It is surprising that the walls of The Asylum in Birmingham are still standing after being pounded for five hours by six amazing Extreme Metal bands.
King 810 – Nasty – Ten56 – Left To Suffer – Fox Lake – Reduction
The Asylum, Birmingham – 21 November 2023
Words and Photography: Andy Shaw
Reduction
The evening kicked off nice and early at 5.15 pm with the German band Reduction. The assembled crowd was quite a healthy size for such an early start, and the band had them moving and moshing right from the start.
Kicking off with new single The Darkness, Reduction were in full swing. Vocalist Samis was in great form, and their set incorporated older songs and newer tracks such as Jebiga and Anarchy. A great start to proceedings.
Fox Lake
Next up, some Hardcore Hip Hop from Denver combo with Fox Lake. They tore up the place, and it was still only 6.00 pm. After being nicely warmed up, the crowd really warmed to the heavy beats and nu-metalesque vocals of Nathan Johnson.
Kicking off with Tunnel Vision, they were ripping it up, followed by Higher than 484. Griffith Johnson (drums), Zach Swafford (bass) and Brandon Kemp (guitar) proved to be a really tight unit, and I, for one, was pleasantly surprised by their brilliant set.
They finished with Born 2 Lose and then Gaslight. A short but sweet performance.
Left To Suffer
Up next Deathcore mob Left To Suffer from Atlanta. The band are fronted by the truly imposing figure of Taylor Barber, who nearly filled The Asylum stage by himself.
Left To Suffer put on a show of pure power and raw aggression. They really are architects of a sonic journey, with Barber’s growls leaving a mark on the souls of all who bore witness.
A stunning set from a brilliant band.
Ten56
Then it was time for French/British outfit Ten56, who always throw everything into each show. Their set is made up mainly from their debut album, Downer. As ever, is an auditory and visual explosion.
Playing a strong setlist including Shitspitter, Sick Dog, Traumadoll and Diazepam, the crowd loved it. Leicester-based Aaron Matt is a brilliant frontman and is ably assisted on guitar by Luka Garotin and Quentin Godet. These guys certainly know how to put on one heck of a show.
Nasty
Tonight’s penultimate band is Belgium’s very own Metalcore specialists, Nasty, who, as usual, were in tip-top form. Kicking off with Roses then into Choas, their set had a sprinkling of tracks from their new album Heartbreak Criminals. Resurrection was quickly followed by Total Domination and Reality Check.
Vocalist Matthias Tarnath was spot on with his vocals and also with his comments about The Asylum, saying, “It’s a special place protecting us and keeping Extreme Metal alive. Thank you to The Asylum and everyone who continues to put on nights like this.” Here, here to that.
The superb set ended with a couple of songs from their Love album – Zero Tolerance and Slaves To The Rich. This was an absolutely blistering performance – Metalcore at its best.
King 810
Now it’s headliner time. Four and a half hours after we started, it was time for King 810 – pronounced King eight one oh – an American Nu-Metal band from Flint, Michigan, who gave us a part theatrical but full Extreme Metal performance.
Guitarist Tim Lucier came on wearing a gothic mask and proceeded to introduce us to the scene in front, a smoking piano sitting centre stage. A masked Eugene Gill on bass follows, and they explode into Love Under Will.
King 810 are such a great band live and always gives everything. The Asylum crowd loved it. Frontman David Gunn slinks on and begins his ever-powerful and slightly theatrical performance. He finishes the first song lying on the ground.
They continue with Alpha & Omega, then the brilliant Brains On The Asphalt. Sweat is pouring from Gunn, and he gives it absolutely everything. They finish with Widdershins, Black Rifle and Killem All, a brilliant end to a stunning night of Extreme Metal.
Echoing Nasty’s Matthias Tarnath, The Asylum continues to put on stunning nights of music and the promotion of the guys at Surprise You’re Dead is brilliant. I can’t thank Chris, the main man on this evening, and his team enough for another great night.
