Another fantastic night of Death Metal / Deathcore at The Asylum, Birmingham, with bands, Vulvodynia, The Last Ten Seconds Of Life, Bound In Fear and Bonecarver, spanning three continents all united under the Unique Legion Tour.
Vulvodynia – The Last Ten Seconds Of Life – Bound In Fear – Bonecarver
The Asylum, Birmingham – 21 April 2023
Words and Photography: Andy Shaw
Bonecarver
First up are Madrid-based Death Metal exponents Bonecarver, who were travelling across Europe under their own steam using their Camper/Tour Van. They started with a couple from their 2021 album Evil in Revolver and Wormhole and were quickly into their stride.
Frontman Fernando del Villa hopped on and off the stage to engage with the audience. Next were two newer songs, Pillars Of Tragedy and Carnage Funeral from the 2022 Carnage Funeral album.
The lighting was low, and the music was brilliant, with Bonecarver certainly making a high-energy impact early on in the evening. The set ended with three more from Evil with Nest Of Traitor, Hound Pound and The Scythe.
A great set which was appreciated by a sparsely populated Asylum.
Bound In Fear
Next up were Bound In Fear, a four-piece Deathcore band from Farnham, Surrey. They exploded onto the stage with frontman Ben Mason jumping and growling his way through Adrenaline.
They are a real force to be reckoned with and had the crowd moshing right from the first song. The set was mainly made up of tracks from their 2021 release Penance, and we had three more from this album in Cutthroat, Scar Of Man and Beyond The Mire.
The rest of the band consisting of Steven Hunt, Ben Sutherland and Alex Richins, did not stop moving, and the sound they created was dark and utterly brilliant.
The set ended with two tracks from their The Hand Of Violence album, firstly the title track, then Hate Circuit. Again this was a great set done by a band who knows exactly what they are doing.
The Last Ten Seconds Of Life
It was then time for The Last Ten Seconds Of Life from Mansfield, Pennsylvania. They had a major personnel change 12 months ago, with three of the four members quitting the band, leaving guitarist Wyatt McLaughlin to rebuild the band.
By the sound of tonight, he has done a pretty good job. Their set was a nod to all aspects of their career, with lots of new material given an airing.
Kicking off with Annihilation Phenomena from their 2022 EP Disquisition On An Execution, this was a great start to proceedings, and the assembled, rather small crowd loved it.
A quick journey back in time for the next two songs, Pain Is Pleasure from the 2105 Soulless Hymns, then A Face Amongst The Flames from 2011 Know Your Exits.
Frontman Tyler Beam is in brilliant form and blasts his way through the new song Dreams Of Extermination before As The World Turns Over. Fellow new additions Andrew Petway, bass and Dylan Potts, drums, were in full flow and truly at home with new songs, especially Guillotine Queen, Liberation and Zappfe Isn’t Invited To The Party.
The set ends with North Of Corpus and The Box proving that their intense brand of Deathcore is going to be around for a long time to come.
Vulvodynia
Now it was headliner time, and we were greeted by the brutal Death Metal band from South Africa, Vulvodynia, who started with the title track from their 2019 Mob Justice album.
Then into a couple from their 2021 album Praenuntius Infiniti in Banquet Of Enigmatic Horrors, Pt. 1: Terror and Eternal Wasteland of Galaxies. This was an amazing and stunning start to their performance.
Frontman Duncan Bentley was at his brilliant best, jumping and pointing throughout the set. Next up was Psychosadistic Design, then Praenuntius Descends. The power and ferocity of the music were bounding the room, with Luke Haarhoff and Lwandile Prusent on guitars keeping up the intensity of the music.
Then it was back to a couple more from Praenuntius Infiniti in Whispers Of Calamity and A Cosmic Betrayal, followed by a couple of new songs, Eulogy Of Ashes and Artificial Divinity.
Vulvodynia were really giving it their all. However, the only disappointment was the venue should have been fuller for such an impressive lineup. The set ended with Unparalleled Insubordination and, finally, Deicidal Finality, finishing off an awesome set.
