The first thing you notice about The Empire is that it’s moved a mile and a half from its old site on Far Gosford Street and into a shopping precinct. The site of a former cinema and sports retail outlet, the new location has allowed an increase in capacity by around 400, enabling it to hold up to around 1300 people. A cavernous space at the top of a flight of stationary escalators, the venue is split into a large merch area, bar and cafe, with a quick walk through to the main live area.
Upon arrival, London act Decrepid are well into their set, having a total blast and giving a great account of themselves in front of an enthusiastic, if sparse turnout. Next up are Argentinian quartet In Element. A curious sight to behold, even in Coventry on a Friday night, the guitarist wears a mask from the dystopian horror film The Purge while imposing frontman Charlie B constantly readjusts an ill-fitting balaclava. The drummer remains happily mask-free but bass player David Balboa looks like he literally just escaped from an S&M dungeon. Really, it’s difficult enough for a vocalist to address the crowd in what is clearly not his first language, ranting about serious subjects like war while he’s stood next to someone wearing a gimp chest harness and a leather puppy dog mask with floppy ears.
Their interpretation (and “absolutely not a cover”) of 1981 Phil Collins classic ‘In The Air Tonight’ (reimagined here as ‘In The Air 2Nite’) has the confused crowd singing along but a poor mix renders the band’s trademark melancholic metalcore approach non-existent as the drums crash above everything else during their set, leaving the band fighting an admirable but ultimately losing battle.
A simpler, more straightforward sound is required by death metal bruisers Krisiun and the difference is immediate as the band, now into their fourth(!) decade launch into a serious assault on the senses. Playing a quality mix of material such as oldie ‘Kings of Killing’ and the more recent ‘Blood of Lions’ the band also showcase the likes of ‘Swords Into Flesh’, ‘Necronomical’ and ‘Serpent Messiah’ all lifted from new album Mortem Solis (Century Media) released earlier this year. By this time, the crowd has more than tripled in size and become much more drunkenly vociferous, the baying mob roaring on the Brazilian legends to a suitably brutal climax with a raging ‘Hatred Inherit’.
With a booming intro of Egyptian chanting and the unveiling of George Kollias‘s impressive drum kit, Nile hit the stage and to put no finer point on it, the crowd lose their shit. From the opening blast of ‘Sacrifice Unto Sebek’, through ‘Defiling the Gates of Ishtar’, ‘Kafir!”, ‘Call to Destruction’, ‘Long shadows of Dread’, ‘Vile Nilotic Rites’, ‘Sarcophagus’ and others, the band are in nothing less than total control.
Vocalist/guitarist Scott Eames holds court centre stage with bassist Julian David Guillen to his left and founder member and camo shorted legend Karl Sanders to his right. Any sound issues which arose earlier in the night are nowhere to be found here. Everything is on point as the band snarl, roar, gurn and grin their way through seventy-five minutes of relentlessly extreme, Egyptian themed death metal.
Clearly not content with causing anything less than total havoc, the crowd was treated to absolutely crushing versions of ‘Lashed to the Slave Stick’ and classic ‘The Howling of the Jinn’ before ending the show with the guttural throat-slashing that is ‘Black Seeds of Vengeance. Climbing carefully down off the stage as the feedback still rings out, Sanders fist-bumps every member of the crowd he possibly can, handing out plectrums and set lists, ensuring everyone goes home happy.
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY GARY ALCOCK