There was Paris, the emotion and the pride I felt for my home soil.

And there was London, a different kind of emotion and a whole lot of hope for metal and its future.

To me, a metal band such as Parkway Drive (read : a band that hasn't peaked in the eighties and does not charge £70 for a greatest hits show) headlining and almost selling out a venue like the Brixton Academy (read : a 5000 capacity building) is nothing short of an event. I get so angry at metal elitists on a daily basis because they call all these younger bands every name in the book, and I like seeing them being proved wrong, oh so wrong by the bands themselves. 

The Thursday was all about being incredibly close to the stage and punching the air as aggressively as I could, as a heavy music lover who tries so hard to pretend she's hardcore and not fun-sized.
The Friday was all about being sat upstairs and taking it all in, having a more general view, more open for thinking.

Since the line outside is going around the entire building, the venue is far from being full and packed when Thy Art Is Murder step on the mighty stage. It doesn't stop them from being excellent, and their heavy deathcore sounds right at home in the Academy. As we mention with the lovely people I chatted with in the line and in between bands, CJ's departure from Thy Art Is Murder reminded us all of how fragile being in a band is (CJ, in his leaving statement, mentioned how he could barely afford the costs of his wedding and how little he and his former bandmates earned for touring), and we all hoped that being a part of the Ire Tour (read : a big ass tour) would put the Australians on the way up for good. Despite not being my cup of tea when I had seen them at Slam Dunk, I find myself completely changing my mind about them and finding them excellent to say the least. I am not saying they are my new favourite band. I am saying I want to stick around, I want to see them destroy venues, I want to see them expand their number of fans. Seeing all these people wearing Thy Art Is Murder merch at gigs had always, always led me to believe that they were a staple name in our scene, and I want it to remain that way. They are an impeccable live band with a lot of talent and ideas that interest me greatly - Holy War's artwork is my favourite in 2015, the best thing since sliced bread, one of the most powerful ones I have ever seen and I do believe we need bands like them. They are far beyond straight in your face heaviness, "I am the purest strain of hate" hoodies and "MURDER" snapbacks. They are interesting, have a message, and a hard hitting one at that. More of that, please. 

Their Brixton performance was technically impeccable and despite not playing to a full venue, they have, without a doubt, left a strong, positive impression on a very receptive crowd.

Brixton was my 25th Bury Tomorrow show. They are the active band I have seen the most and I doubt you now wonder if I like them because I have just told you I have wilfully attended twenty-five of their shows.

The Southampton outfit has just released their fourth full length album, Earthbound, and as their charismatic frontman Dani Winter-Bates will remind us, they have found themselves in the top 40 for the second time of their career. The Ire Tour is the band's first chance to perform songs out of Earthbound and it is only logical they represent the major part of the setlist.

Bury Tomorrow quite easily inhabity Brixton and make it look like it is their own headline show (and considering the five moshpits that take place at the same time pretty much from the get go, one cannot help but wondering if it wasn't the case, after all). Dani Winter-Bates relentlessly jumps around the stage and asks the crowd to follow suite, and guitarist Kristan Dawson and bassist Davyd Winter-Bates headbang just as much as the crowd.

Whether they play new songs (Last Light, Memories or title-track Earthbound) or older ones (fan favourite Lionheart, extra heavy Sceptres or 2014's Man on Fire), Bury Tomorrow, as always, make it sound like being in a heavy band is the easiest task in the books Playing before Parkway Drive at the Brixton Academy? Effortless. They look like they're having all the fun in the world and they make it oh so easy to get caught in it and have fun with them too. I cannot possibly see why, one day, they wouldn't headline Brixton themselves and carry the torch for British metal (alongside, say, a little unknown band named Architects). They have all the qualities for it. I am just waiting for it to happen, now. (And on the day BT headline Brixton, count on me to be there sobbing, yelling at whoever wants to listen that I am "so proud of my boys")

There was something special about Parkway Drive's show in Paris in regard to the November attacks. There is something special about Parkway Drive headlining Brixton Academy and almost selling it out in regard to the future of metal.

The venue being fairly small, the Paris show (sadly) didn't get all the props London did. In what was possibly the biggest show of the tour, everything was there : confetti cannons during Destroyer, fire during the entire show and even fireworks falling from the ceiling during Home Is for the Heartless. (By that point I might have been flailing about and crying, which is a side effect of fireworks on my person) The production as simply incredible and enhanced how brilliant a live band Parkway Drive are. It served them more than well. 

The setlist was identical to the Paris one, and not to demean France in any way, but the songs, when played in Brixton, resonated in a bigger, bolder way - yes, that is actually possible. They are a band who have produced some of the biggest songs in modern metal, and yet, they have the ability to make them sound even bigger. This is something we don't mention enough in everyday life - Parkway Drive's material is something of the Get Psyched mix variety. Their music is motivational and sounds like the kind of things you would listen to to get yourself pumped for a tough day. Hearing it live makes you ready to conquer the world, jump from outer space and climb mountains all at once. This is the kind of energy we are talking about - the kind of energy the Parkway Drive boys have tons of under their belts.

Another quality of theirs we do not mention enough to my taste is how talented they are technically speaking. Producing good metal music isn't just about being brutal enough to start a moshpit or ten (though it is an undeniable quality), it is also about technical abilities. Parkway Drive have all of them. They're quite good at the opening riff thing, aren't they? Just the first notes of Wild Eyes expertly played are so distinctive, so intricate - and yet they also fall under the whole "Get Psyched Mix" category. Drummer Ben Gordon is nothing short of a beast and all of this is orchestrated by the über charismatic Winston McCall, frontman extraordinaire and conductor of the evening from start to finish. His vocals are absolutely perfect and impressively mastered all through the hour and a half long performance, which is something to truly admire, considering how complicated the songs are to execute. 

The encore, once again composed of the excellent Crushed and its fire all around the stage, and the sublime Home Is for the Heartless, completed with fireworks, is the cherry on the cake of an evening to remember for everyone, band and crowd alike.

Parkway Drive's performance at Brixton, in my opinion, showed the world that you can be a truly heavy band and gather five thousand people in the same room to listen to your music. In a scene where elitism seems to be the default answer to younger bands doing their thing, it is wonderful to see a band proving it all wrong. This scene has young bands, talented bands, brilliant musicians worthy of your time and attention and Parkway Drive clearly are at the top of the pile, on their way to take over the world. Stay on the side if you wish, I'm going in.