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Sworn
Amongst
Up first tonight are Hull thrashers Sworn Amongst. Thanks to
Rio’s usual bad idea of putting bands on as early as possible, Sworn
Amongst are faced with the unfortunate task of taking the stage a mere
five minutes after the doors open. This is actually quite a shame
because Sworn Amongst turn out to be rather good and the thirty or so
people that have made it down early can feel privileged to have
witnessed a cracking performance from a band who are undoubtedly on
their way up. The band are tight, the riffs are great, the
drumming is top notch and the vocals are a welcome surprise; unlike most
younger singers who think that they have to scream incoherently down a
microphone in order to appear ‘brutal’, Sworn Amongst’s frontman
strikes the right balance between heavy and distinguishable and it helps
to set them apart from so many other local bands at the moment.
Illuminatus
After what was
quite possibly the quickest change-over in history, the rather
less-groovy Illuminatus take the stage. Not a bad band by any
means, they just come across as rather average, with the songs seemingly
melding into one another and vocals that are a bit too Chester
Bennington-esque for my liking. In an age where more bands emerge
than the average music fan can possibly keep up with, Illuminatus need
to have more about them to make them stand out and at the moment they
unfortunately don’t. The potential is there, they just need some
improved song-writing and the little something extra to propel them
forward.
Susperia
Judging by the sudden swelling of the crowd and the fairly even
split of Susperia and Breed 77 t-shirts amongst them, it looks like the
headliners are going to be given a run for their money tonight.
With a sound akin to fellow Scandinavians Evergrey, Susperia traverse
between thrash, atmospheric doom and at times, power metal.
Following the news that their singer is unable to perform due to health
problems prior to the tour, we are introduced to his temporary stand-in
Bernt Fjellstad from Guardians of Time and despite only having a short
time to learn the songs, he puts in a fine performance.
Sitting
behind the craziest looking kit I’ve seen since Megadeth’s
‘cage’ set-up, drummer Tjodalv provides some superbly fast
double-kick drumming to propel Susperia’s groove forward and gets
everyone heads banging in the process with songs like ‘Devil May
Care’ and the new album’s title track ‘Attitude’ shaking the
venue to its foundations. Susperia are definitely worth checking
out for those unfamiliar with the band and judging by Bernt
Fjellstad’s performance tonight, so are Guardians of Time.
Setlist:
The Urge, Chemistry, Release, Elegy and Suffering, Situational
Awareness, Devil May Care, The Clone, Attitude, Character Few, Cut From
Stone, Wild Child, Home Sweet Hell
Breed
77
Hitting the stage and bursting into ‘La Ultima Hora’,
Gibraltar’s (and the world’s) only ‘flamenco-metal’ band Breed
77 know they do not have an easy night in store for them. Largely
seen as something of a ‘comeback’ tour and facing stiff competition
from Susperia every night, this could easily have been somewhat of an
anti-climax. Fortunately, this is not the case and on second song
‘Blind’ Breed 77 really settle into their groove and get the place
moving.
The band
have been getting gradually heavier with each album and new song ‘Wake
Up’ seriously ups the ante in this respect
and is quite possibly the fastest and heaviest song the band have
recorded to date. The choice of support bands for this tour also
reflects the heavier direction the band are taking – they stick to the
faster songs tonight and even opt to leave out ‘The River’, their
most famous song, in a possibly controversial but understandable
decision. The crowd don’t seem to mind though and happily bounce
around to new songs such as ‘Battle of Hatin’ and the aforementioned
‘Wake Up’ as well as old favourites like ‘World’s on Fire’.
Their incorporation of traditional flamenco music into their songs and
Paul Isola’s use of both Spanish and English vocals certainly makes
for an interesting show if nothing else and tonight, as they leave on a
belting cover of The Cranberries ‘Zombie’, Breed 77 have at least
made sure that everyone knows they’re not going anywhere soon and can
expect a new, very solid metal album this September.
Setlist:
La
Ultima Hora, Blind, Wake Up, Petroleo, Alive, The Battle of Hatin,
Floods, Remember, Revolution, World’s On Fire, Zombie
Review
by: Adam G |