Vltimas/Ba'al/Terminal Sun -
Corporation, Sheffield, Friday 8th July 2022
Setlist: AZ5/The Liquidators/All That Will Burn/Universal Bloodbag/The Spirit Of Dark And Lonely Waters/Apeshifter/Oblation To Ingvaz.
Back at the 'Corp Stage, it was great to have a night of extreme music. Opening up was Terminal Sun.
Their nuclear lyric content fits the semantic field as their instruments were like weapons. I was blown away by their assault of sound. The vocals were like the roar of napalm, full of chaos, yet tamed. 'Oblation To Ingvaz' really hit me. The guitar-playing was on point.
Everything about this band said 'amazing' to me. The bass playing was awesome and really gave those dark tones. The drumming reminded me of machine guns and really stood out to me. One of the best drummers I have seen live.
Overall a really strong band.
9/10
Setlist: Long Live/An Orchestra Of Flies/Tarred And Feathered/Father/The Sea. The Moon/Rosalia.
A black metal band, Ba’al really bring home the 'witch-iness' in their music. The frightening vocals sound like spells being uttered. These were some of the most raw, powerful, and dark vocals I have ever heard.
The next thing I noticed was the guitaring, true, heavy black metal. The drumming aided the guitar-work, with a loud, blackened bass drum that shook the supports.
The bass guitar was like the melody to the apocalypse. “Long Live” was my favourite song played, and like I already said, had the real, raw energy needed to be a great metal band.
Overall a really good band.
8.5/10
Setlist: Something Wicked Marches In/Praevalidus/Total Destroy/Monolilith/Truth And Consequence/Last Ones Alive Win Nothing/Everlasting/Marching On/Diabolus Est Sanguis.
Easily one of my favourite supergroups, Vltimas’ show was of epic proportions. From start till end they showed no mercy to the Corp crowd, with chugging riffs and gruelling vocals that even a demon would be scared of!
I really like the drummer in this band, the speed and technicality astounds me. The album title track, and first song played, 'Something Wicked Marches In' is my favourite song. The lyrics/vocals blended with the visionary instrumentation making for an amazing masterpiece.
'Monolith' is another brilliant song. Eriksen's guitar expertise is unmatched by many blackened death metal guitarists. It was a very good night and I will definitely go and see Vltimas again if they play Steel City.
Now go and do yourselves a favour by purchasing their album. How the hell can you go wrong with a band that features current or former members of Mayhem, Cryptopsy & Morbid Angel?
10/10
By Alex 'Reaper' Holmes