Septic Tank at Club Quattro, October 15th 2018



Lee Dorrian and Gaz Jennings were founders of Cathedral, a band that defied the fast tempos that were the norm in extreme metal at the time of its inception by slowing things down, announcing the birth of doom metal as we now know it. Dorrian’s label, Rise Above Records, signed key influential bands in that genre. Among them Electric Wizard and Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats. Scott Carlson leads the proto-grindcore band Repulsion and Dorrian was the lead vocalist in the first two Napalm Death albums. With this kind of credentials this was a show not to be missed.

Septic Tank was formed in 1994 and this Tokyo concert was only their second one since their inception, I believe this was their first headlining one. Despite a not so impressive turnout the band pulled out all the stops and delivered the goods in what was a memorable show. 

There were no opening bands and things started by delivering a message to all of us iPhone wielders with the unrelenting Social Media Whore. Song after song, watching Lee Dorrian establishing rapport with the audience and somewhat growling for a change, kind of like he did earlier in his career, reminded me of Napalm Death a bit and what would’ve been like to see him fronting that band. Even though there’s some grind in it, Septic Tank’s sound leans more towards the crust punk of Extreme Noise Terror or Celtic Frost’s earlier thrash. 

The energy in the venue increased considerably after what is one of my favorite songs in their catalogue, the slower paced Death Vase. A crowd surfer invaded the stage and from then on the crowd surfing was rampant until the end. The stage banter was funny, but the language barrier was an issue. I remember one in particular that cracked me up. Before playing Digging Your Own Grave Dorrian asked if there were fans of an punk band whose name escapes me in the audience. The question was met with complete silence, to which he responded “then I guess you’re going to hate this one…”

They played their entire recorded output closing things up with Rotten Empire, the last song of their debut album released this year, Rotting Civilization. I was dreaming of an encore with Napalm Death, Repulsion or even Cathedral covers, but it didn’t happen. They returned to the stage to close their seventy minutes show with their first EP closer, The Slaughter.

Good old misanthropy delivered with an acute sense of humor and top notch musicianship by a band that’s larger than the sum of its influences and its own members’ history, is what makes Septic Tank such a unique ensemble. I’m looking forward for a second album. If they come back I’ll be there.

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