Image by Iain Purdie via Flickr

[More pics of the gig at these two Flickr sets - one for Revoker, one for Cavalera Conspiracy. Sorry, I didn't get any of Sylosis]

I’ve got a whole slew of gigs coming up, but this one looked good due to a strong bill. Three decent bands for a moderately low door price, and at a venue with decent sound and security staff. We got there in time to catch most of Revoker’s set, and they were worth seeing. A lot of energy (well, except for the bassist) and I can see the guitarist running wild on a larger stage. They were, however, confined to a diddly bit at the front with the drums dangling off the left hand side.

I can pretty much forgive them being Welsh, they put on such a good show. There must have been around 200-250 people in the club to watch them and they did seem to go down well.

During the gap between bands, I went to the bar to get a second drink for the evening and was refused service… because I wasn’t wearing a wristband. Apparently these were being handed out to “everyone as they come in” and were being used to somehow count how many people were drinking. I looked around. At that point well less than half the number of people with a drink in their hand was wearing a wristband. Hell, Gillian had been served barely 30 minutes earlier and wasn’t wearing one.

So screw them. Rather than bugger about wandering downstairs and missing any of Sylosis I just kept my money in my wallet. I’ll do the same in future, too. The Wetherspoons over the road is cheaper, serves a wider variety of beers and doesn’t have any stupid fucking wristband policies. Your loss, Garage.

Sylosis used the same amount of stage as Revoker, and once more did a decent set. I swear I’ve seen them before – maybe Sonisphere last year? – and this time round was a short performance, I guess partly due to the early weeknight curfew. Short but sweet.

Just after 9pm and Cavalera Conspiracy took to the stage. If memory serves, this is the second time I’ve seen them. The first was at Graspop a couple of years ago when I got out of my face on Jäger and supermarket own-brand energy drink. A set full of old Sepultura tracks, some awesome pit action and being crowdsurfed to the bar at the end. To be fair, very little is going to live up to that.

Image by Iain Purdie via Flickr

They were good, that has to be said. Tight, fun, and the band themselves seemed to be well up for the show. It’s still great to see the two brothers back together again after they parted company those years ago (I got one of the last interviews with them before the split, back when I was working for the university radio station).

As well as playing a decent smattering of tracks from both Inflikted and the newer Blunt Force Trauma, there was a decent number of what I guess now count as cover songs. One by Black Flag (“Six Pack”), four Sepultura numbers (“Refuse/Resist”, “Territory”, “Desperate Cry” and “Troops of Doom”) and – awesome! – a Nailbomb song (buggered if I can remember the title… sorry).

For me, this was the reason for going. I kind of like the new stuff, but I adore the older material. While I think Sepultura started to decline with the release of Chaos A.D. and really slip with Roots (my own opinion – too tribal for my tastes), their earlier albums to this day rank amongst my favourites of all time. “Troops of Doom” in particular is such a good live song with a rhythm and beat that any thrash band would kill for.

The crowd were a little lacklustre, and sadly that’s something I’m getting used to these days. A good track would start, the small (at least sparsely populated) pit would kick off… and last about a minute into the song. I have three theories:

• The fans are getting older and less fit (myself included)
• A large number had already buggered off to Sonisphere for the weekend
• Nobody was drunk enough because the Garage weren’t selling beer to people who didn’t have a fucking wristband as they hadn’t been given one

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Cavalera Conspiracy / Sylosis / Revoker – Glasgow Garage

Blurred Burton

This was my first visit to The Garage in Glasgow, and I’m impressed. Friendly door staff, swift service at the bar and superb security at the front of the venue. Thank you to all for their hard work.

Even more impressive was that my first pint only cost me £2, though this may have been because the Strongbow wasn’t working off tap so I was given a can poured into a glass. My second was £2.80, but that’s still a damn good price for a gig.

Sylosis were on stage when I got there (I missed the first support – they could only have had 20 minutes) and I was pretty impressed by this five-piece. Despite being on a stage the size of a postage stamp (and being limited to the perforations around the edges) they had the audience’s attention and got a good send-off when they finished. Good luck to them.

What followed was without a doubt the fastest set change I have ever witnessed at a concert. I just had time to buy that second pint when the lights went down and Fear Factory took to the stage. Which begs the question, “who does it usually take them 45 flipping minutes at other gigs?”

The set was a great mix of old and new. Three tracks, if I recall correctly, from the new Mechanize album and plenty of older favourites including “Martyr”, “Lynchpin” and “Self Bias Resistor”.

Of course, the best was saved for last with the final encore being “Replica“.

It was great to see Dino back in the lineup. It’s almost like he’d never left. Twenty or so years this lot have been going and they’ve yet to release a bad album. Some definitely better than others, but Demanufacture makes it onto my top ten of all time partly due to its originality (at the time) and influence.

Great to see that they can still put on a hell of a show.

I’m bruised, battered, stretched, aching, hoarse, exhausted and elated. I keep thinking I’m getting too old for this, then I get the hairs going up on the back of my neck as the opening chords of a favourite track erupt from the speakers.

I’m not too old. And it’s not too loud. Roll on Hatebreed/Machine Head next Tuesday.

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Fear Factory, Glasgow Garage