Having rocked up outside Rosie’s considerably late and considerably intoxicated I was keen to get inside out of the cold and warm myself up with more beer and what I knew would be a sick live show. Having arrived at nearly 10pm I figured I’d have missed Before The Throne. My suspicions proved correct, although this wasn’t unfortunate because not only had I ever heard of them but from what I was told played very VERY generic metalcore, which in my humble opinion anyone associated with the genre can pick up a guitar and think they are more br00tal than the next dude.
After finding my mates we quickly made our way towards the stage for the supporting band Cross The Lips of Grace who specialise in an interesting hybrid blend of Death Metal/Hardcore (Deathcore for short). After taking an aurally intense hour of highly energetic face melting riffs, blood curdling vocals and bludgeoning beatdowns I was utterly blown away by how much these guys had improved both musically and performance wise, since the last time I saw them. After playing what was seemingly their whole upcoming EP they walked off the stage proud but exhausted. My only drawback from the performance was the female bassist (no sexist) who just stood there picking, looking seemingly stoned, whereas the other band mates were thrashing around the stage with such ferocious intensity... it was a weird contrast. Another drawback from this has nothing to do with the performance of the band but the retarded scene kids “hardcore dancing” every time a breakdown-esque segment drops. For those who don’t know hardcore dancing is a phenomena derived from hardcore music which looks like a (spastic) amalgamation of Irish dancing and boxing. Not only is it stupid and pointless but people get punched and injured for no reason at all. For hilarious footage watch these.
After being fully immersed in the last set, my hopes had been raised for Mourningtide to outperform anyone else on the night. It had been a while since I had last seen them and the area was already packed to full capacity as they walked on the stage. With Vin wearing his signature cowboy hat, vocalist Tyrone grabs the microphone and the band slam into a track off their EP entitled “Evol”. While this is one of my personal favourites it was incredible to see at least half of the crowd was engulfed in the music, with people falling over left and right, and then proceeding to be trampled by more people pushing to get to the front of the mosh. Tyrone doesn’t need to say much to get the crowd pumped but when their most infamous song, “Do You Have It In Black” exploded with the opening riff, both guitarists stood to the front and Tyrone, whilst being dragged into the crowd by crazed fans passed around the mic so everyone could have a scream. This is band-crowd interaction you just can’t get at larger more uptight venues. After about 8 songs my mates and I retreated to the bar re-fill our drinks and have a breather. The crowd exploded into dance the minute “24 Hour Zoo” came on bellowing clear as crystal “even if you’re face was bitten off by a crocodile/you’d still be the most beautiful girl in the world to me.” Ruined and craving water I was just about to stumble to the bar yet again when I hear the opening riff to “Viper Town” their predictable closing song and there was no way I could miss an end to an already extraordinary set. One thing I noticed about Tyrone in this song was the extreme vocal range he exerts every live performance, from low growls, spoken word, and shrieking screams he makes you feel the pain, putting his vocal chords through a shredder every time. The song ended with the crowd roaring “vipers die alone!” over Vins slow sludgy guitar outro.
The band exited the stage and I exited the club bruised, dehydrated and with someone else’s blood on my shirt.
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