Sepultura/Raging Speedhorn/Cage Fight -
The Waterfront, Norwich 15th June 2022
Set List: Intro/Shine/Killer/Mad/Guillotine/Respect Ends/Eating Me Alive/Hope Castrated.
Cage Fight who come from the UK & France, but are fully based in London comprise of Rachel Aspe (Vocals), James Monteith (Guitar), Jon Reid (Bass/Vocals) & Nick Plews (Drums). As soon as the band came on stage you knew this was going to be hard and fast and they didn’t disappoint.
Straight away it was in your face at full force. Rachel didn’t hold back and she blasted us with her vocals with the crowd going mental. 'Hope Castrated' & 'Respect Ends' were two songs I felt stood out on the night and it was what it says on the tin!
We had 30 minutes of Cage Fight blasting the venue and the crowd grew. Those who had been in other parts of the venue came in and joined in. The band was very tight and delivered a flawless show.
Set List: Dungeon Whippet/Motorhead/Redweed/Voodoo Man/Spitfire/Hard To Kill/Doom Machine/Thumper/Brutality.
So after a short break Raging Speedhorn stepped on stage. A band founded in Corby, Northamptonshire and made up of Frank Regan (Vocals), Daniel Cook (Vocals), James Palmer (Guitar), Dave Leese (Guitar), Andy Gilmour (Bass) & Gordon Morison (Drums).
Straight away, Frank & Daniel interacted with the crowd. They took it to another level due to Daniel constantly standing on the barrier with the fans, ensuring they felt like they were part of the band. This just took it to the full force of Raging Speedhorn.
Some great material and yet again, only had 30 minutes to get the crowd going for Sepultura. The fans crowd-surfed and head banged throughout the whole set. These folks where full of energy and you knew this was only going to wilder with Sepultura.
Set List: Polícia (Titãs song)/Intro/Arise/Territory/Means To An End/Capital Enslavement/Kairos/ Propaganda/Guardians Of Earth/Cut-Throat/Corrupted/Machine Messiah/Infected Voice/Agony Of Defeat/Slave New World/Refuse/Resist.
Encore: Ratamahatta/Roots Bloody Roots.
The Brazilian boys whose line-up of course goes in the way of Paulo Jr. (Bass/Backing Vocals), Andreas Kisser (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Derrick Green (Lead Vocals) & Eloy Casagrande (Drums). Last time I saw Sepultura was over 9 years ago at Hammerfest. I wasn’t sure what to expect since some bands lose their edge and some just keep getting better. Sepultura have just got better and better over the years.
Their stage presence was just out of this world: up-close and personal with the fans. Just when you thought you had seen it all with Cage Fight & Raging Speedhorn, Sepultura take it to another level. They engulfed the congregation with a massive set list, covering some of the crowds favourite songs.
The fans were constantly crowd-surfing and I lost count how many fans had gone over the barriers. It was just a constant stream! The security were great and simply went with the flow, making sure everyone was safe and having a great time. 'Territory' stood out to me: some great lyrics and with how the night was going it was well delivered by the band and well received by the fans, who sang the whole song while head banging at 100mph. In fact, there are videos of the gig and it shows how great a night it was.
With every song, the crowd just went wilder and wilder, but they were well behaved and were there for a good time and to enjoy the music. Derrick was smiling throughout the gig with the reaction of the fans. He even invited them to sing along and they didn’t let him down.
Overall, the night was great. Many support bands are there just to pass the time for the fans and get some quality coverage. Cage Fight & Raging Speedhorn made sure you went away remembering them. It was hard, loud and in your face! It was not for the faint hearted and the crowd gave it 1000% and more, showing their appreciation to every song played by all 3 bands. Many left looking like they had been doing a marathon and they had with constant head banging for over 2 ½ hours.
The only let down was the lighting since there far too much of one colour on with no spots on the band members. The lighting was aimed at the crowd which looked great for crowd shots but trying to capture the bands was pure luck. I had to delete so many great shots due to this fact, not to mention strobe lights. But it’s for the fans and the fans loved it.
Overall the bands were equally 10/10 but I am giving 6/10 for the lighting. I am unsure if that’s the venue or how the bands wanted it. I’ve been to The Waterfront several times recently and the lighting was far better.
By Paul 'Animal' Hampson