Bolt Thrower live at Boltfest, London 2012 : A review in pictures

Interested death metal heads already know what Boltfest was all about. The event happened on 7th of April, 2012. Boltfest was, simply put, a charity event organized by Bolt Thrower. Keeping the entry fee at a mere seven pounds and ninety nine pence and in return breaking every tried and tested formula of bringing together a line-up of top notch bands. There was Vallenfyre providing their shoulders to cry on, Benediction to get scared of, Discharge to let yourself go, Autopsy to shake your head in disbelief and Bolt Thrower to weep in agreement. All collections were sent to the Teenage Charity Trust.

Being the last band of the day, Bolt Thrower opened to a packed audience. The scene during Bolt Thrower‘s set looked straight out of their song Entrenched from the band’s last full-length album Those Once Loyal, which contained the following words - In a world of compromise….Some don’t. Bodies were flying from one end of the venue to another, foreheads were perspiring with no time to stop and wipe the salty sweat, heads were banging without caring about whether they hit something hard in the process and horns were raised higher and higher. Sloshed metal heads, from different countries, lived their dream of getting to watch Bolt Thrower at such a gala occasion.

I lost count of the number of times vocalist Karl Willetts said that Bolt Thrower has now completed twenty six of playing ‘perfect’ death metal. We all agree with you, Karl. How did I feel being a part of Boltfest? I felt like I was in a battleground, braving ahead after having joined hands with everyone around me, stomping all those outside who try to curb the basic birthright of humanity, which is freedom. Guess what, we won!

Bolt Thrower‘s set-list at BoltFest, 2012 -

Intro (Battle for Britain Theme)
In Battle There Is No Law
All That Remains
World Eater
Rebirth of Humanity
Warmaster
The IVth Crusade
Ritual
War
Remembrance
…For Victory
No Guts, No Glory
Powder Burns
Inside The Wire
At First Light
The Killchain
When Cannons Fade

Pictures from Bolt Thrower’s set. Click on them to enlarge -

And, a slideshow -

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Vallenfyre live at Boltfest, 2012

Benediction live at Boltfest, 2012

Autopsy live at Boltfest, 2012

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Autopsy live at Boltfest, London 2012 : A review in pictures

It was the reign of old school death on this particular evening at Boltfest when Sir Chris Reifert came in with his team of surgeons for a postmortem examination of every head that was to bang along to the music of Autopsy. Seeing is believing. Just to rephrase this a bit, seeing and hearing is believing.

At the count of four given by Sir Reifert on his well-tuned cymbals, Autopsy broke into a frenzy and the music was seen spreading like wildfire across the venue. Sounding exactly like how they do on record, it was amazing to watch Sir Reifert give vocals and smash the drums at the same time. Truly a sight to behold, and this also resulted in the size of mosh-pit growing bigger and bigger with every passing song. Some were seen hitting the next person blindly as they couldn’t believe they were watching Autopsy live. I did not hit anyone though. When a legendary figure in the death metal scene is seen growling with so much passion that his nerves begin to become visible then you just close your eyes and thank your stars for the sight. One cannot review a gig by bands of the likes of Autopsy, one can only share the experience. The band was outright crushing, with all members delivering their absolute best. And I pretty much know that I won’t get to see them again. Alright, have a look at this…

The tracks played by Autopsy at Boltest, London 2012 -

Intro
Hand of Darkness
Twisted Mass of Burnt Decay
In the Grip of Winter
Severed Survival
Gasping for Air
Slaughterday
Dead
Mauled to Death
Voices
Charred Remains
Ridden With Disease

I believe Chris Reifert should be knighted. Fuck that shit, I’m still going to address him as ‘Sir’.

This is how it looked when Autopsy struck HMV Forum with their mighty death metal sledgehammer. Click on each to enlarge the photos -

Slideshow -

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ALSO READ -

Benediction live at Boltfest, 2012

Vallenfyre live at Boltfest, 2012

The DesertFest day 1 at The Purple Turtle, London

The DesertFest day 2 at The Black Heart, London

The DesertFest day 3 at The Underworld

Benediction live at Boltfest, London 2012 : A review in pictures

The second slot at this year’s metal mania Boltfest went to death metal stalwarts Benediction, who haven’t released a new album for quite a while now. On 7th April, 2012, Benediction erupted like a dormant volcano wanting to tear your ass with its intensity, smoldering every part of you along its way. The performance by them need not be written about, as I have only good things to say about them. They got it all right. Be it uniting metalheads from different parts of the globe who had come to see them, or maintaining a level of musicianship that is hard to attain in the first place. Vocalist Dave Hunt was seen repeating how cancer fucks up one’s life, and we all should support the cause anywhere in every way possible. The entire venue nodded in unison, as this concert was not just about coming, chilling and watching some badass death metal bands but also about joining hands in favor of the Teenage Cancer Trust. Benediction, and the other bands on the line-up did their bit by organizing a gig, lending their names to it and providing all the possible strength to fight the ongoing battle with the demon that is cancer.

Benediction played the following tracks at Boltfest -

Intro
Unfound Mortality
Nothing on the Inside
Nervebomb
Nightfear
They Must Die Screaming
Jumping at Shadows
Subconscious Terror
The Dreams You Dread
Suffering Feeds Me

Horns up to Benediction for being themselves. It turned out to be a wonderful meet-and-greet evening for lovers of one of the most extreme genres out there.

A few pictures from Benediction’s set. Click on each to enlarge -

Slideshow -

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Review of Vallenfyre’s performance at Boltfest 2012