Rocker (feedbot)
Gold Member
It’s early doors tonight at Electric Brixton for a lineup featuring four metal stalwarts. There’s a decent sized crowd already assembled for openers Heriot, who deliver an onslaught of distorted guitar tones, ferocious growls and crushing riffs from the first beat.
Whilst Heriot’s sound is undoubtedly heavy, their severity is juxtaposed with sludgey breakdowns and haunting melodies. The change in pace throughout the set showcases the light and shade of the band’s sound and keeps the audience on their toes, with vocalist/guitarist Debbie Gough switching seamlessly between a dual mic set-up for screams and clean vocals. Closing with popular single ‘Demure’, Heriot offer a brilliant start to an evening packed with talent.
Up next are Washington D.C. five-piece Darkest Hour. With a career spanning nearly three decades, they exude an air of confident assuredness that portrays their longevity as a band. Wasting no time at all, they launch straight in with drum licks and guitar trills to rival their better-known metalcore counterparts.
Darkest Hour might not be pushing any boundaries with their take on melodic death metal, but they present an energetic and accomplished performance, with powerful vocals, shredding guitars and a chugging rhythm section interspersed with full-throttle thrash beats. Their set is tight and their fervent energy captivates the ever-growing crowd. Like every band on the bill tonight, there are multiple calls for circle pits, and the already sweat-drenched fans in the middle are happy to oblige, with limbs and drinks flying through the air as the metal riffs fly out from the stage.
The floor is positively heaving by the time co-headliners Fit For An Autopsy take to the stage, with Pat Sheridan’s bright orange guitar glowing like a beacon in a sea of black. Attacking opener and latest single ‘Lower Purpose’ with brutality and technical prowess, the passion and dedication of band and fans alike is palpable. The sold-out crowd somehow manage to make room to split in half and launch themselves at one another for a wall of death during second track, ‘A Higher Level of Hate’, their fierce but controlled aggression mirrored by the band’s relentless energy and expert delivery.
Combining dirty grooves, doomy bass and plenty of polished guitar trills, Fit For An Autopsy’s newer material from this year’s album ‘The Nothing That Is’ slots effortlessly into a set packed with older favourites. Vocalist Joe Badolato displays impressive lung capacity, holding impassioned screams through moments of vocal isolation for maximum impact. The intensity never waivers, and the pit has gone slightly feral by the time we get to the guttural growls of ‘Hellions’, with fists punching the air and scores of voices joining in with cries of ‘Far From Heaven’ from a pulsating floor.
The momentum is interrupted only briefly to satisfy that all-familiar request for a sea of phone torch lights for the opening moments of closing track ‘Two Towers’. It feels like a slightly odd cliché to end a set that’s been packed full of ruthless deathcore, but there’s every chance that a minute or so of relative calm is exactly what the crowd need to recover for the final act of the night.
The opening few bars of ‘Empty Prophets’ see Sylosis guitarist Conor Marshall’s locks flying through the air in neck-achingly enthusiastic signature windmills. Stepping over from bass after the amicable departure of guitarist Alex Bailey, there’s not a note out of place as the newest incarnation of Sylosis unleash the full power of their thrash mastery. The pit isn’t as unhinged as it was for Fit For An Autopsy, primarily because everyone is too busy craning their necks to catch a glimpse of vocalist and lead guitarist Josh Middleton’s exceptional fretwork and powerful roars, underpinned by a ludicrously tight double-bass-drum-fuelled rhythm section.
Sylosis blend elements of contemporary metal into their songwriting, adding texture and nuance to their frantic high-velocity thrash roots. Debbie Gough of Heriot reappears momentarily for vocal duties on ‘The Path’ before the band delve into their back catalogue, the older material standing the test of time alongside newer releases.
Middleton announces the return of guitarist Alex Bailey for ‘Poison for the Lost’ with Marshall switching back to bass for the final few tracks. New bassist Ben Thomas can be seen at the back of the stage, watching the end of the set with what can only be described as a mix of pride and admiration. For a band who have been through as many lineup changes as Sylosis, they’ve maintained a consistency in the quality of their output, celebrating the standard of songwriting and talent of the musicians involved.
Three of the four ending songs are taken from last year’s ‘A Sign of Things To Come’, with the groove of the title track erupting into closer ‘Deadwood’, the devastating riffs giving the crowd one last chance to let loose and run at each other with reckless abandon.
ELLIE ODURNY
Whilst Heriot’s sound is undoubtedly heavy, their severity is juxtaposed with sludgey breakdowns and haunting melodies. The change in pace throughout the set showcases the light and shade of the band’s sound and keeps the audience on their toes, with vocalist/guitarist Debbie Gough switching seamlessly between a dual mic set-up for screams and clean vocals. Closing with popular single ‘Demure’, Heriot offer a brilliant start to an evening packed with talent.
Up next are Washington D.C. five-piece Darkest Hour. With a career spanning nearly three decades, they exude an air of confident assuredness that portrays their longevity as a band. Wasting no time at all, they launch straight in with drum licks and guitar trills to rival their better-known metalcore counterparts.
Darkest Hour might not be pushing any boundaries with their take on melodic death metal, but they present an energetic and accomplished performance, with powerful vocals, shredding guitars and a chugging rhythm section interspersed with full-throttle thrash beats. Their set is tight and their fervent energy captivates the ever-growing crowd. Like every band on the bill tonight, there are multiple calls for circle pits, and the already sweat-drenched fans in the middle are happy to oblige, with limbs and drinks flying through the air as the metal riffs fly out from the stage.
The floor is positively heaving by the time co-headliners Fit For An Autopsy take to the stage, with Pat Sheridan’s bright orange guitar glowing like a beacon in a sea of black. Attacking opener and latest single ‘Lower Purpose’ with brutality and technical prowess, the passion and dedication of band and fans alike is palpable. The sold-out crowd somehow manage to make room to split in half and launch themselves at one another for a wall of death during second track, ‘A Higher Level of Hate’, their fierce but controlled aggression mirrored by the band’s relentless energy and expert delivery.
Combining dirty grooves, doomy bass and plenty of polished guitar trills, Fit For An Autopsy’s newer material from this year’s album ‘The Nothing That Is’ slots effortlessly into a set packed with older favourites. Vocalist Joe Badolato displays impressive lung capacity, holding impassioned screams through moments of vocal isolation for maximum impact. The intensity never waivers, and the pit has gone slightly feral by the time we get to the guttural growls of ‘Hellions’, with fists punching the air and scores of voices joining in with cries of ‘Far From Heaven’ from a pulsating floor.
The momentum is interrupted only briefly to satisfy that all-familiar request for a sea of phone torch lights for the opening moments of closing track ‘Two Towers’. It feels like a slightly odd cliché to end a set that’s been packed full of ruthless deathcore, but there’s every chance that a minute or so of relative calm is exactly what the crowd need to recover for the final act of the night.
The opening few bars of ‘Empty Prophets’ see Sylosis guitarist Conor Marshall’s locks flying through the air in neck-achingly enthusiastic signature windmills. Stepping over from bass after the amicable departure of guitarist Alex Bailey, there’s not a note out of place as the newest incarnation of Sylosis unleash the full power of their thrash mastery. The pit isn’t as unhinged as it was for Fit For An Autopsy, primarily because everyone is too busy craning their necks to catch a glimpse of vocalist and lead guitarist Josh Middleton’s exceptional fretwork and powerful roars, underpinned by a ludicrously tight double-bass-drum-fuelled rhythm section.
Sylosis blend elements of contemporary metal into their songwriting, adding texture and nuance to their frantic high-velocity thrash roots. Debbie Gough of Heriot reappears momentarily for vocal duties on ‘The Path’ before the band delve into their back catalogue, the older material standing the test of time alongside newer releases.
Middleton announces the return of guitarist Alex Bailey for ‘Poison for the Lost’ with Marshall switching back to bass for the final few tracks. New bassist Ben Thomas can be seen at the back of the stage, watching the end of the set with what can only be described as a mix of pride and admiration. For a band who have been through as many lineup changes as Sylosis, they’ve maintained a consistency in the quality of their output, celebrating the standard of songwriting and talent of the musicians involved.
Three of the four ending songs are taken from last year’s ‘A Sign of Things To Come’, with the groove of the title track erupting into closer ‘Deadwood’, the devastating riffs giving the crowd one last chance to let loose and run at each other with reckless abandon.
ELLIE ODURNY