Review and photos by Ashley Crowson

It is becoming less about constant heatwaves, and more just one solid heatwave with the old not so kissed by the sun day, and it is safe to say I think we are all tired from it, some however have given no mind to the inferno in the sky. Not long after many have spent their weekends being blasted by it with annual pilgrimages to Bloodstock, they are barely back home, gathering themselves back up and back out on the town to empty whatever is left in the tank.

On what wound be for many their first Tuesday back at work following the festival weekend, many find themselves travelling through London heading to Tufnell park, for what was first billed as a small gig downstairs at the Dome. Thanks to huge demand however, it was upgraded to the main room, and given the heat, that extra little breathing space is needed. Walking in, the place is already well filled, Mutagenic Host are well away into their set. It is an ongoing battle for an opener, people still arriving, people unaware of stage times, short sets, and worst of all, people that are just never
interested in the opening band.

Thankfully being London lads, they find themselves with a great crowd going off for them. They smash their way through songs and it doesn’t take long for them to get the once cool room up to a temperature with the crowd spinning up the pit. Speed, riffs, and mayhem, the perfect recipe for a night of death metal. The cramped stage can only contain the band for so long with vocalist having enough of seeing the action in the crowd and joining in himself. Exactly what we need and want from opening bands, a high bar set, a crowd going nuts for them, every show deserves this, and Mutagenic Host themselves deserve all the praise they get. Utterly face melting.

Whilst some stroll off to the bar for hydration needs already, others bounce their way over to the merch stall to see the offerings. Some shows have grown far out of hand for the average gig
attendee in recent times, not through fault of the band, but the industry has been slipping this way for a while and Covid really didn’t help with the costs of a band. Shirts, vinyl, caps and more all seem reasonably priced, we likely will never see shirts at prices Bolt Thrower used to put out, but at
least tonight’s gig can put some at ease on choosing if they can afford to drink that night and buy merch, another win.

Celestial Sanctuary are following up. A shining torch in a bleak world, their up and up momentum  since their incarnation has been nothing but a revolting joy to follow. Being a fan of The Infernal Sea from day one, it was exciting to hear the drummer join the band for me to find and follow.
Musically gifted gents, they write blistering monsters that slide between thrashy, groove, and more with their death metal battle cry, and what they do in the studio is easily matched on the stage. If Mutagenic Host loaded the shotgun, Celestial Sanctuary aimed it at your face and pulled the trigger.

The air grows thick with sweat as the venue goes insane, pits eat all that even go near, and the only break other than the short moments between songs to catch breath, come in the waiting period of a wall of death.

The Dome did the right thing upgrading, had this been downstairs, the venue would likely not survive….and there could also be the very real possibility on people getting hurt having nowhere to hide from the active crowd. Not that the band would mind, vocalist Thomas telling
people exactly how to headbang and wanting everyone to give their all early into the set with Puddles of You Reflect the Filth Within from last years EP release, Visions of Stagnant Blood.

The band battle the heat through tracks in their set, They Worm their Way In being the turning point for the venue through the gig, almost unbearable in heat now, the crowd is getting swampy and the band are visibly dripping, but no one quits. The band deliver an unforgettable performance, and close out with Biominerlization (Cell Death), I love nothing more than bands having a good time, and hearing a jokingly, yet perfectly timed Down with the Sickness Wahahaha breaks the band themselves into laughter, and even better, not missing a beat either. Take a bow gents, fucking fantastic times were had.

A swift 30 minutes are to flow by for the now brimming venue to gather themselves, drowned in darkness, the fever rises as cries for 200 Stab Wounds start to ring out. How anyone has anything left to give at this point is beyond me, there will be a few that have bowed out, others tagging in, but
the real heroes of the night that for all three bands, have been there in the action and not given up.

The bodies surge towards the stage, and security find themselves needed to warm up their arms and focus as they soon need to come into play. With a name like 200 Stab Wounds, you simply know what to expect, face rotting, corrosive, and repulsive to the lesser human. They are pure death metal
at its finest with zero nonsense, as Glyn Grimstead used to say back in the 1990’s on British TV, “It does exactly what it says on the tin.”

There isn’t any messing about, they make death metal, and they are here to play it. The music does the talking, but nothing is lost in translation, ‘Symbolic in Glory’ sets the Dome off and it only
continues from there, damned be anyone in front row or so of the stage as the tornado of bodies kicks off behind them, not content with being contained, it isn’t much longer into their set until the crowd find themselves being thrown up to the stage with some very short crowd surfing.

One plus side to the venue is it has a pretty high stage, and no barrier, making any bodies almost get carried
onto the stage as opposed to being dropped and falling to an empty floor behind a barrier. This is where security and crew earn their keep with fast moving to rush the stage and grab any tourists and lead them off before any injuries, damage to equipment/band happens, or before a song gets ruined.

An amazing job by all as the band seem to play dodge ‘ems at times, not that they seem to mind as they laugh between songs to each other. They’re loving it. ‘Masters of Morbidity’, ‘Hands of Eternity’, and ‘Itty Bitty Pieces’ fill the set and forever demand more from all in attendance. The Dome is insanity at this point, fully of crazy brave giving no thoughts of tomorrows impending
bangover. For some, it is becoming unbearable, and the weaker willed are finding their way to the door, bodies giving out, it is one of those nights that will always be remembered, an unforgettable line up that was perfect from start to finish, there is always the talk of having a diverse line up of
bands to bring in more people and gives others a break etc., and in these times with the cost of running venues and putting on gigs, let alone of the stuff people don’t see, it makes sense. Nights like this though, it’s good to see, upgraded venue, rammed with a massively diverse age group, and
nothing short or skin ripping death metal all evening.

Walking wounded over the next few days will no doubt be struggling through work and life, with no doubt the fair few being questioned as to what is up with them, and quite possibly getting odd looks when saying it was all worth it and they’d do it again. We all would though, for those that didn’t go, you missed out on something special. Idiots!