DARKEST HOUR/UNEARTH
MISERY SIGNALS/LEFT BEHIND Washington DC ruffians lead a night of fervent fret abuse
ULU, LONDON
Metalcore!” screams the poster behind the merch desk of this evening’s festivities. And if this tour was put together to remind people of a time when metalcore was a far less shiny and radio-friendly entity, then openers have taken to that purpose with relish. Their sludgy, downtuned hardcore is much more Trap Them than Trapped Under Ice, and they kick things off nicely. It seems that the majority of people inside the ULU are here for
It’s been more than a decade since the Wisconsin quintet’s last visit to the UK, and there is obviously a hunger for them. From the moment they set foot onstage this feels like a headline performance, with the packed crowd going berserk and clambering over themselves to grab hold of Jesse Zaraska’s mic as he repeatedly jumps down into the crowd. They may well be the lightest of the four acts on offer tonight, but Misery Signals still do a line in mean beatdowns alongside those soaring vocal hooks. That a chant of “One more song!” rings out for some time after they have left the stage says it all.
Post-Misery Signals, the crowd do, quite confusingly, thin out for the last two bands, which is a real pity as
and are both on fine form tonight. The former still sound as fresh as a daisy with their metalcore-via-Van Halenstyle guitar histrionics, courtesy of
Ken Susi and Buz McGrath’s dual onstage shredding antics. Frontman Trevor Phipps is also an intimidating presence, stalking the stage, drenched in sweat and banging his head atop his not inconsiderable frame, like a sort of Philip Anselmo/Triple H hybrid. Songs from new album sound excellent too, especially the brooding proving that Unearth still have plenty left in the tank. Ditto for Darkest Hour. The Washington DC five-piece are a scratchier and sharper band than the booming Unearth, but they too still sound brilliantly contemporary thanks to the material from last year’s severely underrated album. Relying far more on early melodic death metal than anyone else here, Darkest Hour are arguably the heaviest act on an exceedingly heavy bill. Particularly when they dip back to from
which has a pace not far off grind, or their warp-speed cover of Dead Kennedys’
Consider false metalcore well and truly murdered.