There are many places closely associated with heavy metal in the UK and Preston is not one of them. It’s a rarity that metal bands play in Preston so to see a legendary thrash metal band like Vio-lence enter the North West is cause for celebration. Vio-lence brought along an all-star lineup in the form of Paraguayan thrashers Kuazar and groove metal innovators, Exhorder.
Kuazar went first and it’s a landmark tour for them as Kuazar are the first Paraguayan metal band to play in the UK and what an introduction it was. The band opened with ‘Hybrid Power’ which has a distinct Machine Head vibe with its powerful drumming and staccato guitar riffs. There are two albums worth of Kuazar content and having listened to both albums, I can confirm that Kuazar are a hidden gem waiting to be discovered.
Their energy is preposterously high live and their connection to the audience is amazing for such a small venue early on in the night which is helped by an absolutely amazing mix complete with punchy drums, crystal clear solos and a brilliant crunchy guitar tone. Tracks like ‘Silence,’ ‘Truth of Reality’ and the aggressive scream-along chants of ‘Machete’ are impeccable starting points for what promises to be the most violent night in Preston in recent memory.
Next up was Exhorder, a band that is usually brought up in the same conversations as Pantera as an innovator of groove metal. Exhorder opened with ‘My Time,’ a manic track that could have fit perfectly on a modern Exodus record. Frontman Kyle Thomas sounds as energetic and aggressive as ever.
There’s a great deal of variety between the breakneck thrash riffs, Exhorder can bring the groove and slow it all down without any warning giving everyone in the room the best sort of whiplash. Tracks like ‘Unforgiven’ are as impactful as ever with its chugging riffs and you can even hear vocals that sound vaguely similar to Phil Anselmo of Pantera, which is a big reason for the comparisons.
‘Death In Vain’ and ‘Exhorder’ (the song) inspired several short-lived mosh pits, but you can argue that everyone was saving their energy for Vio-lence. Despite being brief, these pits still had a great deal of force in them as Preston got itself ready for an oncoming flurry of violence.
Finally, it was time for Vio-lence and what a violent time it was. Despite the band being almost an entirely new lineup, with the exception of mastermind Sean Killian, Vio-lence fired on all cylinders and delivered a spectacular show made up of vicious riffs, supersonic drumming and good friendly violent fun. The set began with ‘Liquid Courage’ and a crushing chugging riff as the band took to their spots and once Sean Killian said “let’s tear this f*ckin place up”, Blitz was in ruins. The whole band was on perfect form and the legion of fans, young and old alike, began viciously attacking each other as mosh pits dominated a fairly small venue.
This tour saw the band performing their second album, Oppressing the Masses, in full. This record may not have the same widespread appeal as their first album, Eternal Nightmare, but it still brings the pain with aggro fueled classics like ‘I Profit’ and the hellish ‘Mentally Afflicted’. The absolute classic everyone was waiting for from this album was the voracious ‘Officer Nice,’ an unfortunately still relevant track dealing with police brutality and corruption. You can feel the venom oozing through this track as well as Sean seething with rage as the beatdown continues.
Vio-lence isn’t often included in the conversation about the creation of groove metal but they really should be considered one of its greatest innovators. ‘Subterfuge’ is a brilliant example of groove-laden thrash that you can easily fit into the context of where groove metal would eventually come from. ‘Mentally Afflicted’ has this same vibe, the tribal drumming is so easy to dance to before it starts to shift into something much more deranged and aggressive.
While the set was designed around ‘Oppressing The Masses,’ Preston still got to experience the majority of Eternal Nightmare, another landmark album in the history of Bay Area thrash. “For some reason, this song gets everybody crazy” remarked Killian as the band began the twisted riffing of Phobophobia, which is a fear of fear. The whole setlist was a showcase of just how solid a discography Vio-lence actually have and even the inclusion of some of their more recent work is welcome, as they played ‘Upon The Cross’ from their 2022 EP, Let the World Burn.
“My buddy Robb wrote this riff, you know my buddy Robb. He’s in a big ass band making big ass money” said Killian as drummer Adrian Aguilar accompanied this comment with the fill from ‘Davidian’ by Machine Head. Killian is referring of course to Robb Flynn from Machine Head who famously contributed to Vio-lence back in the 80s. The song, entitled ‘World In A World,’ was a brilliant flurry of chaos that ended an incredible night of thrash metal.
At some point in the show he said “This is our first time touring the UK and not a single spot has disappointed” which is a pretty standard bit of on-stage banter but after I bumped into Sean Killian outside of the venue afterwards and he claimed that Vio-lence will be back next year. Hopefully, we’ll be able to impress him once again.
Where do you want to see them play and will you be ready?
