Well, here we are again.
I can still vividly recall standing outside Mocvara three years ago, in disbelief, waiting to see the band Possessed. If you’re looking to credit the origins of the death metal genre, you can point to their album of the same name. Now, here we are again, this time in front of the larger venue, Boogaloo, ready to see Possessed once more.
However, tonight places a strong emphasis on local support with Haxanking, Corpsegrinder, and Serpentslain. While they may not have been my first choice for opening acts, their diversity contributes positively to the overall experience, so let’s dive in.
Since it was a Wednesday, the gates opened around 18:30, with Haxanking kicking off the night at 19:15. To get straight to the point, this band was definitely the highlight of the evening. Formed in 2022 in Varaždin, they are still relatively new but have embraced the Blood Fire Death formula with fervor. Although they might not fully agree with my assessment, this is Bathory School at its finest. Their black/speed metal, combined with barbaric and Viking aesthetics on stage and in their outfits. With their second album, Troubadoom, released just a week ago, the band exuded confidence and delivered an impressive performance, despite a less-than-stellar audience turnout. Having seen them three times now, I can confidently say they improve with each show, continually gaining strength. Their sound is a refreshing addition to the Croatian metal scene, supported by a solid live mix that complements their visual and musical approach. It’s unfortunate that a larger audience wasn’t present to witness it.
After a brief sound check, Corpsegrinder took the stage as the second act of the evening. These musicians are true veterans of the scene. You might wonder just how seasoned they are? Well, they are nine years younger than Possessed and Possessed is formed in 1983. Unfortunately, despite being one of the oldest bands in the genre, Corpsegrinder has a very limited discography due to a history of lengthy hiatuses. However, they excel at delivering exceptional live performances year after year, and you can always count on them for a solid show. Personally, this marks my fifth time seeing them, and I practically know the setlist by heart since it hasn’t changed since my first concert. Each of those five performances, including tonight’s, has been fantastic. The set was tight and energetic as always, but its about damn time for the band to rellase their first full-length and change up the setlist. The quality and potential is there.
Now, we move on to the third and final support band before another history lesson from Possessed: Serpentslain. Before I proceed, I must mention how refreshing it is to see local bands performing as support for legends like Possessed, rather than wasting our time with pay-to-play acts that have a 90% chance of sounding damn dreadful. We owe a big thanks to the folks from Nasty Abyss, not only for organizing this event but also for giving local bands the opportunity to play in larger venues for luckly bigger audiences. Unfortunately, tonight we weren’t so lucky. During the support acts, I could barely count 40-50 attendees, and Boogaloo is a venue that could easily accommodate around 200 people without a hitch. What a shame.
Returning to the band, Serpentslain is another one of those older acts with a few false starts throughout the years. Their first full-length album, Age of Verdict, was released in 2020, and their latest EP, Cognitive Dissonance, came out in 2024. They bring a more melodic death metal vibe to tonight’s repertoire. This doesn’t imply they are softer than the previous two bands. Hell no. If I were to compare them to a well-known band, it would be At The Gates, filled with intense parts that can truly blow you away. A standout performance tonight was definitely from Frane Belinic on drums; despite being heavily triggered, he provides a distinct sonic identity in their live show. When the fast parts hit and the blast beats kick in, you feel like you’re on another level with these guys. Unfortunately it seems, at least to me their set was the shortest one with around 30-35 minutes of playtime.
With that, we experienced the longest line checks in recent memory for Possessed, stretching around 35 minutes with sound guys slouching around with infrequent “check check!” reverbly yelling at the microphone for Jeff. If there was more echoes in the microphone the venue would turn into a cave.
Finally in 22:30, Possessed hit the stage and finally a bigger crowd showed up, not the most impressive crowd in numbers but just enough not to feel embarrassed. For us who saw them three years ago we knew what is going to hit us so that element of novelty is somewhat diminished. Nevertheless, we got another professional and tight performance by the band with the set list mainly consisting of albums Beyond the gates and Seven Churches and a few from the last album. I thought since is 40 years since the first album they are going to perform Seven Churches in its entirety. Well, call it a personal bummer.
Jeff again was in great spirits shaking hands and fist-pumping with everyone he could reach. Unlike last time in Mocvara, you can actually hear the guys voice during the songs but unfortunately the live mix had such a strange reverb on the mic that I could not understand a fucking word what the was saying between the songs. Highlight were definitely The Exorcist and Death Metal, which the former should have been the opener. Another highlight that as worth mentiong were the drum sound were the snare and tomes really captured that old school vibe from their first two albums.
It’s was an immersive performance overall, but it felt very much by-the-numbers act and with the novelty gone I would lie to you if I told you I would be running to see the again for the third time.
Photo soul capture by Noah & Gita.
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