Overkill, Vader, One Machine

12th of April 2016

The Fleece, Bristol, UK
Text and photos by Dawid Krosnia

FULL PHOTO GALLERY BELOW

When this tour was announced, I was jumping like a kid who just got a massive bag of sweets. American legendary thrashing force vs Polish death metal machine, on one evening, is something that any respected metalhead cannot miss. Period. These type of tour packages don’t happen very often, especially in the UK. Overkill and Vader’s music may be totally different but they’re both represent the old school way of playing metal. Back then, it really didn’t matter if you were listening to thrash or death metal, it was just metal, and this tour for me, was all about celebrating the past, present and future in metal industry.

Bristol’s venue, The Fleece, is familiar with this type of metal activities. As expected, the venue was pretty full with young and older generations of metalheads, such line-ups bring us all together. As soon as the venue opened, the first band on the bill, One Machine, hit the stage without a warning. This band was something new for me, I should have studied it before but I let them surprise me. Let me tell you something – this international foursome knows how to play good music. I guess, their position on this tour package wasn’t coincidental. Between all the band members you can sense years of experience of playing live. Playing as a opening act is not an easy challenge, it never is, but One Machine from the first riffs until the last hits of the drums, presented fantastic energy. These guys play fast but groovy thrash metal and most of the songs were really catchy. I think they’ve done a good job and made me want to dig them a bit more. It is interesting to note that the one of the co-founders of One Machine is none other than Steve Smyth, known from playing in Testament and Nevermore. I could not imagine a better start of the evening.

The tension in the room was building up. Vader has got a large amount of Polish followers in Bristol. I have seen them playing The Fleece a few times before, each time the Polish fans make them feel like at home. Vader is one of the most hard working metal acts out there. You can always expect death metal played to perfection. They usually play as headlining band so I’m not used to seeing them play with limited space and time on stage. Overkill, had a pre-set drum kit already on stage so James had to put his own drum kit in front of the other one, which resulted in very limited amount of space for any significant movement on the stage. I guess, Vader folks were not happy about it but this didn’t stop them to deliver a great portion of death metal that evening. The opening song, Wings is always a killer. Fast and furious, if you haven’t heard Vader before, after hearing this track you know that these guys are serious and they will kick your ass. Vader played some classic favourites like Sothis, Cold Demons and Carnal as well as some newer stuff like Go to Hell or Triumph of Death. I was hoping to hear my personal favourite Final Massacre but instead, Vader finished their set with the slaying Helleluyah!!! (God is Dead). As usual, amazing from start to finish. The only shame is that it was too short. I think, they’re recording a new album this year so we can hope for a headlining gig very soon.

The legendary Overkill, made his first ever appearance on Bristol’s soil. The anticipation to Feel the Fire reached the maximum. Over the last 36 years, Overkill unleashed 17 records, so we could expect lot of classics on the setlist as much as some new songs from the latest album, White Devil Armory. With songs like, Rotten to the Core or Blood and Iron comes a certain nostalgia. It was also great to hear, played for the first time since 1986, There’s No Tomorrow from their debut album. It was a fantastic gift to the Bristol fans, so thank you very much Overkill for making this concert even more special. Each song played had its own character. You would think that these guys would be bored playing the same songs for over three decades but they didn’t show any boredom, superb energy on the stage until the last song, Fuck You. Bobby engaged with the public all the way through.

I could not imagine better line-up or better venue. It looked like, the bands and their fans enjoyed every second of the show. If I had to score my experience, it would definitely be 10/10. More tour packages like this in future please!

One Machine setlist:

Forewarning

The Distortion of Lies and the Overdriven Truth

Summoning of the Soul

The Final Cull

New Motive Power

Armchair Warriors

Screaming for Light

Vader setlist:

Wings

Go to Hell

Reborn in Flames

Sothis

Carnal

Triumph of Death

Come and See My Sacrifice

Cold Demons

Dark Age

Helleluyah!!! (God Is Dead)

Overkill setlist:

Armorist

Rotten to the Core

Electric Rattlesnake

Hello from the Gutter

Hammerhead

Feel the Fire

Blood and Iron

Coma

Infectious

Blood Money

Bare Bones

Nice Day… for a Funeral

Horrorscope

Thanx for Nothin’

There’s no Tomorrow

Raise the Dead

Overkill

Elimination

Fuck You

Links:

The Fleece