Bay Area death metal vets Exhumed continue their UK/EU jaunt with Gruesome, in Manchester.

ACID VAT

Local band Acid Vat kick things off. The quartet, from just up the road in Stockport, arrive full of early promise. With an EP and single already released, Acid Vat are band very much in their infancy, however certain members of the band have been involved with acts such as Gospelheim and Obscene Nihilist. Guitarist and vocalist, Jordan Sheffield, will also form part of the live setup when, Magnetar led by Dan Walmsley, make their live bow later in the year at Tynebound (ex-Winterfylleth bassist Nick Wallwork will be on vocals).

‘Fucking packed innit?!’ says Sheffield, alluding to the fact that the venue in front of the stage is practically full for their set. They plough through their short set of songs with great energy. Grandma’s Teeth, Barbeque Death and Shrapnel Brain all help showcase the talent the band clearly have. It is brilliant to see so many people in the venue early to catch their set; hopefully they will have picked up some more fans. Acid Vat certainly have a lot going for them. I, for one, will keeping an eye on them.

GRUESOME

For the past decade and change, Gruesome have been wowing crowds with their Death inspired death metal. Whilst paying homage to the great Chuck Schuldiner, Gruesome have a discography that stands on its own. 2025’s Silent Echoes was a brilliant addition to their two previous long players, and it is from this record that a good clutch of the set is made up. Some great solo work shines on Frailty and the album opener, Condemned Identity, is a blistering assault on the senses.

Chants of ‘Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!’ fill the air to the bands glee as they head into Closed Casket from their 2015 debut, Savage Land. ‘How has it been ten years?!’ asks Matt Harvey. Like their inspiration, Death, the band are incredibly adept at the technical side of their musicianship. They deliver in spades as they go through various touchpoints in their decade long career. Inhumane and Dimensions Of Horror are sublime and A Darkened Window from their latest LP is a monster of a song. Leaving to a great ovation, the queues for merch increase; and there is plenty to go at!

EXHUMED

Matt Harvey’s main squeeze is Exhumed. Coming out of San Jose, CA, in the late 1990’s, Exhumed are one of the finest purveyors of gore metal. Like any great death metal band, their songs are completely blood soaked.

Traffic cones flank the drums with warning lights on the amps, echoing the new album cover; Red Asphalt. The screens flicker showing a whole range of imagery throughout the evening. This ranges from the FM/AM dial as the band hit the stage to images displaying traffic accident victims.

It is Unsafe At Any Speed that opens up the show, closely followed by the title track of the new album. It is a frenetic opening that has the crowd fully onside from the get go. The energy inside the compact Manchester venue is high. The Matter Of Splatter is an early highlight from the bands yesteryear.

GORE METAL

During their set, Exhumed take plenty of trips back to their early material. Naturally, it lands exceptionally well with the crowd. “How you guys been? It’s been a while…a long fucking time,” says Harvey. “We wanna cover as much ground as possible. Remember the first record?” Naturally, Manchester is fully up for it. Necromaniac flies through the airwaves, met with horns and mayhem from the crowd. When the band reach Limb From Limb from the same album, the crowd are suitably apoplectic in their response.

For all the older material, Exhumed are here promoting their new album. Other cuts from their latest release include Shovelhead and the truly standout, Shock Trauma. Across the set, there are plenty of moments where the crowd get their fix of being soaked in blood. The moral being, don’t expect to not have to do any washing when you get home, if you are in close proximity to the band!

The tour continues throughout the UK and EU over the coming weeks. This is one hell of an energetic tour; do not miss it if it is heading to your town.

Exhumed: Bandcamp

Gruesome: Bandcamp

Acid Vat: Bandcamp

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