Last Saturday night was metal central in Camden, it seemed. The Boston Music Room was crumbling under the riffs and enormous choruses of Sheffield natives While She Sleeps, and, at the same time, Southampton boys Bury Tomorrow were playing their biggest ever headline show at the Kentish Town Forum. That's where I was.
The evening started bright and early with the Germans of Any Given Day, the only band I wasn't familiar with on the line up. I was excited to see them, and I was pleasantly surprised. ("Surprised" might not be the best term here as I cannot think of a time when Bury Tomorrow had a bad support act, so I should have known what to expect, really). Any Given Day's music is straight up metal at its finest. There are riffs for days, the vocals are powerful and impressive, and whilst, to some extent, they might not exactly belong to the same sphere as Bury Tomorrow, they make a firm impression on the crowd. First song on, everyone is already headbanging, and it doesn't take the audience much longer to start moshing or throwing themselves against one another in one of the biggest walls of deaths I have ever witnessed for a first opening act. The band's cover of Rihanna's Diamonds gets everyone singing, and suddenly, everything makes sense. Bury Tomorrow often say they are not a metal band who take themselves seriously, and it's therefore not surprising they would bring on tour a band who has no problem playing a Rihanna cover to a crowd who doesn't know them.
Any Given Day's set turned out to be promising, and I'd go as far as saying that their first visit in the UK was very successful.
I very much like Black Peaks. There, I said it. I was taken to watch them at 2000 Trees, last year, as they were supposed to be "a life changing experience". I couldn't tell you if it made any drastic change to my life, but an explosive electric set followed by a surprising acoustic set (complete with saxophone, I mean, a saxophone, guys) gave me a new band to listen to and get excited about seeing live. I said about Any Given Day that they do not exactly belong to the same sphere as Bury Tomorrow, and Black Peaks don't either. Their progressive metal sound is much less accessible than the music of the other bands on the line-up, and it might be the reason why their greatness fell on deaf ears, at the Forum. Black Peaks are an incredible band, both live and on CD. Their work is intricate and technical, they are incredible musicians and fantastic live performers. They always sound grand and exceptional. Will Gardner's voice never fails at sounding extremely powerful.
On Saturday, there was nothing wrong about their set at all, and I might just go ahead and call it flawless because I can't think of a moment that did not sound impeccable. They probably had the toughest job of the evening, playing after the catchy, riff-tastic Any Given Day and their Rihanna cover, and it sadly seemed the London crowd failed at appreciating their work. I don't want to end this on a sad note, so I'll just go ahead and say that whatever the audience members' reaction, Black Peaks live is always a treat of the highest quality and I, for one, was delighted they were on the line-up.
The main reason why everyone and their nan knows about Crossfaith is because of the high quality of their live show. Mention them to anyone who is remotely interested in this scene and you will, for sure, end up having a conversation about that one time you saw them live, and probably about something crazy their keyboard player and electronic bits wiz Terufumi Tamano did on that occasion (As a proof, while I was queuing, a group of people ahead of me ended up chatting about "that one time they saw Crossfaith and Tamano crowdsurfed whilst chugging Jägermeister"). They are extremely awaited by their fans (from London, but also, from what I can gather, from France, Switzerland and even Japan), and it's safe to say they wreaked havoc in the Forum. From start to finish, they get everyone jumping, moshing, opening walls of death and crowdsurfing. There was no down time.
I may have seen Crossfaith a fair amount of times, and every single time, they have blown my mind. At times, it becomes hard to understand how one band can produce constantly brilliant live shows. There is not one night when I have thought they felt under the weather, and Saturday was no exception. From the first to the last second, they throw a hundred and fifty percent of their energy (at least) into giving London the best performance possible.
All the songs they will play, from the newer ones (extracted from last year's New Age Warriors) to the classics (notably their cover of The Prodigy's Omen, Monolith or Jägerbomb), get picture perfect renditions, and a set like they played on Saturday is yet another proof, if we ever needed one, that Crossfaith are not just in this for the party or throwing whiskey in the crowd (as you do). They are one fine, extremely talented group of musicians with charisma that is out of this world and a collection of songs bigger than the planet.
All the songs they will play, from the newer ones (extracted from last year's New Age Warriors) to the classics (notably their cover of The Prodigy's Omen, Monolith or Jägerbomb), get picture perfect renditions, and a set like they played on Saturday is yet another proof, if we ever needed one, that Crossfaith are not just in this for the party or throwing whiskey in the crowd (as you do). They are one fine, extremely talented group of musicians with charisma that is out of this world and a collection of songs bigger than the planet.
After half an hour of waiting with pop tunes, as is often the case when you're seeing Bury Tomorrow, the Southampton lot grace the stage with their presence, ready as can be to embark on their biggest ever headline show. From the get go, just based on the reactions of the crowd and the look of utter bewilderment on the band members' faces, it's easy to tell that this is a very, very special night.
It is almost mid-2017, and yet this is the band's first headline tour in support of their fourth full-length album, Earthbound, released in January 2016. It makes sense, then, that a good half of the setlist is dedicated to the album. Title track Earthbound or singles Cemetery and The Burden get an incredible reaction from the Londoners - a proof that the wait for a headline tour didn't stop the fans from adopting the album and making it their own. As a massive, massive fan of the band myself (the Forum show marked my thirty-first time seeing the five piece), and as someone who has followed them on two full headline tours during the Runes era, it was odd not being at more headline shows. It also, somehow, created more excitement, more longing - it took almost a year and a half, but I would finally see Bury Tomorrow properly bring to life the album they worked so hard on, and in the end, it was a treat.
The rest of the setlist consisted in old favourites - Bury Tomorrow have never been a band to forget or hate the music they have made in the past, and every one of their full length albums is represented tonight. Of Glory and Watcher (from Runes) are being brought back, a singalong is heard to the sound of some of The Union of Crowns' main singles (An Honorable Reign and Knight Life), and even material off the band's début, Portraits, gets the live treatment in the form of Her Bones in the Sand and Waxed Wings. The encore, composed of Bury Tomorrow's two best known songs, 2014's Man on Fire and the anthemic Lionheart, sends the Forum moshing one last time.
(This tour was still not the tour during which I got to hear Vacant Throne live, but a) I get it because it's an old song and not even a single and b) I want to believe I'll get there someday).
(This tour was still not the tour during which I got to hear Vacant Throne live, but a) I get it because it's an old song and not even a single and b) I want to believe I'll get there someday).
The Earthbound tour (at least, what I got to witness of it), was a proof that Bury Tomorrow are a band with the ability to write incredible metalcore songs. (I'm not sure we still needed it, but, you know, it's always nice being reminded) The harmony between Jason Cameron's impeccable clean vocals and Dani Winter-Bates' screams knows no match, and every single one of their tracks manage the feat of being in your face metal and technically unique at the same time, of being very heavy and catchy all at once. Big shows like the Forum one are a chance for fans to rediscover their favourite songs and the music that has made them fall in love with the band in the first place, to notice things they hadn't paid attention to before, to be struck and amazed by new elements. For me, it came in the form of Kristan Dawson's guitar abilities. I found myself in awe at some of the riffs more than once.
In this day and age, a lot of metal fans (or elitists, depending on where you stand) rate metalcore and metal in general in terms of heaviness, breakdowns and moshing material. Other technical elements, such as the lyrical content or the musicians' talent are rarely taken into account anymore. Bury Tomorrow manage the whole package. They're heavy, their music almost demands crowd activity (it's a wonder the building is still standing as we speak) and at the same time, all five of them are brilliant, clever musicians and lyricists who should be regarded and respected as such.
In my opinion, other than their great musical qualities, the main reason why Bury Tomorrow are steadily climbing the ladder of metal the way they are is because of how humble they are. During the hour and a half their set will last, they use any down time they get to thank the crowd for being here and for supporting them throughout the years. They will even dedicate closing track Lionheart, written about their friends and supporters from back home, to the "people who had their backs from the start", as a nod to the lyrics. Before Lionheart, again, they remind the thousand and five hundred people in front of them that if there is one thing they hate in this music industry, it's the concept of paid meet and greets, and that if your favourite band asks you to pay to meet them, then they are exploiting you. The gig is barely over when brothers Dani and Davyd Winter-Bates head to merch to meet a lot of their fans, never saying no to a picture or a signature. Earlier in the evening, Black Peaks' frontman Will Gardner had said he hoped everyone would get to meet the Southampton boys, before adding "and I'm sure you will, because they are some of the kindest people ever".
I have mentioned how much I love Bury Tomorrow time and time again, I never mind going the extra mile for them, and it's not bound to change any time soon. They are, indeed, some of the kindest people I have ever met, and every time I meet them, I am still blown away by how lovely they always are to me. I know this is just an added bonus. When I pay for a gig ticket, whatever the band, I do not pay for the right to meet them or anything else. I pay for a live performance, several bands on a line up, and the rest is a bonus. With Bury Tomorrow, you always get the bonus, whether they play at your local pub or in Brixton Academy. I feel like that's one of the main reasons why they are becoming bigger with every album. Of course, there is the music, but they are the living proof, in this scene, that a little bit of kindness goes a long way.