BONECRUSHER FEST 01.26.10

We start the year with one of the most extreme and diverse tours that is planned for 2010: the Bonecrusher Fest. Unlike many other remarkable tours that go through Europe but not Spain, this one did, and in what way!

Captained by the Americans THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER (a benchmark in the current death metal scene), a total of seven groups landed in the Salamandra salamander in Barcelona.

Unfortunately, the hardworking student life is very hard and I only got to see the last three groups. Likewise, the rest is not wasted so here is a little presentation.

The evening was opened by INGESTED, a recently formed group that came out of the English underground scene with influences from SUFFOCATION and DEEDS OF FLESH mixed with a point of current Extreme Metal. Although they are unknown in these places, their debut album 'Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering' has been well received in their country of origin. They were followed by THE FACELESS, an American group of technical Death Metal, too much for my taste. Influenced, mostly, by NECROPHAGIST, they offer fast music full of technicalities. Personally, it's a group that saturates me, and I love groups like BRODEQUIN, obscura, but they don't manage to convey anything to me. They were followed by OBSCURA, one of the most acclaimed groups (or that's what was heard during the groups' backline change) of the entire night. It is not the first time that Germans set foot in our country and they have a growing number of followers. Their second album 'Cosmogenesis' has been considered one of the best releases of the past year, as far as new bands are concerned. It is a group that will have to be followed closely because surely they will give a lot to talk about. And finally we have CARNIFEX: American Death Metal group with a modern cut. Personally, I don't like their mix of DEVOURMENT with current Deathcore, but these days there are a lot of fans of this more modern Extreme Metal coming from America.

At 9:00 p.m., the Swedish NECROPHOBIC took the stage, the main reason for my attendance. Third time they come to Barcelona (the previous two as headliners) and they surprise me more and more live. With the incorporation of the new bassist Alex Friberg, he has given way to singer Tobias to focus exclusively on the voices and have more play on stage. With 40 minutes of performance they could not do much, so they went over their discography and, as the festival has been named, they ended up crushing our bones with songs like “Revelation 666”, “For Those Who Stayed Satanic”, being “ Blinded by Light, Enlightened by Darkness ”one of the most acclaimed songs.

Next up were 3 INCHES OF BLOOD. I have to confess, his records have never caught my attention but live they blow your mind. Impressive these Canadian boys who mix the Heavy Metal of a lifetime with very fast sounds and guttural voices with lyrics. They started the concert with 3IOB_21 “Battles and Brotherhood”, continuing with “Silent Killer”, and leaving us all dumbfounded by so much speed and brutality. They just took a break for us to sing “Happy Birthday” to drummer Ash Pearson. The only thing I missed was not listening to “Deadly Sinners”, the song that brought them to fame in 2004.

To end a night of the most extreme for our ears, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER offered us a more than correct concert. At the time, when they released 'Miasma', it seemed like a group to consider, but the next two albums have not caught my attention. As I have mentioned before, they play an increasingly modern Death Metal, mixed with current Metalcore. They have a very good live show, quite linear of course (mostly due to the songs and the word fuck present at all times), but that the audience enjoyed by way of constant pogos. As for the set-list, they went over their entire musical career with songs like “Funeral Thirst”, “A Vulgar Picture”, “Black Valor”, “What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse”, “Miasma”, and ended the performance with "I Will Return."

The reception of the festival was very positive from the audience, with a Salamander full to the brim. Another point to comment on was the good organization and punctuality of both the bands and the organizers, strictly adhering to the performance schedule and being able to return home quietly by public transport, which is appreciated. The negative aspect falls on the main organizer of the entire European tour, more than anything that people paid their entrance to see only one or two groups since the rest of the lineup was not to their liking. But hey, this is really something subjective and at the end of the day, thanks to this tour, we have been able to see groups that do not usually perform in Spain.

Promotional photographs

Text: Xènia Senserrich