‘Live and loud with ballistic intent’ – Wargasm play Venom in full for the first time live on stream
Labelled as a once in a lifetime event, Wargasm celebrated their chaotic debut album ‘Venom’ by playing it in full for the very first time as part of a special live stream hosted by Vierlive. The vibes of covid time came flooding back sitting at home watching a live stream via a laptop however this one came with a different feel knowing it was purely for the celebration of this record. In the middle of a unique setting of an army base dressed up in camo and surrounded by tanks, it felt like the best sort of setting for a Wargasm show.
The stream kicks off in the style of the theme – a national alert message beams across the screen with sirens in the background. The scene is set as Milkie Way & Sam Matlock walk towards the drum setup, Milkie begins ‘Introduction’ before ‘Venom’ kicks offs the chaos – despite the fact it was just the band and a camera crew, you still felt the Wargasm live experience through the screen, they never change in the slightest from how they are on stage and their high energy and intensity remain constant. Prior to the show, the band let it be known that rain or shine the chaos will go on and the heavens opened only 3 songs in quickly turning the setup into what every UK festival has been this year – a mud zone. Regardless, they powered on like it was nothing smashing through their debut in typical Wargasm fashion.
‘Ride the Thunder’ is kicked off by Milkie on top of a tank setting alight a red smoke bomb just adding some of the surprises thrown into the set. In amongst all of the action was a singular cameraman capturing all the going’s on, the skills were on another level as he moves in and around all bands members from front to back never missing a single piece of entertainment that was on show – the close ups the the band made you feel like you were really there, only dry. A nod to Fred Durst gives the obvious clue of what was coming next, Milkie makes the statement that home watchers need to bang their heads for this one, the heavy ‘Bang Ya Head’ probably sends some households into some movement.
The production put into this show really was mind blowing given the weather and the location. An incredible light show sets up the start of ‘Feral’ and is continued as the set goes on and the night gets darker – the red and white strobes added even more intensity to what we were watching while splashes of the rain could be seen over the beams of light. The energy never stops at any point throughout this iconic set as wall to wall bangers fill this record and it’s a set many would give so much to hear in the flesh in a dark and sweaty room. It felt quite fitting to end the set with both Milkie and Sam gathered round a fire made up of flowers as ‘Outrage’ leads into the finale of ‘Sombre Goodbye’. A screamy and chaotic end as Milkie screams “we’re Wargasm, and Wargasm sounds like this”, an explosive end to a sick as fuck set. Hearing such an incredible album in its entirety is always a special moment and even more so when it’s a debut that’s only been out less than a year – the setting and production made it all the more gripping to watch showing the strength this band are currently at. Whether this really is a once in a lifetime set or something we may see again, one thing is for certain is that Wargasm mean business and they are looking the sharpest they have ever been.
Words by Craig McInnes