For quite a few people, this was be a dream come true. The second edition of the Thrashers' Attack Festival brought together a total of 9 different bands, two from Germany, and seven from different regions of Colombia.
The festival was held indoors at the Teatro Metropol in downtown Bogotá, on a Sunday afternoon.
Tickets were reasonably priced, between 80000 and 100000 Colombian pesos, roughly 25€ to 40€. Plus, you could get about 15% discount if buying up to 3 weeks in advance.
Sadly, the event didn’t bring much people, as only around 350 Metalheads showed up. It’s true that Destruction has played several times in Colombia and they have even played the monstrous festival Rock Al Parque back in 2011 in front of some 80 000 Metal maniacs, but it was Exumer’s first time in Colombia so I was hoping more people would come.
What I saw in the local bands was talent. I discovered good songs and talented musicians. It’s a real chance to have this kind of festival that gives young bands the opportunity to play with two recognized international bands. Most of them seized the opportunity and gave it all on stage, even if they had only 20 minutes to play.
I arrived at the Teatro Metropol 4pm and there were less than 100 metalheads there.
The first band to play was named Speed aggression but I’m not going to write anything about their lousy performance. They couldn’t deal with the sound and the bass player was completely drunk.
The second band on stage was a local act named Patazera and to be honest, they blew my mind!
They had a very good sound and despite their young age and the fact that they only have one guitar player. They looked very professional and self-confident on stage, so I guess they have played quite a few shows to achieve this. Oh and you know what? There's a lady on drums, Carolina Pita!
Patazera's music stands somewhere between Thrash, Punk and Death Metal, concentrating on powerful riffs rather than melodies.
Their lyrics have a political message and singer Cesar Lopez even made a reference to the general strike that hit Colombia during those days. They also talk about the Colombian conflict and even about the Israel/Palestinian conflict.
Patazera played for only 25 minutes in front of just over 100 fans. Nevertheless they gave it all on stage. They kicked ass today, so I’m sure that when they play smaller clubs they made them explode!
The band Kill from Armenia took the stage only 10 minutes after Patazera, and that was another great surprise!
They play old school Thrash with some Death Metal influences. Sometimes they made me think of New York Thrashers Nuclear Assault.
Guitar player Daniel Valencia is the soul of the band, the one who gives the lead. He looks concentrated and totally immersed in his music.
One can see that he feels every single note he plays, while bass player Luis Fernando Pacheco showed his energy by jumping and headbanging during the whole the show!
And the thundering drums were played by Angela Barragán… That's right another lady drummer! Who said girls can't play drums? Angela can definitely kick some asses out there!
Not many more people had arrived so Kill played in front of roughly 150 people. Nevertheless, singer Juan David Correa stated "We are few but we really have balls!". And indeed, a dozen of guys started the first pogo of the day during Kill’s show.
Kill setlist:
01. Global Extintion
02. The Lethal Choice
03. Let Your Inner God Rise
04. The Streets Are Screaming
05. Soy Un Thrasher
Kill line-up
Juan David Correa – Vocals
Daniel Valencia – Guitar
Andrés Camilo Penagos – Guitar
Luis Fernando Pacheco – Bass
Angela Barragán – Drums
Next on stage was Ursus, a local act from Bogotá that plays a great blend of Thrash and Heavy Metal. Does it sound like a joke if I tell you that the drummer is a lady? Well, it's not a joke!
They have achieved some popularity, as lots of fans were knew the songs and were singing the lyrics. People even demanded a song they weren't supposed to play, but they performed it.
Felix came often to the barrier to sing right at the front row so he could be closer to the fans. He's very charismatic and he knows that communication is the key to a memorable show!
He successfully organized the first circle pit of the day, but he also noticed some headbangers in the balcony, where the entrance ticket was cheaper. So, he asked permission to the organizer to bring this people down to the pit… and when they did, it started to feel like a higher level Metal concert!
Suddenly, there were some 250 people down there, and that's enough to make a good circle pit!
I don’t think there were any hard feelings from the people that paid a more expensive ticket to be on the pit, on the contrary it was a great move. There was still space to freely move around and the atmosphere became better.
Ursus played for almost half an hour, slightly longer than other bands, and I think they deserved it! Actually, they didn't only play a concert, they started a party, and a very good one!
Ursus setlist:
Ursus line-up:
Felix Zamora – Vocals
Camili Toquica – Guitar
Mario Cruz – Bass
Diana Cañon – Drums
The next band on stage was Insurrection, from the town of Villavicencio. They're a four piece band, but no, the drummer here is not a lady!
Insurrection like it fast, and they play fast! By the way, the second song they played was called High Speed Metal, and it definitely defines their style!
They were one of the few Colombian bands at the festival to sing in english.
All of their songs have lots of riffs and they seem technically difficult. The sound was very good and one could hear that they have rehearsed a lot.
Nevertheless, their performance lacked some power, and all the pogos and circle pits created by Ursus vanished.
Musically and technically, they were very good, and I really enjoyed their 20 minutes on stage.
Nonetheless, I'll say that they have to work on their stage presence and on the communication with the crowds.
Insurrecton setlist:
01. Metal Possession
02.
High Speed Metal
03.
Necromancer
04.
Ghouls Gun Slaughter
05.
Chaos And Dark Rebellion
Thrash speed metaheads Demolator were next. This trio from Bogotá has some great melodic and powerful riffs.
They made people headbang during their whole show, even if they didn't manage to create a large pogo or a circle put.
The main problem was the sound. It lacked some consistency and some energy. I think another guitar would be a great addition to the band.
Also, singer and bass player Jorge Rodriguez wasn't very communicative. Probably he was just stressed, so he preferred to concentrate on his playing rather than going crazy. The one that didn’t have a single problem to go crazy was drummer John Gomez, who headbanged as fast as he played his bass drum!
I loved most of Demolator songs, especially Methrasheta, and I think that they have some tremendous riffs.
I saw a lot of potential on this band, but I find that they need some more experience on stage.
Demolator setlist:
01. Dogma Execrable
02.
Sabe a tu Muerte
03.
Estigia
04.
Bestial Massacre
05.
Methrasheta
Demolator line-up:
Jorge Rodriguez – Vocals, Bass
Diego Walteros – Guitar
John Gomez – Drums
The last Colombian band at the Thrashers Attack Festival was Revólver, a Speed Metal from Bogotá.
Well, what some of the other bands lacked, Revólver had it!
The crowds went crazy from the first song, with hard pogo, a circle pit, and even a failed attempt of crowdsurfing!
Even if the sound wasn't as clean as for some of the previous bands, Revólver had this incredible energy.
After Patazera and Ursus, it was the third band of the day to blow my mind. One thing Revólver has is the spirit that Punk and Metal bands had at the beginning. I heard these folks are from Ciudad Bolívar, a working class area of Bogotá, relatively isolated and sometimes considered dangerous. This is the kind of environment that gave birth to many Punk and Metal bands in the 70’s and 80’s, including Black Sabbath and many others. Revólver might never get very popular outside Colombia, but what they do they do comes straight from their hearts, without fear. In other words, they have "it".
Their lyrics are very politically oriented. For instance, Instintos de Matricidio is a very angry and patriotic song that talks about Colombia’s land being sacked from the conquistadors’ days, and even today with mining. They also expressed their antireligious point of view in the songs Cielo o Infierno.
But they know that music is the thing that unites us all, bands and fans. Singer Willmer Alejo Martinez stated that no matter what kind of Metal you’re into, Heavy Metal is the father of all Metal genres and we all have a Heavy Rocker inside. Thumbs up for that and for the song Heavy Rocker, that a large part of the audience already knew!
Revólver setlist:
Intro
01. Fugitivos de la Realidad
02.
Instintos de Matricidio
03.
Disparando Heavy Metal
04.
Cielo O Infierno
05.
Heavy Rocker
