I Am Morbid @ The Factory Theatre
Each track smashed its way out of the sound system making it hard to not to break your neck head banging.
Photos & review by Kriti Mishra
If you are a fan of old school death metal, the probability of Morbid Angel being one of your favourite bands are quite high. As much as they are known for delivering some classic albums like Altars of Madness and Covenant, one of the most interesting facts for a 16-year-old me was that their albums are alphabetical acrostic. Was it intentional? Maybe. Maybe not. But it did add that cool quotient for the band. While it was not Morbid Angel playing in the Inner West, Sydney on a Sunday night, having Dave Vincent, Pete Sandoval and Bill Hudson over celebrating the 30th Anniversary of “Covenant” as the band I am Morbid, it was no brainer to be attending this gig.
Up first were Sydney’s Anoxia, who are building a solid reputation locally with their killer brand of OSDM. Shooting a death metal gig with no barricades was a challenge as the pit established itself into an early whirlpool of bodies as soon as the band’s frontman, Joey Scott started to belt out their first track, Languish in Suffering. The band onstage generated such potent energy and kept the crowd entertained from start to finish without a dull moment. The sound was crisp and heavy, the vocals called for maximum carnage with the impressive growls and unrelenting whiplashes throughout the set. The drumming and breakdowns were the highlights for me. Despite the aggression in the music, there was an element of calmness every time you turned around to watch guitarist Elias Niahos shred on the guitars, the photos are a testament to this. I highly recommend listening to their EP Languish in Suffering and heading out to the next Anoxia gig.
Tough act to follow, the next band to play was Lord Kaos. Now, a three-piece black metal band hailing from Sydney. They faced some technical difficulties to start with but once the dust settled, the scene was set for some pure Norwegian-style symphonic black metal. I had a little fan girl moment once I realised the guitarist I was photographing was Astennu (ex Dimmu Borgir). Watching the band play under the theatrical low and flashing lights increased the gloomy characteristics of the style of music. Is it really black metal though, if no one indulges in a little bit of corpse paint? Luckily for us, the vocalist donned on corpse paint and delivered shrieking, high-pitched vocals effortlessly. Overall, a great comeback show for a band that hasn’t been playing live for years.
It’s almost 10.30 pm…As the lights go dim, and everyone waits in anticipation for the main act- the chanting begins. It went from “Morbid” to “Morbed” and just “Mor…” quickly given the copious amounts of beer consumed by the crowd. A huge cheer goes up as the I Am Morbid backdrop is hoisted up above the drum kit. Wasting no time at all, enter Dave and Pete opening the set with drumbeats to Omni Potens. Immortal Rites comes next and brings with it Bill’s shredding abilities to send the mosh pit crazy. Each track smashed its way out of the sound system making it hard to not to break your neck head banging.
The band played as a 3-piece, guitarist Ritchie Brown was unable to attend Australia tour, which Dave addressed on stage light heartedly with his comments, “looks like Australia does not let criminal musicians in” adding humour to the set. Bill is an incredible musician, and watching his raging finger work to The Lion’s Den is worth the price of the ticket alone! David’s vocals were as death metal as it could get and Pete on drums is a sight of its own. His speed and dexterity left me with my jaws in my hands and I am struggling to find the right words to describe how incredible his stage presence was. Majority of the songs played were from the album “Covenant” as the tour name suggests, and it only left the crowd wanting more. The sound and lighting worked in sync with each other creating a pleasant experience both as a fan and a photographer for the night.
I am Morbid were a treat to watch and I would do it all over again.
