Abadden & Parasitic Earth - The Hat Factory, Luton - 1st October 2011

Day three. Even though I wasn’t actually going to a gig that night doesn’t make attending Abadden’s rehearsal before their homecoming show, where I would be hearing their new stuff and the secret cover they had up their sleeves, any less part of my marathon. I had attended Evile with John from the band so we decided that a pub crawl around London to begin with was in order. Mission accomplished.

So we caught the train up to Luton from St Pancras in the late afternoon and found that we still had time for more beer. Finally after countless pints it was time to make our way to their practice studio in Leagrave. On arrival we found Dan and Billy waiting outside drinking anticipating John and Bell’s imminent arrival. Fast forward an hour and everything was set up and ready to go. It’s a strange feeling the transition from being a fan to becoming a mate but this has been my experience with Abadden. The rehearsal was astonishing. I was expecting almost to be bored shitless at points but I assuredly wasn’t. It was engaging and I was honoured to have been one of the first to hear the new songs and the cover they had been hyping for the show the following day.

After a few hours of this I was taken to a dodgy rock club, “The Edge” until fuck knows what time that morning. Bloody hell these guys can put the beers away. Good times though, definitely good times.

The next morning I wake with a sand paper mouth and a more than sketchy head, but still pumped for the show that night. Which is what I want to talk about now...

Parasitic Earth

I was only able to see two bands at this show, put on at The Hat Factory in Luton, but they were the ones I had to see without question. The first being PARASITIC EARTH. I’ve seen these guys a few times, quoted them as one of my top ten bands of 2011, and have to say I like them more and more every time I see them. The only criticism I have of this show is that Parasitic Earth do not get the reception they deserve and I have seen this happen before (I just don’t get it). These guys are bloody good. Their songs kick ass and their live show is so energetic and well oiled. Every time I see them they put 100% into the performance and there was no change this time. I will have to catch a home show in Watford, I’m sure it’ll be a whole different situation. Don’t be disheartened lads, there are seriously positive things in your future, absolutely no doubt. For what it’s worth I thoroughly enjoyed the set and I am proudly a firm fan. For those of you that haven’t seen them before, go when you get a chance and show them the love they so deserve. You won’t regret it.

Abadden

The moment we had been waiting for had finally arrived... ABADDEN. The rig was awesome making the sound in the room crisp and heavy. I like this venue, it’s a great place for a metal show. The place was full and Abadden tore it up. They played all the usual classics plus the new stuff, but the highlight for me had to be their cover of “Angel of Death”. It was so well performed, close enough to the original not to make it sound stupid but with Abadden’s distinctive style sewn all the way through the song. The crowd were going mental from start to finish. I have seen this band many times before but I think this was the best ever for me. I cannot believe that they haven’t been snapped up by the likes of Earache yet. The mind boggles. The set flew by and we all went out to fuck knows what time afterwards to celebrate. They had a show in Leicester the following day and if Luton was anything to go by Leicester won’t know what hit it. This was probably my favourite show of 2011, completely astonishing stuff.

One thing I won’t recommend though is the EasyHotel around the corner from The Hat Factory. It’s like stepping into The Twilight Zone, and I’ll leave it at that. 10/10 to both Abadden and Parasitic Earth. Check out my interviews with both bands previously from our web TV show at Thrash Thursday here.