Hardcore Archives -

April 20, 2018

THE GALLERY: Trivium @ O2 Academy 17.04.18

Words by Yasmine Summan / Pic by Phil Drury

Florida’s heavy metal band, Trivium, set Birmingham a blaze this week as they storm through the UK on their The Sin and The Sentence World Tour 2018 – bringing city fans extreme head banging, searing guitar riffs, intense breakdowns, and a varied set list of their best hits since they first formed in 1999.

Fans flocked to the O2 Academy Birmingham in the thousands, hounding the merch tables and practically clinging onto the barrier with faces from all generations wavering through the crowd. I could feel the waves of nostalgia and excitement flooding through the room as fans joyfully ran in, decked out in ancient Trivium memorabilia unseen for years.

Opening the night, UK death metal band, Venom Prison, stormed onto the stage with a high energy performance and excessive head banging from vocalist, Larissa Stupar – who’s impressive screams filled the room and left everyone stunned.

Power Trip followed with their unique sound that revives the best elements of 80’s thrash metal, but takes aspects of modern metal to create a unique flare to their music. Their intensely high tempo, fast paced rhythm and scorching guitar solos had energy buzzing through the air; the whole band emanated great stage presence, with guitarist, Blake Ibanez, leaning into the crowd to sing along with the fans.

Code Orange stood out for their insane, off the wall performance that sky rocketed the energy levels in the room. Before their set had even begun the band’s guitarist, Dominic Landolina, ran off the stage and jumped into the crowd, gathering excitement amongst fans.

Whilst I enjoyed the diverse range of support acts, the drastically varying subgenres didn’t fairly compliment their collective talents. Hardcore is often more aggressive whilst metal is more melodic, which garner completely different audiences. Whilst the majority of the crowd was lively, this did result in some disinterested faces across the room and I think better consideration could have been put into the arrangement of the line-up.

As the lights dimmed and fans eagerly waited, I was unsure of what would entail for the atmosphere in the O2 Academy after the mixed reactions for the previous acts. However, I can assure you that as Trivium’s lead vocalist, Matt Heafy, swarmed onto the stage and the thudding of Alex Bent’s drums began to charge through the room, all hell truly did break loose. Trivium kicked in with their latest track, ‘The Sin and The Sentence’, causing crowd surfers to flood through the barriers, with mosh pits circulating around the room as an intoxicating rush of adrenaline dazed the crowd.

Their performance was practically unscathed, it felt so well-rehearsed and strategically thought out. From the layout of the stage that matched their latest album cover, to the lights syncing to the beat of the drums and every single riff tearing its way through the room without a single distorted note in sight, I was beyond overwhelmed with the outstanding performance – especially at Heafy’s guitar riffs that were so crisp they could cut through thin air.

Trivium play on the traditional styles of heavy metal music, which was translated great through their older hits like ‘Throes of Perdition’ and ‘Becoming the Dragon’ with highly amplified extended guitar solos and emphatic drum beats, similar to heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden and Pantera. Although arguably, I do think the lack of their works from popular albums such as Shogun and The Crusade was underwhelming, seeing as these tried and tested tracks translate well with the fans when performed live.

The band moved as one body and fed from each other’s energy. It was clear to see the devoted passion for their work thriving through each member; at times you could even see bassist, Paolo Gregoletto, rapidly strumming with sweat soaking his face, as if he was pouring his soul into every strum. Even between songs the band’s genuine nature transpired, as they constantly thanked the crowd and shared moments of their last time in the UK with Heafy saying he feels that “the UK basically adopted us” because of how frequently they visit.

Short bursts of surreal moments are what truly captivated the O2 Academy Birmingham crowd and brought the room together. It was humbling to see fans completely in awe with their eyes glued to the stage, or even to see someone coming out of a mosh pit completely covered in blood but with a huge grin plastered across their face as they sang along to every word.

Trivium are stretching their adventures across the UK and will be visiting Manchester and London before finalising their The Sin and The Sentence Tour for 2018. But as for their stop at the O2 Academy Birmingham, it brought a nostalgic pang of happiness to see fans, families and friends all enjoying themselves.

Trivium @ O2 Academy 17.04.18 / Phil Drury

For more on Trivium, visit www.trivium.org

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Power Trip – supporting Trivium @ 02 Academy 17.04.18 / Phil Drury

For more on Power Trip, visit www.powertripsl.bandcamp.com

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Code Orange – supporting Trivium @ 02 Academy 17.04.18 / Phil Drury

For more on Code Orange, visit www.codeorangetoth.com

For more on Venom Prison, visit www.venomprison.com

For more from Live Nation UK, including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.livenation.co.uk

For more on O2 Academy Birmingham, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham

January 21, 2018

THE GALLERY: The Bronx @ Mama Roux’s 17.01.18

Words & pics by Aatish Ramchurn

Tuesday evening. My car headlights stop working on my drive home, and the surprise flakes falling late at night are sticking to the ground. I’m hoping that on Wednesday I don’t wake up to eight inches of snow, and I can find a garage to fit me in to fix my headlights. Thankfully, both of my wishes are granted, and I have no problem making my way to see The Bronx live in Birmingham.

Knowing that the night has sold out, I arrive early to Digbeth’s most quaintly-decorated venue, Mama Roux’s. Standing by the stage in a virtually empty room, I watch it gradually fill up, with those arriving the earliest heading straight upstairs to the balcony to get the best view.

Until this point, I was unaware of who the support act was going to be, or if there even was a support act. I’d only seen this gig promoted by Surprise You’re Dead! Music, as The Bronx playing their latest album, The Bronx V, ‘in its entirety’. I found it a little hard to believe that The Bronx would be playing two and a half hour sets up and down the country.

Not that I doubt that they could. They’ve been touring as both The Bronx and Mariachi El Bronx for 15 years, even playing as both bands on the same night. It was just a gut feeling that there had to be someone supporting them throughout this club venue tour.

As it turns out, Ming City Rockers, from Immingham, are supporting The Bronx on their UK album showcase gigs. The East Lincolnshire rockers capture the attention of the audience with their fast-paced, punk rock and roll sound, reminiscent of The Buzzcocks and MC5.

Although there’s no restriction on the amount of photos I can take of bands at Mama Roux’s, I decide to impose the three song rule on myself, just so I can enjoy the rest of Ming City Rocker’s short, but powerful set, along with the rest of the audience. If you like your bands fast, loud, and slightly obnoxious (I mean that in a good way), their album, Lemon, would be worth checking out.

As Ming City Rockers leave the stage, I feel naturally drawn into the dispersion of the room, until this thought suddenly dawned on me: ‘This floor will be packed with people nearer the time The Bronx are on, do I really want to move away from the stage?’

I position myself to the left, until I’m wedged between stage speakers and the rest of the front row. I’m aware I’m not going to be in this position for too long but I have a decent place to start shooting from before things get less than ideal.

With the instruments set up, and beers settled by each amplifier, The Bronx are warmly welcomed by the Birmingham crowd. Frontman, Matt Caughthran, edges closer to the audience, greeting them as if meeting an old friend, before the band explodes into The Bronx V from start to finish. With where I’m positioned, I take advantage of getting shots in the limited time Matt Caughthran spends on stage – he seems more comfortable out in the middle of the crowd.

I’d gone into this gig presuming that my biggest challenge would be trying to get focused pictures in the middle of a frantic mosh pit, with an onslaught of stage divers and a poorly-lit environment.

However, it was something else entirely. Whenever Matt Caughthran was down in the room, from where I was perched on the slightly poked out corner of a speaker to give me a higher vantage point, I found myself in a Where’s Wally? situation, as I was having trouble differentiating which out of the many bald, tattooed men present was The Bronx’s frontman. Following the trail of the microphone cable into the crowd didn’t help me find him either, as he’s quite short. There were times I’m sure I was focusing on the wrong person.

After playing their fifth, eponymous release from their record label, White Drugs, The Bronx ventured into more familiar territory, with fan favourites such as ‘White Guilt’, ‘Knifeman’, and set closer ‘History’s Stranglers’.

I know us concert photographers tend to prefer to shoot in the comfort of photo pits, away from people knocking our elbows in minimal space. But I have to admit, shooting a vibrant punk show in a packed out, intimate venue with poor lighting, not only provides a fun, yet frustrating challenge. It also gives you images that document the soul of punk rock in Birmingham.

The Bronx @ Mama Roux’s 17.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

For more on The Bronx, visit www.thebronxxx.com

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Ming City Rockers – supporting The Bronx @ Mama Roux’s 17.01.18 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

For more on Ming City Rockers, visit www.mingcityrockers.co.uk

For more on Mama Roux’s, Birmingham, including full events listings, visit www.facebook.com/mamarouxs

For more on Surprise You’re Dead! Music, visit www.surpriseyouredeadmusic.co.uk

January 16, 2018

BPREVIEW: The Bronx @ Mama Roux’s 17.01.18

Words by Aatish Ramchurn

On Wednesday 17th January 2018, Surprise Your Dead! Music present The Bronx at Mama Roux’s – where the band will be playing their latest album, The Bronx V.

Doors open at 7pm, with tickets priced at £17 (+bf) – but be warned, at the time of writing this event has already sold out so for direct gig info, click here.

To celebrate the release of their latest album, The Bronx will be playing The Bronx V ‘in its entirety’ in venues across the UK. The Southern Californian punks will arrive at Mama Roux’s on Wednesday 17th January, with the gig selling out just days after the Birmingham based promoters, Surprise You’re Dead! Music, released tickets.

Founded in 2002 by frontman Matt Caughthran, guitarist Joby J.Ford, bassist James Tweedy, and drummer Jorma Vik, The Bronx quickly attracted attention from major label, Island Def Jam Music Group, after just 12 shows. However, the band decided to put out their first few releases by forming their own label, White Drugs.

Their first major release came with their 2nd eponymous album (a title trend the band would continue) in 2006, when Ken Horne joined the band as their second guitarist. Subsequent albums would eventually be put out on White Drugs, including their 5th and latest album, The Bronx V, which was released in September 2017.

The Bronx last visited Birmingham as part of the Slam Dunk Festival 2017 at The Genting Arena, where they were joined by new drummer, David Hidalgo Jr.

When they’re not playing as a punk rock members of The Bronx also play as a mariachi band, Mariachi El Bronx, having three albums released under this name. But there will be no sign of any mariachi music at Mama Roux’s on the 17th January, as it will be pure, unadulterated punk rock coming from The Bronx as they perform their fifth album in this special showcase event.

For more on The Bronx, visit www.thebronxxx.com

For more on Mama Roux’s, Birmingham, including full events listings, visit www.facebook.com/mamarouxs

For more on Surprise You’re Dead! Music, visit www.surpriseyouredeadmusic.co.uk