Bullet for My Valentine, Atreyu, Cane Hill.
Metro City
Thursday, October 20, 2016.
Metro City had been prepared for a half capacity crowd judging by the great white sheet blanking off the all the levels higher that the first floor, but that didn’t stop New Orleans’ Cane Hill from totally filling the negative space with their full and true sound. Although it was early in the night the band had the floor enthralled by their solid driving riffs.
Cane Hill had a solid grasp of utilising the breakdown in their songs. Their sound reminiscent of early Korn and Sepultura’s Chaos AD, with an injection of Alice in Chains in some moments. It was like experiencing a hydraulic ram, horizontal, straight to the chest.
Singer, Elijah Witt, mentioned their new album Smile on a few occasions through the set. Definitely something to consider checking out.
After, what seemed like an age, the Metros punters were greeted by the familiar voice of Gene Wilder reciting the iconic poem from the boat ride in ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’. A familiar intro from Marilyn Manson’s first album, but in contrast to that the immediate change from Gene Wilder’s calm voice to the blistering onslaught that was Atreyu addressing the stage, magnificent. The crowd, obviously very much familiar with Atreyu, were clapping and singing along with wild abandon.
Every member of the band threw themselves into the show. These guys must have an infinite wealth in guitar and bass picks, they were flying out everywhere like a rain of pointed stars from a ninja assassin army.
Atreyu have a great appreciation for their fans, repeatedly acknowledged by front man Alex Varkatzas. Not just through the usual means of actually telling the crowd, though kind words were said, but actually getting in and amongst the crowd. At numerous moments during the show you could hear him, but where the hell was he? It was like an interactive Metal version of Where’s Wally… and everybody’s wearing black.
Not fifteen minutes after Atreyu were off the stage and the crowd was chanting ‘Bullets, Bullets’.
Again, a solid performance from Bullet For My Valentine. The relentless double kick of Michael Thomas’s drums permeated the air in the club, getting in every punters brain hole and forcing them to launch themselves into a frenzy of head banging and devil’s horns.
Matthew Tuck and Michael Paget’s twin guitar harmonies were nothing less than spectacular to witness, and Jamie Mathias’s rock solid bass playing and intense screaming filled in what is a remarkable and full sound.
Scream, Aim, Fire was a shining moment in the set, with the crowd every catch cry, you almost swear they were the ones about to climb out of the trenches.
Bullet for My Valentine sealed the deal with their encore, closing the night with Tears That Fall and making damn sure the crowd was proper worn out with Waking the Demon.
After much thrashing and gnashing of teeth the crowd dispersed, their bodies imbibed with the flux of thrash metal through to Nu. Great Show.
Photos by Paul Dowd
