Live Review: To The Grave w/Dead Flesh, Beyond Extinction and Osiah at Camden Underworld!

The penultimate show of the “Show Them The Bodies” tour finds a quartet of heavy hitting bands preparing to take to the stage at the iconic Camden Underworld in the heart of London on a cold Friday night at the end of August. Its a first post-festival season show for us as we join Arcaeon bassist Eifion Sweet and High Priestess of Publicity and Promo Fairy Jazmin L’Amy from Cosa Nostra PR in a packed venue for what promises to be a night of fierce Deathcore fuelled intensity. To The Grave and Osiah are going to want to finish their run on a high and their time space continuum threating sounds coupled with circle pits around the venues pillars, you just know that’s going to happen. 

Having witnessed Dead Flesh [9/10] opening Bloodstock Festival a couple of weeks back, we know what we’re in for tonight. As the opening band they decimate the weak and thin the herd with their KoRn inspired riffs and Deathcore prowess. They’re not here to make up the numbers and only put on a show but getting the love returned with fits in the air before mosh and circle pit within the first couple of tracks. The chants of “Bodies! Upon Bodies! Upon Bodies! Upon Bodies!” ring out into the night before the eerie picked leads of “D.N.R” and new pro-vegan song “Born Into The Meatgrinder“. As if that wasn’t enough the band command a wall of death, warning the crowd to avoid the venues famous pillars as they realise they have them eating out of the palm their collective hands by the end. Make no mistake, those who are here didn’t turn up early to be converted, they were already fans and loved every minute of the bands down tuned riffage and malicious intent. Dead Flesh are about as much fun as you can have without losing a limb and tonight everyone gets to see why. Finishing their set with their eponymous song is a masterstroke as it gets fists in the air and the gathered masses chanting the bands name.

Next up on stage are Essex Death Metal mosh pit violence inciters Beyond Extinction [9/10] who have a debut album in “Where They Gather” waiting in the wings. Last summer they shared this very stage for a one day event headlined by Osiah as they laid guitarist Zach Scott to rest and it has to be said that he’d be very proud of what they’ve achieved since his tragic passing. Bathed in blood red light both of their guitarists engage in synchronised headbanging as they deliver skull crushing mid tempo riff after skull crushing mid tempo riff. “Tyranny” and “Winter Sun” both slap hard as vocalist Jasper Harmer remains a hooded figure on stage, their intensity showing no sign of abating as mosh pits get sweaty, the bands punishing riff breaks as vile as the venom which Harmer spits. The “Apache” gunship is exactly that live, the cymbal hits sounding like machine gun fire to the bass drops bombshells as Harmer roars his way through the lyric sheet like a man possessed by a bloodthirsty demon. Watching Beyond Extinction live is the metaphorical equivalent of having your skin sandblasted, the neck snapping, skull battering weight of their bludgeoning output enough to put a hole clean through your chest. A venue sized Mosh pit collapses during powerhouse grand finale “Gravedigger“, everyone picking each other up before creating a circle pit to conclude the set in style. London has a lot of love for Essex and tonight it shows.

In 2023 we had the pleasure of finally witnessing Northern Deathcore collective Osiah [10/10] after many failed attempts as they graced the Sophie Lancaster stage at Bloodstock. Tonight their set is all throat splitting vocals and blunt force trauma as brutality like “” and “Ascension” rolls over the venue like a tank. The relentless energy of drummer Danny Yates is incredible, the dreadlocks and necklace made of teeth around the neck of vocalist Ricky Lee Roper completing the aesthetic of a band so heavy they reduce not only venues but entire street blocks to rubble in their wake. A vocal cameo from To The Grave drummer Raymond Martin is a nice touch before the spine juddering “Paracusia” and if that wasn’t enough of a cage rattling then a brutal rendition of “Kardashev Denied” from 2023’s “Kairos” sees the four piece giving the audience both barrels. The dark energy throughout their set is a whole new realm of pain, each blood gargling vocal moment a ripple in the time space continuum felt in the outer reaches of the galaxy. Hell even the science fiction horror sounds that play as the band towel down between songs are disturbingly powerful. It’s that kind of night and they’re that kind of band.

Self proclaimed Sydney horror purveyors and vegan activists To The Grave [10/10] follow Unique Leader label mates Osiah to the stage and waste no time in absolutely destroying the crowd with opening cut “DNA (Do Not Amputate)“. The entire venue is jumping as “Burn Your Local Butcher” kicks in, pausing only two burst into spontaneous two stepping in the mid section. At that point the pig mask comes off as vocalist Dane Evans is getting a sweat on, baiting the crowd into a circle pit with the words get involved or get the fuck out the way. “Vegan Day of Violence” follows that statement making it an unholy trinity of heavy hitters to start their set in fierce fashion. A wall of death during a blistering solo on the eight string guitar is moment of unexpected magic as is a savage rendition of “Room 409” by Bullet For My Valentine that has To The Grave’s boot print firmly embedded in its skull. Without putting too finer point on it between songs, the band want all the cages empty, letting their music and lyrics do the talking rather than pushing the message too hard. That means they lose none of their energy or momentum as the bass rumbles and cymbals get smashed “Miserable Summer” sounding utterly monstrous tonight. Evans vocals are raw, visceral and utterly ruthless as he combines Metallic Hardcore and My Space era Deathcore stylings together with both genres clearly part of the bands DNA. A barnstorming rendition of “The Axe Of Kindness” fries what’s left of everyone’s brain cells with its jaw dropping power before “Made In Aus” concludes proceedings in style, everyone jumping as they scream-a-long.