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There's a good chance most of the people in the Dogtooth Stage tent are hearing Decessus for the first time. This is, after all, the Chilean death metal band's first ever show in the UK. But they aren't an entirely unknown entity. Their frontwoman, Ignacia Fernández, went viral when she participated in the Miss World Chile competition, performing her snarls in front of a panel of judges (and cameras). Amazingly, she won the title and will now represent the country at this year's Miss World competition.
Which is all to say, Ignacia knows her way around a stage. Decessus isn't just a vanity project; the amalgamation of melodeath lead guitars, old school DM brutality and even progressive twists a la Jinjer sounds utterly epic in the Dogtooth, and even if the stage isn't packed out - though it's by no means empty either - there's a sense that we're seeing something special in the short but oh so satisfying set.
For all the atmospherics the band use in the studio (synths, symphonic-like elements, choirs), live they're very much content to just bludgeon the audience with some ferocious, thundering riffs and let the instruments on-stage do the talking. It sounds obvious, but given just how many bands now rely on backing tapes to replicate in-studio effects, it adds a force and energy to the set that is impossible to ignore.
From riffs that evoke the dark mysticism of Nile, to djenty-basslines that add a surprising amount of funk to the set (think Mr. Bungle jamming Hypocrisy), Decessus are a revelation.
Atop it all, Igancia exudes a quiet confidence that screams star quality, holding herself with precise, careful movements that bring to mind the likes of Gaahl or Maynard James Keenan, where rabid energy isn't what makes them so captivating. She might have been crowned Miss World Chile, but we could be seeing a future death metal queen. Closing out on the apocalyptic Deliverance, we'd like to think this won't be the last time we see Decessus on these shores.
