Live Review: Morbid Angel, Bastardizer

Extreme were anything but, Eagles Of Death Metal is a misnomer and Fozzy won't be writing tunes about the Muppets. Bastardizer, however, did exactly what it said on the tin. Akin to a speed-fuelled Lemmy with a penchant for black metal, the Sydneysiders won approval from sections of a modest early gathering. Even if their rollicking, dirty thrash did make one feel the need for a hefty scrub-down afterwards.

It continues to be mighty fashionable to perform landmark records in their entirety, albeit marginally less so among extreme metal acts. Morbid Angel's third full-length, 1993's Covenant, is just that, though – a bona fide classic, a death metal staple and arguably the definitive statement within the genre, whose slab-like riffs are still pillaged wholesale by legions of bands. Although a lesser attendance compared to recent visits was likely attributable to the veterans' third visit within a half-decade period, nonetheless inevitably a healthy crop of punters turned out to worship at the Floridian mob's altars of madness.

Tautly executed (although the mix meant David Vincent's bowel-loosening grunt was somewhat lost in the shuffle), the Covenant set was the epitome of crowd-pleasing. A bulldozing Rapture, crowd interaction-friendly Lion's Den and monumental God Of Emptiness were among the standouts as the pit collectively went berserk. Even the sound guy was vigorously head-banging. The remainder cherry-picked half-a-dozen cuts from their catalogue, spanning Maze Of Torment to Existo Vulgoré, the latter lifted from their much-maligned latest LP. A few elements have altered since Covenant's release – namely, octopus-like Tim Yeung now bashes the skins instead of beloved Pete Sandoval. But the band's connection with their dedicated audience evidently hadn't diminished. Morbid Angel proved able to deliver the nostalgia kick caper most efficiently. Time will tell if they can recapture similar magic next time they enter the studio.