sake. Towards the end of tonight’s set, ‘Descendents’ from Hymns is a case in point, combining tight open thrashing with lightning-quick palm-muted slams, and interspersed with blisteringly tricky harmonized melodies.  

This show will probably not go down in the annals of Suffocation’s career as a history-making event. But it’s a testament to the quality and professionalism of a band when they play even a regular date on their tour with an energy and enthusiasm that will keep their fans coming to see them over and over again. And, frankly, there are plenty of bands who have been doing this for just as long and have lost that energy and excitement.  

Furthermore, while tonight’s 5–10pm slot isn’t a bad deal for the audience as we get out early with time for another drink somewhere else, there’s a bit of extra pressure on the bands to keep their sets strictly to time, with no room for mixing things up. But I feel like the crowd gets extra wild to compensate, and the pits are fast and furious from the opening staggering riff of ‘Thrones of Blood’ to the final chugging bars of ‘Entrails of You’.  

Suffocation have been at the fore-front of death metal for around three decades, and tonight’s show demonstrates that they remain amongst the very best live bands in the genre.