Never Say Die Tour 2016- Manchester

StartFragmentAfter a two hour drive and a further two hours spent in Wetherspoons (big up The Ford Madox Brown), I was finally ready for what was to be one of the best gigs I've ever experienced.

Opening the evening were Polar (5/10), a somewhat generic Hardcore band from down south. They drew a reasonably large crowd for 5:45 on a Monday evening, and they managed to get people's blood pumping a bit, but that seemed to be it. A couple of tracks seemed more melodic than the rest, and, although it was difficult to distinguish from one song to the next, this showed some promise of better things to come.

Next up were the lovable Aussie lads from Make Them Suffer (8/10). Although starting quite slowly, the crowd were good to the band, who seem to have been around for a fair while now. When playing the title track from their debut 'Neverbloom', the crowd suddenly split and all hell broke loose, and it never really settled down until the end of their, quite brilliant, set. Make Them Suffer truly bring a different sound than most, incorporating operatic female vocals from there keyboardist, paired with the keyboard sound itself to give a melodic edge to there music. These guys are good, but are lacking that extra something, keeping them from really reaching their full potential.

Make Them Suffer are a tough act to follow, and Fallujah (6/10) really highlighted that. A fairly standard Deathcore band with solid drumming and very good vocals, they just didn't bring anything particularly special. Vocalist Alex Hofmann seemed to struggle inciting the crowd the way Make The Suffer had just done. Technical issues didn't help there cause, with a reasonably long break between there opening two songs bringing some light hearted heckles from an impressive crowd. In comparison, Obey The Brave (7/10) didn't quite have as many people interested, but the crowd for there entire set were extremely lively. A side project for Despised Icon vocalist Alex Erian, Obey The Brave brought a more unique, defined style of hardcore than most, blending beefy hardcore breakdowns with some excellent, more Deathcore style vocals, owed to Alex being in one of the biggest Deathcore bands around. Songs like 'Up In Smoke' invoked some of the most violent pits of the night, while 'Raise Your Voice' had the crowd chanting en masse. A band definitely worth keeping an eye on, and a band I'm happy to call myself a fan of.

Opening with the first release from 'Slow Death', 'Drown Me In Blood' showed that Carnifex (8/10) can really pull off a more technical, darker sound, while still keeping it just as heavy as their older records. Having seen Carnifex open for Parkway Drive a couple of years ago, this was a very different experience, with a vastly different crowd. Songs like 'Hatred and Slaughter' and 'Die Without Hope' brought about a lot of movement, which was encouraging for the remainder of the night. The set, albeit very short, culminated on the track 'Hell Chose Me', which has definitely become something of a Deathcore anthem over the past few years, and encapsulates the core of Carnifex's music, crushing breakdowns with recognisable vocals, which also show that they had Black Metal influences even in their early work.

Seeing Thy Art Is Murder (8/10) perform with Nick Arthur (former Molotov Solution) for the first time, having seen them three times prior with old vocalist CJ McMahon, was always going to be an interesting experience. Opening with the title track from their latest record 'Holy War', Nick's vocals completely blew me away. From the opening note, the crowd surged towards the noise, spitting the words straight back into his face, leaving plenty of space for the more violent among us to vent. For the entire set, the centre of the crowd was a mass of fists and feet, especially during songs like 'Coffin Dragger' and 'Shadow of Eternal'. There's a reason why Thy Art is Murder are one of the most popular Deathcore bands around; a combination of pummelling riffs, incredible drumming and pure evil vocals makes them good, but the music is just so perfectly written, and sets them apart from the rest.

Finally, after waiting for over four years, I was about to see Whitechapel (9/10), but it wasn't exactly as I'd pictured. Quite a few people had left after Thy Art Is Murder, which could have had something to do with Whitechapel's latest record. 'Mark of the Blade' has received a lot of stick from many fans, partly due to the inclusion of clean vocals. Although I do agree that this album is their weakest so far, it's still a brilliant piece, and the clean vocals work well in my humble opinion. Although some had left, there were still a large number of people to welcome the lads onto the stage. Things started slowly, with the title track from their latest record drawing a bit of a blank.

However, the idea of two songs from one of their best albums, 'The Somatic Defilement', really picked up the crowd. 'Vicer Exciser' flowed immaculately into 'Prostatic Fluid Asphyxiation', sending the crowd into an absolute frenzy(which included myself being elbowed in the face). The main downfall of the set was the bands decision to play 'Bring Me Home' at all, let alone immediately after two of their heaviest songs. Bring Me Home is not a bad song by any means, but it really didn't fit into their set whatsoever. The highlight for me, without any doubt, was hearing the opening riff to one of my all time favourite songs, 'Possession'. Phil Bozeman is a fantastic vocalist, and this is in part due to his willingness to experiment with different vocal styles. Possession really highlights this for me, with a mixture of low, raspy gutturals, and extremely fast, almost rap like parts, showing off Phil's versatility. Whitechapel are truly an exceptional band, and, although their recent releases haven't quite lived up to the expectations they set themselves, their live performance is nothing short of spectacular.

JMHEndFragment