There is one topic on which the entire alternative scene agrees, and that topic is Beartooth. The metalcore outfit, from Colombus, Ohio, has taken the heavy music world by storm when they released their excellent debut album, Disgusting, and since then, I can truthfully tell you that I have never seen one person say they didn't like them. At the end of 2014, pretty much everyone that mattered in music journalism has put the record in their favourites of the year, and I have to say I fully agree. 

I started listening to Beartooth during the summer of 2014 for the stupidest of reasons - the closest thing I have to an ex-boyfriend is a fan and couldn't stop talking about them. Since we pretty much had the same music taste, bar a few bands, I typed the band's name on YouTube and fell in love with I Have A Problem. Disgusting soon made its way into the list of my favourite albums - not only the ones released in 2014, but the endless list of albums I adore in general. 

Since that fateful (and, quite frankly, horrible) summer, I have been lucky enough to see Beartooth live six times - twice as headliners (in Paris in September 2014 and in Northampton in May 2015) and four times during festivals or as support bands (during the 2015 Kerrang! Tour, twice at Slam Dunk 2015 and at Download 2015). Their headliner at the Backstage by the Mill by Sunday was my seventh time seeing them and it was a show I was very much excited about, just like I had been the six previous times.

I can tell you that the evening started with local band From A Broken Stereo, but the regional trains decided to be assholes and I arrived after they were done playing. Someone blame the suspicious package someone abandoned in Châtelet les Halles. They were followed by another French band, Our Theory. Just like The Earl Grey (see my live review of Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!), I have seen them supporting everyone, from Young Guns to Our Last Night. I had heard about their line-up change but hadn't seen them since, and their new vocalist, Alex Vincent-Rey, adds gnarlier vocals to the outfit. Their brand of metalcore is really catchy, yet aggressive enough to wake a crowd up, and since they seem to be doing very well with themselves at the moment (they have signed a contract with a label distributed by Victory Records), I can imagine we'll be hearing a lot about them in the future.

Beartooth come on stage fairly early and start with single and personal favourite The Lines, which earns them a good singalong from the crowd. The atmosphere is very different from their first hearline show in Paris, over a year ago - they are not newcomers anymore, they are a force to be reckoned with in the scene and everyone knows who they are. The crowd is energetic to say the least and even as I stand at the back, I see feet and hands very, very close to my face. (Too close? Yes) The band seems to appreciate the effort, though, and describes the headliner as one of their best shows, and one which reminds them of home. As always, the Americans' performance is intense and as Caleb Shomo's vocals resonate throughout the venue, you can feel the pain and the emotion he so clearly puts in his singing. The musicians sound impeccable, tight and professional and this would be a near-perfect performance if it wasn't for its length.

See, I understand that the day after their Paris show, they embarked on a very long tour supporting metalcore heroes turned titans Bring Me The Horizon, and when I had seen them in Northampton, it had felt like support act The Color Morale had played more than them, but a half hour long show is too short. I get that they only have an EP and an album under their belt, but I wouldn't have said no to a couple more tracks, and I am sure that everyone in the venue would agree with me here. They could have easily included the über-catchy Keep Your American Dream, One More, which is excellent singalong material, or Go Be The Voice, as a nod to their 2013 EP Sick. 

All in all, it was an excellent performance from the Americans but a disappointment at the same time because of how short lived it was. If they had added only two or three songs, it could have easily become a contender for best Parisian gig of the year.