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TERRORIZER PRESENTS... BLACK WINTER DAY III
BRADFORD UNIVERSITY

A muddy sound does no favours for The Belonging who kick off the day's proceedings with a competent but predictable hybrid of black and death metal. A spirited performance from local lads Let Em Burn ascertains that following their recent health problems they are back with a vengeance and prepared for war! The vocals tread along a similar path to those of Kreator frontman Mille Petrozza while a definite Overkill persuasion imbues the likes of 'War Slut' and 'Weapons Of Mass Destruction'. Unsurprisingly their latest demo had sold out within an hour! This is thrash as it should be done, and more than makes up for Carnal Rites who do a fine job of clearing the room with their bland interpretation of the genre. They are marginally redeemed by the occasionally exciting riff although the 'melodic' yet monotone post-'The Black Album' Hetfield vocal impersonations leave a lot to be desired.
A full moon on display from Detrimentum frontman Luke is not a particularly pleasant sight but this doesn't distract from the brutal bursts of apoplectic rage exhibited in this performance encompassing mind shattering gurgles and snarls, blastbeats and traditional death metal riffs on songs like 'Disillusion Ethos' making this one of the stand out sets of the day. The jarring vocals of Mark from Centurions Ghost seem to be an opinion-splitter although as the band plough through a sequence of massive doomy riffs mixed with a copious heap of rock'n'roll groove it is easy to see why these are fast becoming one of the most talked about names in British doom.
There's something charmingly European about Loathe as the well spoken singer switches from his Anselmo-style tough guy façade, interrupting their aggressive and hermetic hardcore so he can converse with the crowd. With songs like 'Ragdoll' and 'In The Presence Of Beauty' they demonstrate skill beyond that of your typical hardcore band.
Oozing professionalism from every solid metal gland, Evile take to the stage and instantly work the crowd up into a thrashing frenzy with such high-speed pit-inciters as 'Thrasher' and 'First Blood'. Distortion taints the final couple of songs although the sound rapidly improves as Dutch death-thrashers Detonation lay down a double-barrelled attack of technical guitars interlaced with plenty of intricate fills and huge amounts of melody. One or two songs could do with being slightly shorter in length although Emission Phase material such as 'When Stone Turns To Ash' are really brought to life.
The main attraction tonight is undoubtedly Sabbat who are virtually untouchable in terms of writing mature and thought-provoking songs. They were never your run of the mill thrash band and it is clear why that is as they thrash out all of the classics, setting the stage alight with 'Hosanna In Excelsis', 'Behind The Crooked Cross' and 'Do Dark Horses Dream Of Nightmares' which are played with technical prowess and energised power ending the night on a solid high.
LUCI HERBERT
If you like any of the bands here you might enjoy reading about Hellhammer in Terrorizer 166, out now.