After his phone battery died in the line of duty, we gave him (and it) a chance to recover yesterday before Sean drafted the final part of his review of this year’s Lords of the Land event. Don’t forget to check out part 2.
The time has come for the much anticipated co-headlining Bloodbath. The Swedish death metallers up the energy with their brutal aural assault. The mosh pit opens up again even bigger than before as the crowd rage to fan favourites like “Breeding Death”, “Cancer of the Soul” and “Outnumbering the Day” and newer numbers like “Beyond Cremation”.
Both band and crowd are flying about the Barrowlands in a storm of sweat and hair as frontman Nick Holmes stays hauntingly still while delivering the death dirges in his grim voice. The scene is mesmerising when watched from a distance, with the backdrop of the blood-drenched black logo and deep red lights. There’s roaring applause for Bloodbath throughout the set and after a crushing performance like this one, the band demonstrate why they’re death metal masters.
Closing the festival is the legendary LA Caffeine Machine – Dark Angel. The show starts a little late and unfortunately the travel home is calling and some have to leave. That’s no problem however as rapturous applause sounds when that intro tape plays and the band take the stage.
They burst into “Time Does Not Heal” and the crowd whip up into a frenzy. The raging mosh is never-ending through classic thrash hits like “We Have Arrived”, a warp speed “The Burning of Sodom” (dedicated to late Demolition Hammer drummer Vinny Daze, R.I.P.), “Merciless Death” and a stellar rendition of “No One Answers”.
For the first half of the gig the guitars were sitting rather low in the mix which seem to be due to some technical difficulties which are rectified though this hardly detracts from the thrashing mania. Intense enjoyment is had by all notably by the band with their flailing heads and beaming faces. Frontman Ron Rinehart is particularly charismatic, working the crowd often and joking onstage.
Dark Angel bring Lords of the Land to an end on an unbelievable high. A thrashing good time has been had all round and the show has certainly been one to . The band have left their mark on Glasgow and I’m sure the fierce denim and leather-clad Scots would have them back in a blast-beating heartbeat.
As the third installment of Lords of the Land festival comes to a close, it’s clear that it’s set to be Scotland’s premier metal festival. This year has been better than ever and it’s definitely been an all-round awesome day of heavy metal that will be ed for a long time. While still recovering from Demolition Hammer’s mental mosh pit and from wrecking my neck and throat during Dark Angel, I’m already excited for next year. Roll on Lords of the Land 2019!
