Live Review: Rings Of Saturn w/Enterprise Earth, Traitors & Brand Of Sacrifice @ Camden Underworld!

The final UK date of the “Gidim” European Tour sees a quartet of Tech-Death bands roll up to Camden Underworld in London with one thing in mind. To decimate the audience. Now, tonight’s early door time of 17:00 is because security take their time to check everyone passing into the packed Camden Underworld on a chilly Saturday afternoon. Fair play to them, they have a job to do, they do it well and everyone including them is getting frostbite. Four heavy hitting and technical bands on the bill is a mouthwatering, ear bleeding and eye watering prospect with each one offering their own unique take on what we’re loosely going to call Technical Deathcore.

Setting the place alight like a direct support act let alone opening band, Brand of Sacrifice [9/10] get a lot of love in the form of circle pits and hammers from London from the very start of their set. “Charlotte” maybe the most commercial track on their last summer releasing debut full length “God Hand” but it’s by no means soft and when they follow it up with the brutal “Eclipse” you know the other bands on tonight’s bill are going to have to pull out all the stops. If this Toronto Canada quintet aren’t on bigger stages than this by this time next year, there will be something very wrong in the World.

Traitors [9/10] triumphant return after calling it a night for just a few month is now two albums deep and the fact they’re in Europe just goes to show how far they’ve come since. Tyler Shelton’s vocals are amongst some of the most recognisable Deathcore and his pair of brief on point speeches are fuel to the fire. He’s a master frontman. His band may have a fill in drummer by the name of Mike due to some personal issues (XX is writing a new album in the meantime) but that certainly doesn’t stop them from creating a black hole in the venue with some brutal downtempo shifts and when Ben Mason of Bound In Fear, Pintglass and Sunfall fame joins them on stage for “Deadbeat” it’s nothing short of incredible. Closing on “Dwell“, the deep South representatives decimate the venue with a masterclass in how Deathcore is done.

Getting a longer set that the two previous bands Enterprise Earth [9/10] make the best possible use of the time by hammering out a couple of extra tracks. The likes of “He Exists” and “We Are Immortal” get the expectant crowd going and with their blend of Deathcore and Tech infused Death Metal, they’re a well oiled live machine. When your bassist plays his five string like it’s a guitar and your guitarist rips through some blisteringly lead work, you know what time it is.

Last May we saw tonight’s headliners Rings Of Saturn [10/10] at this very same venue on the “Sounds Of Carnage” tour. An album down the line in “Gidim” and as impressive as they were the last time out, they are more so this time. The quartet are hands down the most talented musicians in Metal and guitarist duo Lucas Mann and Joel Omans have amazing interplay in their sweeping riff trade offs which they make look effortless. “The Relic” and “Genetic Inheritance” are nothing short of breathtaking pieces of Aliencore, each track featuring more and more frenetic riffs than the last, while the double kicks sound like bomb blasts and Underworld literally shakes with each hit. They’re joined by Traitors vocalist Tyler Shelton for a track and make other bands look frankly lazy at times. Your classic “one more song” chant is echoed by a heavy gauge string tapping that tells you the band are returning to the stage and when they do, frontman Ian Bearer delivers “The Husk” from a shopping trolley center stage.