The Electric in Bristol played host to the final UK date of the DEATH DOMINION Tour, a triple-threat headliner featuring legends of the deathcore/death metal genre in Carnifex, Despised Icon, and Suffocation, all taking equal billing on the poster, a night that promised to be a real 'Slam Sandwich.'
First up, though, acting as local support were the Bristol-based thrash/hardcore crossover outfit Martyrs Saint, who had brought along a throng of friends and family who packed out the first two rows at the barrier for their opening set.
Martyrs Saint
Currently with just a single 4-track EP to their name so far (2026's From Strength To Strength) and hot off of the heels of a New Blood Stage slot at this past summer's Bloodstock Festival, the 4-piece did a fantastic job of getting the energy in the room going, 2-steppers and moshers a-plenty by the end of their brief set.
You could really tell they were relishing playing on a hometown stage of this size, opening up for three legendary bands. We hope that this performance is only the start of bigger and better things for the band, and we cannot wait to see what is next.
The first of the big three of the night was Long Island Death Metal legends, Suffocation. In their 38th year together, the band practically wrote the rule book for what technical death metal is, laying the groundwork in sheer brutality for everyone who has followed.
They kicked their set off with "Thrones of Blood" from their 1995 album Pierced From Within. Immediately followed by "Seraphim Enslavement" from 2023's Hymns From The Apocrypha, the more recent work of theirs proves that the band doesn't need to rely on pure nostalgia and that their most recent material is just as groundbreaking as the rest of the back catalogue.
Suffocation
Their set comes to an end with a duo from the deepest part of the back catalogue: "Liege of Inveracity" and "Infecting the Crypts," both from 1991's Effigy of the Forgotten, leaving us on the most brutal of notes.
With three headlining bands, each set was somewhat curtailed at around 50 minutes a piece, but with those restrictions in place, it meant that every track played was a certified banger, with no room for filler, just brutality from the starting pistol all the way to the finishing tape. No more was this ethos evident with Montreal's Despised Icon, a band that really provides that pivot point for the hardcore kids and death metal aficionados alike.
The dual vocals of Alex Erian and Steve Marois provided a galloping 1-2 punch, ensuring that each track was relentless in its energy.
Opening with "A Fractured Hand" (The Ills of Modern Man, 2007), the set took a whist stop tour through the majority of the band's back catalogue, visiting Purgatory (2019), Shadow Work (2025), Beast (2016), Day of Mourning (2009), and The Healing Process (2022).
Despised Icon
The set closes out with the titular track from 2019's Purgatory, the whole thing a master class in what the Deathcore genre is.
San Diego's Carnifex are a special breed in the Deathcore world; not only do they tick every box when it comes to aggression and overall sonic brutality, but they are unique in their ability to weave melodic elements into an overall blackened atmospheric soundscape.
They kicked their set off with the titular track from 2014's Die Without Hope, a technically astute roundhouse kick to the face that set the tone for the rest of the set.
Carnifex
The band had just the previous day released their brand new album, More Than Misery, and the Bristol crowd was treated to some of the new material, including the new record's title track and single "Roses & Rotting Corpses," which got a huge reception from the crowd.
Closing in similar fashion to how they started, "Drown Me In Blood" (Slow Death, 2016) provided unbridled chaotic aggression. Their set is a triumph, for the better part of an hour Scott Lewis had the Bristol crowd in the palm of his hand; all were fully engrossed, jumping on command and belting almost every lyric back to the band with gusto. There was even time for members of the crew and the other Death Dominion bands to bring a cake out on stage to celebrate guitarist Cory Arford's birthday.
Mainland Europe picks up the tail end of the DEATH DOMINION Tour towards the end of November, where Carnifex, Despised Icon, and Suffocation will be joined by special guests Gutrectomy or Kanine across selected dates.
