LIVE REVIEW: Cattle Decapitation & Shadow Of Intent @ The Marble Factory, Bristol

Death metal isn’t just mindless low end guitar chugging and lyrics full of horror movie cliches. Some death metal bands use the extreme foundations of that sound but find ways to elevate it into something as epic as they possibly can. Two of the prime examples of this, CATTLE DECAPITATION and SHADOW OF INTENT are jointly bringing their own flavours of monolithic death metal to Bristol.

Vulvodynia live @ The Marble Factory, Bristol. Photo Credit: Stu Rowles Photography

With an earlier than normal start it’s an impressive turnout for opening band VULVODYNIA. Hailing from South Africa their pounding take on deathcore was an immediate hit with the crowd kicking of the first of many pits only a matter of minutes into the night. Lwandile Prusent taking on vocal duties since 2023, after firing original vocalist Duncan Bentley, has clearly been the right move as his multiple vocal styles bring most of the fury in the music and his command of the crowd is admirable for the first band of the night. It’s fair to say VULVODYNIA would have left with a few more fans than when they came.

Rating: 7/10Revocation live @ The Marble Factory, Bristol. Photo Credit: Stu Rowles Photography

REVOCATION has managed to rattle Bristol before. This is even commented on by vocalist David Davidson as he reminisces with the crowd about their previous show at The Fleece the year before. The American tech death band return like they never left, bringing the audience a masterclass of frenetic music. In the rather short set they pull mostly from their newest effort Netherheaven but manage to sneak in 2012’s Teratogenesis in there as well and even treated fans to an early preview of their new track titled Confines OF Infinity to be released a week later.

A year on from REVOCATION’s last appearance in Bristol and they are once again potential show stealers tonight with a crowd that would clearly love to have them back as soon as possible.

Rating: 8/10Shadow Of Intent live @ The Marble Factory, Bristol. Photo Credit: Stu Rowles Photography

Often regarded as one of the originators of symphonic deathcore there is much anticipation for SHADOW OF INTENT tonight with their name being chanted before the band had set foot on the stage. However when the show begins proper some of that enthusiasm seems to lessen slightly. The sound for SHADOW OF INTENT was frustratingly lacking. The grand and epic orchestration, which is a key component of their music, is barely audible.

Only when the band themselves drop out can the additional elements be made out at all. The energy in the room does resurface slowly as the show continues owing to how ferociously the band perform with particular highlight to Ben Duerr and his monstrous low end vocal chops. There is minimal crowd interaction between songs but every guttural roar before every breakdown is met with equal reverence from the crowd. Shadow Of Intent live @ The Marble Factory, Bristol. Photo Credit: Stu Rowles Photography

While the symphonic element is missing the same cannot be said for the live music. The band, especially the rhythm section, sound crystal clear and every member is full of energy. Most of their career is represented all the way back to their debut album Primordial to their latest single Flying The black Flag so avid fans of SHADOW OF INTENT had much to enjoy.

So the set wasn’t a complete let down; rather it’s a game of two halves. Fortunately the aspect right in front of the audience, SHADOW OF INTENT themselves, are firing on all cylinders. However to have a core part of their sound be let down by the sound is admittedly disappointing. A well performed set with full commitment from the band, but the show as whole could have been more.

Rating: 6/10Cattle Decapitation live @ The Marble Factory, Bristol. Photo Credit: Stu Rowles Photography

There were no such issues for the clear winners of the night CATTLE DECAPITATION. Not having to rely on orchestras to achieve an epic sound, CATTLE DECAPITATION manages to sound huge just with the five of them. That’s all they had tonight and it’s all they needed. It has been made evident in recent years that CATTLE DECAPITATION are distancing themselves from their pre Monolith Of Inhumanity eras, at least in the live setting, playing exclusively from the last four albums. If there were any old CATTLE DECAPITATION fans that had any ire about this, they kept those opinions to themselves as every song tonight is met with carnage from the crowd.

They begin with the three song assault of The Carbon Stampede, The Prophets of Loss and We Eat Our Young, three strong statements of intent for a brutal set to come, and proceed to give each of their last four albums fairly even representation tonight. The new album Terrasite is the most featured one of course with the aforementioned We Eat Our Young being received as well as any of the band’s classics, such as the clear crowd favourite Forced Gender Reassignment.Cattle Decapitation live @ The Marble Factory, Bristol. Photo Credit: Stu Rowles Photography

With the audience in the palm of his hand Travis Ryan’s twisted demeanour pairs perfectly with his frenzied and sinister vocals, often twisting and convulsing as the music becomes more unhinged.

Any extreme metal band that chooses to conclude their set with an over nine minute song deserves some respect. But when CATTLE DECAPITATION has Death Atlas’ title track in their repertoire it’s hard to imagine them closing with anything else. The epic scope of the song changes the vibe of the room immediately. Instead of nonstop chaos there is now a crowd in complete awe.

You’d be hard pressed to find a show in this style ending with impact on this scale. It’s another win in Bristol for CATTLE DECAPITATION and no doubt will have fans counting down the days until they return once more.

Rating: 9/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Bristol from Stu Rowles Photography here:






























































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