» Macabre 2011 04 20  
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Reviewed by Bjorn
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Special guests: Rompeprop, Birdflesh, Bruce Lamont
City: Gothenburg, Sweden
Venue: Sticky Fingers
Date: 20 April 2011
Rompeprop set length: 30 minutes
Birdflesh set length: 30 minutes
Bruce Lamont set length: 15 minutes
Macabre set length: 60 minutes

Rompeprop

First up for tonight is Dutch "comedy grindcore" outfit Rompeprop. Overall they do an okay job and really seem to have fun onstage. Furthermore, they actually manage to create a moshpit (containing three people, but still!) in front of the stage, which is pretty impressive considering that the venue was almost empty during their set. Musically, it's a so-so performance - they have some really cools riffs but the heavily distorted vocals bore me pretty quickly.

5 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Birdflesh

It's hard to describe Birdflesh visually, so here are the basics: old-people masks and nightgowns. Strange. The gig itself was okay and although most of the pause talk from the drummer was pretty boring, the statement "We sound better on our albums than we do live. Hell, we sound better on a t-shirt than we do live!" was admittedly pretty funny.

5,5 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Bruce Lamont

As Bruce Lamont's gig wasn't really advertised beforehand, a lot of people were confused - expecting their daily dose of murder metal and getting some kind of strange drone/ambience "music". Basically, this guy sat on a stool, turned some knobs on a sound board, added an occasional guitar stroke and played a little bit of clarinet and saxophone. Although this probably wasn't the right forum for his music and although I appreciate different kinds of bands for a more varied concert experience, this was just bad. Among three death metal/grindcore bands, this was a really strange addition to the bill and the only upside of it was that he only played for fifteen minutes.

2 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Macabre

Although I had some mixed feelings about Macabre's latest record, Grim Scary Tales, something told me that those songs would work a lot better live. I was right. As soon as they kick off the show with Locusta, I get it. From the first second, the technically complex music is performed to perfection by all three band members and they sound incredibly synchronized and professional, which isn't all that strange considering they've been playing together for about 25 years.

Since practically all of their songs are about real serial killers, vocalist/guitarist Corporate Death takes the time to tell a little story about the killer in question before each song. Naturally, some of these stories are pretty disturbing, and it's a nice (in lack of a better word…) touch that really creates a creepy atmosphere.

All in all, it's a great performance with a mix of newer songs with older ones, from their entire back catalogue. My absolute highlights of the night are Scrub A Dub Dub, which might be one of the coolest and creepiest songs ever, and Serial Killer, the first track from their first EP, a phenomenally brutal song that embodies the concept of controlled chaos in music.

My only real complaint would be that although they played 17 songs, I wished they would have played for more than an hour. There wasn't really that much people attending either, which was a shame considering what a great concert it was. Hopefully, Macabre will come back to Gothenburg by the next album release. I'll be there, guaranteed.

8 chalices of 10

Setlist:

Locusta
Nero's Inferno
Trial
McMassacre
The Black Knight
Night Stalker
The Bloody Benders
Serial Killer
Mary Bell
The Cat Came Back
Fritz Haarman Der Metzger
Scrub A Dub Dub
You're Dying To Be With Me
Burke And Hare
Hitchhiker
Zodiac
Vampire Of Düsseldorf

Related links:
www.murdermetal.com
www.myspace.com/macabre
www.myspace.com/brucelamont
www.myspace.com/birdfleshgrind
www.myspace.com/rompepropaganda