The mighty Suffocation is touring Europe again, with a new drummer again – Kevin Tally- and a new stand-in singer. They brought two supports on tour, but two more were playing on this day. I skipped those first two bands though, as it started early in the evening and I wanted to do different things. It has been many years since I was in De Helling.

The first band I watched was the US band Abiotic. I was unfamiliar with them and they were labelled as deathcore / death metal, so that makes sense. There was a extra drumkit on stage, so there was very little room left on the stage. They play very technical death metal with some core influences. The music however lacks a bit in structure and hooks, making it all blend together. And with the rather static appearance of the band, due to limited space and due to the guitarist looking at the fretboard all the time, didn’t make it a very interesting gig. The bassist however did some nifty double handed tapping in some of the songs.

Next was Cattle Decapitation. Another US band, who play death/grind. I had heard of them but never actually listened to them. They remind me a bit of old Napalm Death, with slower chugga chugga sections and chaotic fast sections. The singer stole the show though with a very active stage act and all kinds of vocal styles. Musically it didn’t interest me all that much tho.

Then at last there was Suffocation. They started off with Thrones of Blood, a mostly mid-paced song. The entire set consisted mostly of classic songs with a few newer songs thrown in. The band played rock solid, however the vocalist – Ricky Myers, normally the drummer of Disgorge – seem to be ill and the vocals didn’t sound too good and his voice was hardly audible during the announcements. Due to this they had to cut their set short to some 10 songs. It’s time for Frank Mullen to return to the stage.