It's not a great secret now much CackBlabbath likes Brummie NecroPunks Fukpig. We first saw them
earlier in the year at the Leeds University DeathFest and so when it was announced that they were
returning to the scene of that triumph to play the Damnation festival we knew that we had to be there.
one big change between the last time the band played here and this appearance was the addition of
a barrier across the front and a string of security people to keep the crowd off the stage. Now call
us odd, but one of the things that made the DeathFest performance so memorable was the insane amount
of stage divers. People don't look to cause trouble, they get on the stage, and jump off again, where's
the harm in that. Would the addition of the barrier and the additional confrontation of a line of
security staff dampen the crowds energy ??
Well the short answer is no, it didn't at all. The Terrorizer stage was packed to the rafters before
the band came on, and from masked front man Drunk's first roar of Die Bastard wave after wave of crowd surfers
went over the top, keeping the security guys busy and giving the photographers in the pit something
else to contend with.
Drunk cut an imposing, and slightly intimidating, figure in his cut off gas mask and he was not
shy in getting right into the faces of the audience. The addition of the barrier may have been
intended to keep the fans away from the band but Drunk didn't let that stop him launching himself
into the crowd.
Armed with our trusty digital camera, we managed to catch some of the band's set for posterity. It's
a cliche to say that the video doesn't give you a full impression of how intense the performance was.
Like they say, you had to be there ;-)
Fukpig have some ferocious tunes in their catalogue and the set today never let up for a second.
Die Bastard was followed by Britain's Got Fucking Aids, then Bombs of War before the amazing Necessary
Heresies. The pit for a Fukpig gig is no place for the faint of heart, and the security guys did a good
job in making sure that no-one got hurt bouncing off the barrier.
Another thing that impresses about Fukpig is that although it would be easy to dismiss their music
as 'just noise' it really isn't. The black metal-esque guitar as these guys do it genuinely brings
something new to the grind genre and musically they were as tight as anyone else here today.
This was a performance that genuinely left us slightly stunned. Quite how a band can get this much
anger and energy into a performance without it degenerating into a mess is a mystery but they do.
It was interesting to compare Fukpig to Anaal Nathrakh who were on the same stage later in the
festival. Although Anaal Nathrakh may be the established masters of the black metal grind genre today
Fukpig outdid them for intensity and ferocity. This was a truly insane gig, and it was certainly firmly
in the 'unforgettable' category.
We weren't sure if we would catch all of the Fukpig set as there was a fairly horrendous clash with
Sabbat, but by god this was the right choice. Come on guys, let's have a proper tour now....
