AUGUST BURNS RED

WAGE WAR/BETRAYING THE MARTYRS

ISLINGTON ACADEMY, LONDON

Tonight brings together a strong bill of metalcore heavyweights, with an almost full house ready to throw down early to

Betraying the MARTYRS. The Anglo/ Franco sextet deliver a bombastic start to the night with the energy of a headliner present both on and off the stage. There isn’t quite so much visually to excite you about Wage WAR, but they are received even more warmly than BTM. The roar that goes up as vocalist Briton Bond takes to the stage is as loud as any heard tonight, and he’s certainly got a dexterous set of pipes, particularly when he lets his clean vocals soar. Wage War win most anthemic band of the night. With a Grammy nomination under their belt after the success of Phantom Anthem,

august BURNS RED bowl onstage like a band reborn, and, considering they are at the mercy of the venue’s notoriously ropey acoustics, sound crystal clear yet rhinoceros-heavy. Frontman Jake Luhrs is an intimidating, yet oddly original presence, barking his guts up whilst simultaneously swinging his mic like a bulldog Robert Plant. It gives ABR a superb focal point, and sets them apart from the many metalcore chancers that have come in their wake.