I would recommend it to everyone: just casually attending a grindcore concert every once in a while, even if it’s not your thing at all. It had actually already been way too long for yours truly. On Sunday the 5th of February I got to experience it again. The Sunday evening won’t be sacrificed for every band, but the grindcore phenomenon (yes, we’re allowed to call them that by now) Wormrot is definitely one of those exceptions. Furthermore, the band played before in Drachten (Deathfest), Rotterdam and Antwerp, where the tour kicked off. Before it was time, our own Teethgrinder got to show off their stuff in a sold-out and always cozy dB’s in Utrecht. Since there was no photographer of our team present this evening, but there was one a day earlier in Drachten, we used some of those photos.
The threesome from Zwolle plays, as we’re already used to in the meantime, with full dedication and a lot of enthusiasm. It’s not a given that a grindcore band can dip into an archive with a lot of recognizable and diverse songs, but also this night Teethgrinder presents a delicious stew of raging grind where they especially impress with the many flirts with death, crust and mainly hardcore. The other day I wrote a raving review about the last record Dystopia and even though the sound is set extremely loud, the majority of the crowd let their heads bounce really well to the newbies Birthed Into Suffering en Worthless. The band is in great shape from the first second, the drum- and guitar work are tight and Jonathan’s fierce vocals are intense and gripping, especially in this intimate setting. With for example Hope in Death and 187 we get to hear a few oldies as well, while some moshpitters also take care of some pleasant pounding during Icarus and Isolation -taken from Nihilism– in front of the stage. When Gabriel Dubko, the frontman of Implore who supports Wormrot vocally during this tour after the exit of Arif Suhaimi, also weighs in on As I Believe The World To Be, So It Is, everybody agrees: Teethgrinder punches a fist in everyone’s face and with that, they are solid as a rock. The trio leaves Utrecht with a perfect impression and the traffic at the merch stand after the performance only attests to that.
For Wormrot it’s the third night on Dutch soil. The people who think the nice chaos of the appetiser this evening can’t be topped are in for a rude awakening. Hiss became number one on my year list last year and we also saw this gem appear in many other year lists. The absence of singer Suhaimi, who left just after the release of that album is -as said before- compensated by flying in Gabriel Dubko of the German Implore, even though flying wasn’t that necessary, because, well… You know. Together with him Wormrot will tour Europe for the next two (!) months and judging by tonight the most important question is if the energy can last until the end of that ride because man… Such bombastic violence this band throws into this small venue. The emphasis of the set is placed on the most recent and hailed work of the Singaporeans and the crowd’s reactions are significant when songs from that album are played. Speed barriers are broken when, among others, The Darkest Burden, the completely mental Broken Maze and Hatred Transcending are played. No, I will (try) not (to) name all the songs, because: grindcore. Take a piss and miss ten tracks, that’s how we roll on nights like these!
Even though the vocals seem to disappear into the background at times, the frontman delivers a fine performance where he even crowd surfs for a bit. It’s evident the man has more in store because of the low growls he lets out from time to time. But it’s mainly drummer Vijesh who often demands all the attention. He whacks his drums for forty minutes as if it owes him money, something that soon seems to be too much when one of the cymbal holders breaks right then and there. The technical delay is fortunately short-lived, so the train can happily charge on again, also with some oldies of Voices (2016). Between all the raging violence Wormrot also offers some more grip. It’s enjoyment all over during the groovy and danceable Behind Closed Doors, Seizures and the penetrating Your Dystopian Hell. With successively Grieve and the awesome Sea of Disease there’s surprisingly a resting point to be found in the set that’s stuffed with adrenaline. This all the while guitarist Rasyid does his music-making eerily relaxed though in a state of optimal concentration like it’s no effort to him at all. The picture is complete and when the amplifiers are almost blown up during the closer (just like on the record) Glass Shards the powerful set comes to an end. One word: AMAZING. We love grindcore!
Link: