PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
@PlanetMosh reviews .@OverkillBand ‘s first ever live show in Ireland.
They say that good things come to those who wait, which must mean that Ireland’s thrash heads are among the best rewarded as well as the most patient on the planet of mosh, as they had waited more than 30 years for one of the legends of the genre to finally visited these shores…
Openers Shrapnel (https://www.facebook.com/ShrapnelOfficial) were on a hiding to nothing for a large percentage of fans, as the start of their set coincided with the nail biting final minutes of Ireland’s thrilling Six Nations victory over Les Bleus in Paris: but, early comers and those who slowly drifted in from the surrounding bars were rewarded with a hard-hitting and impressive performance from the Norwich youngsters as they ran through a tightly packed set based around their stunning debut album, ‘The Virus Conspires’.
Dublin obviously holds a special place in the hearts of the resurgent Xentrix (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Xentrix/354617581311808), as this is the third time they have played the Irish capital since their re-emergence from retirement last year – a fact acknowledged by frontman Chris Astley, as he thanks his hosts for inspiring the band to write new material before introducing the aggressive and punchy ‘Word Of Mouth’. The quartet obviously are enjoying their new lease of life, as they deliver a hard-hitting and concrete solid set of old school punk-infused thrash, which is met with a rabid response.
It doesn’t take long for Ellsworth to recognize the length of time it has taken Overkill to make it to Ireland – “it’s a long fucking swim” – as the band let rip into a set appropriately crammed with classic tracks from their extensive back catalogue, from an early outing for ‘Wrecking Crew’ through a titanic ‘Electric Rattlesnake’ to a suitably menacing ‘Rotten To The Core’ – the latter of which also helps to highlight the unusually rotten sound, which is dark and muddier than a Killarney bog. The band nevertheless are in great form, with Ellsworth enthusiastic and vociferous in his good-natured interaction with the rabid crowd, who are virtually hanging from the rafters as every corner of the venue is rammed with denim and leather encased flesh, and Dave Linsk and DD Verni particularly energetic.
A pity the poor sound was somewhat of a blight on this otherwise historic – and, to coin a well-used phrase by PM’s resident Dublin snapper, Steve D, “savage” – evening of heavy metal histrionics, as summarized by the roof-raising finale of ‘Fuck You!’, which delivered exactly that message to any doubters of the power of thrash metal to unite its faithful followers in a common brotherhood.
https://www.facebook.com/OverkillWreckingCrew
Photographs by Steve Dempsey – Down The Barrel Photography
