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 | Pungent Stench + Slaughter Thou, Godnose Enigma Bar, Fri 25 Feb Austrian death metal band Pungent Stench's third Adelaide show attracted a very healthy turn-out, a near-capacity crowd assembling to watch Slaughter Thou - reprising their role from 2003 as local supports for the headlining act - get proceedings under way. It was the first time I'd seen them without their old lead vocalist, Gregor, and while they have certainly remained a tight and cohesive unit since his departure, I did miss the witty and often vulgar banter which he was wont to engage in between songs. In all other respects, however, their performance was up to their usual high standards, their new lead vocalist Tony proving more than capable in that role. Their set comprised five of the six songs from their soon-to-be-released new CD, 'The Anzac Hammer' and also included a smattering of older songs, such as Death From Above and Indiscriminhate. Queensland's Godnose (a group who described their sound in one source as "heavy, progressive Brisbane hardcore punk") were up next, and sadly, by the time they'd taken the stage, the venue had emptied noticeably, their material evidently not to the liking of many of the people who'd gathered that evening. Nonetheless, those who stuck around were rewarded with an entertaining and somewhat unusual set. In honour of the main act (with whom they had toured Europe), all four band members were wearing Inspector Rex T-shirts, which was certainly a nice, thoughtful touch. The crowds were back in time for Pungent Stench, who, not surprisingly, had everyone going crazy within the first few moments of their opening song. Playing with them was 'Masters Of Moral - Servants Of Sin'-era bassist Reverend Mausna (replacing 'Ampeauty' bassist Fabio Testi), and, just as they did at their last show here, they took care to play "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue". To this end, they performed a healthy mix of songs from all their albums (as well as a cover): pieces from their latest work, 'Ampeauty', that got a play being Lynndie (She-Wolf Of Abu Ghraib), Apotemnophiliac ("The doctor recommends amputation!"), and, of course, The Amp Hymn. They got through a lot of material, and also treated the audience to an obligatory encore, but despite this, their show seemed to end all too quickly. Time does indeed fly when you're having fun.  | |
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