10 Plagues – Atom Smasher – Reduced To Ruins – A Night of Unremitting Horrors

With the abundance of live Metal events we are fortunate to have access to in Plymouth, my biggest concern is that we might oversaturate the market and affect attendance numbers, especially as the evenings are getting colder and darker. So I was pleased to see a pretty decent turn out for this evening with 10 Plagues, Atom Smasher and Reduced To Ruins, particularly given how far two of the bands had to travel.

10 Plagues – Atom Smasher – Reduced To Ruins

The Junction, Plymouth – 28 September 2024

Photography: Keith Conlin

Words: Jools Green

Reduced To Ruins

With some members of the band travelling down from Exeter and others from Bristol, Reduced To Ruins opened the evening with their Modern Metal approach.

They delivered a sound that melds elements of The Deftones and Slipknot with added breakdowns for extra brutality. They already boast a healthy fanbase here in Plymouth from the younger generation of Metalheads, so they did not waste any time livening up the crowd. The younger element formed a circle pit within the first track. 

Performance wise, Reduced To Ruins were totally on point, possessing a good stage presence and delivering as a well gelled unit. Their set opened with Among Us, followed by Beauty And Bruises, Apocalypse, Holy Genocide, Corrupt Messiah, Nameless and ending with In The Name of God.

Atom Smasher

Plymouth’s Progressive Thrash/Death Metal trio Atom Smasher were still buzzing from their appearance at Bloodstock 2024 this September after winning Metal 2 The Masses for Devon and Cornwall. They gave a triumphant home gig, their first since Bloodstock, after a minor health issue prevented them from headlining Edfest this year.

Tonight, Atom Smasher drew a more mature crowd alongside the younger element, boosted by the ladies waiting for drummer Connor to take his shirt off as usual. Meanwhile, Jason, still thinking he is at Bloodstock, immediately calls for a Wall Of Death as the first track, Unleash, commences.

This is much to the delight of the younger element, who do not need to be asked twice. Atom Smasher continued with one of their less-played live numbers, Rift Walker, followed by everyone’s favourite song about Space Cocaine, The Rush. The up-tempo, driving nature of which incited that previously mentioned younger element to break into Hardcore style dancing, which brought a look of alarm to Jason’s face briefly.

This was followed by their second single, the comparatively short, by Atom Smasher standards, Thunberg And Lightning, which calmed the situation down a bit, closing on Blindsided.

10 Plagues

Headliners 10 Plagues hail from Brighton and meld Death Metal, Black Metal, and Grindcore to deliver a savage blend of Extreme Metal. They only formed in the midst of the pandemic, initially planning to only be a recording project.

Thankfully, they changed their mind and are one of those rapidly up-and-coming, immediately impactful bands, especially visually. Because I have a weakness for stage visuals, pageantry and rituals, their masks and corpse paint immediately grabbed my attention. This is a perfect complement to their brutal and engaging sound.

Their energetic set inspired a pit into action on multiple occasions, opening with The Valley Of All Sufferings, followed by the dark and ominous The Grotesque Harvest of Souls.

The pace became a little more brutal with There Were Demons In Me, then the leadwork-rich Global Cemetery and The Shadows Are Waiting were followed by Hidden Hand, Symbol Of Our Destiny, Wrath Of The Void City Of Zombies, Blinded by Fear, Infecting The Crypts and Birth Of Ignorance.

Three bands, three great sets, overall, a great evening of Metal.

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