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Doing things because of spite is generally not encouraged. However, doing things because of Spite, the notable Californian deathcore group, is in fact highly encouraged and welcomed in the community. Such things include going to Nottingham to see the stunning lineup they've chosen to tour with, featuring a veritable who's who of current aggressive American -core music.
As comfortably the smallest band on the bill, Colorado's Mouth For War were opening up proceedings, but belied their youth and ripped the very air to shreds with a dominant set. The energy they played with, combined with the raw heaviness in songs like 'Roses In Place Of Your Ashes' made the whole set a defining statement of intent. You would never have known they were only touring the UK for the first time as they played like a band with years of touring under their belts and allowed every speck of vitriol to show through the entire half hour they were onstage, culminating in the song 'The Devil' which is about "harming paedophiles", a sentiment that was echoed back tenfold by the whole crowd. Every second of their stellar metallic hardcore was worth listening to - Mouth For War, take a bow and please return soon.
Taking the mantle next were Connecticut's Boundaries, whose breakdown flecked metalcore was a perfect transition from the previous band into the rest of the set. The pits opened up nigh on instantaneously, everyone who wasn't moshing was headbanging, and the whole atmosphere was intensely enjoyable. Having only just released their fourth album on March 29th, we got to hear plenty of new songs alongside some of their older material which made for a great set, no matter how many times you'd seen them before. Splitting their setlist evenly to three songs each of off most recent release 'Death Is Little More', 2022's 'Burying Brightness' and 2020's 'Your Receding Warmth', it was a varied set that more than shared the love between their previous work and recent tracks too.
Providing main support, Bodysnatcher joined us from Florida. The hellish gutturals combined with incredibly satisfying breakdowns and clear crowd support kept everyone's energy high. Songs like 'Black of My Eyes' and 'Take Me To Hell' enjoyed excellent crowd participation, and new single 'Murder8' went down a treat. It was, however, final song 'King of the Rats' that had the biggest reaction of the night up until then, with a huge roar in response to it starting and movement the entire way through. Possibly the best single word to describe the Bodysnatcher fans would be frenzied, as they kept pushing and screaming and jumping all set in a huge display of love for the band.
Finally, headlining the entire event, Spite entered the fray all the way from California and gave an example to each attendee of how much fun ridiculously heavy music can be. On their Dedication to Flesh tour, they filled half their fourteen song set with tracks off of the new album. The title track and 'Crumble' were particular hits, but each song went down a storm, although considering the album came out nearly two years ago that was almost expected! However, the rest of the set was just as popular, with hits like 'Kill or Be Killed' stirring up a storm, and an encore of 'Despise' into 'Death Sentence' was a phenomenal way to finish off such a consistently excellent night of live heaviness.
Featuring four incredibly heavy bands on one bill, riffs galore, barely a single clean vocal and innumerable breakdowns, the entire night was a riot. Every band gave Nottingham their best, and will all no doubt be welcomed back with open arms whenever they may return.
Words: Jake Longhurst
Photos: Ellie Jones
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