Tuesday 9 August 2011

A few bands from Hevy.


WHILE SHE SLEEPS

While She Sleeps have rapidly grown in popularity since exploding onto the metal scene with their ferocious debut The North Stands For Nothing and seeing them live is an absolute must for any fans.

As soon as they came out on stage they dropped the song that their debut is named after The North Stands For nothing which is a mix of shockingly raw vocals and some of the most groove-ridden riffs I’ve heard in metal today. The song slows down in parts just enough for the crowd to shout along for one of the choruses to give that excellent crowd chant ever present I today’s metal and hardcore scene.

With just the one album available the set was essentially the whole album minus two tracks played straight through. This is in no way a bad thing though as the band themselves are one of the most energetic I’ve ever seen. Lead singer Lawrence Taylor didn’t spend a single moment of the set stationary getting right into the crowd for the chants in My Conscience My Freedom while guitarists Mat Welsh and Sean Long spent time drop kicking during breakdowns getting as close to the crowd as was physically possible with their equipment.

One of the highlights of the gigs was after lead singer Lawrence Taylor asked the crowd to “tear this fucking tent apart” at the start of the song Crows fans started scaling two large poles holding the tent up in the middle and proceeded to jump from them into the waiting arms of the pit. Although this was intensely dangerous and no doubt gave the security team borderline hernias it looked amazing and just goes to show how reckless some of this bands live shows can get.

The bands stage presence accurately reflects their music it’s aggressive, energetic and powerful. They layer their music with hefty and lighter riffs teamed with deafening bass drops to create some truly melodic hardcore. Taylors vocals sound like they are coming right from the middle of his throat and are almost painful to listen to at some points but this only adds to the passion of the music live.


ARCHITECTS


Brighton based metallers Architects brought their noise to Hevy Festival in front of hundreds of die-hard fans which, in my opinion, was one of the best shows I’ve seen them play.

Part of me was really intrigued to see what Architects brought to Hevy after seeing them perform with Bring Me The Horizon earlier in the year because during that set they shied away from the heavier tracks from Ruin and Hollow crown and played nothing from their debut Nightmares in favour of songs from their newest album The Here and Now which caused divisions between fans when it dropped.

Luckily for me, a fan of the older Architects, they took a slightly heavier approach to their set dropping When Numbers Count For Nothing sending the crowd into an orgy of aggression and fury which is what I remember the band being best at.

The band then played favorites from their newest album such as Learn To Live and Day In Day Out that had the crowd smashing each other up one moment and singing along with arms wrapped round each other the next. This made for an excellent festival set because for a band I don’t think there is any bigger ego boost than having hundreds of fans singing your songs with you.

Speaking of sing-alongs one of the quietest but in no way the worst Architects song is Hollow Crown a heartfelt song about missing people you care about while on tour. So when this dropped everyone immediately grabbed the closest person to them ready to bellow the words to the song as lead singer Sam Carter turned to the side of the stage and dedicated the tune to his girlfriend which, although a questionable move at a hardcore festival, was actually pretty sweet.

However having enough of the sentimental bullshit Architects ended on the impossibly heavy Early Grave which sent the pits opening up to such a ridiculous size I had no choice but to get involved myself. So after throwing my fists around and joining in with the chants the final sentence “The choices I’ve made, will lead me to an early fucking grave dropped and that was it. I’m pretty sure I blacked out in the intensity of that last ferocious song but fuck, wasn’t it worth it.

A strong and heavy set from one of Britain’s best bands and a return to form for fans of the older Architects.

THE GHOST OF A THOUSAND

Emotions ran high last weekend when arguably one of the best punk hardcore bands of today played their last ever show. Brighton punks The Ghost of a Thousand chose Kents very own Hevy festival as their last gig, and what a send off it was. The band played pretty much all of their best hits such as Knees Toes Teeth, Bored of math, and Left for dead in front of a keen as fuck 800 strong crowd in glorious sunshine.

This was probably one of the tightest sets of the weekend with every member of the band playing their instruments to perfection and clearly enjoying every second of their last gig. With the sun beaming down on them TGOAT stirred the crowd up into a frenzy of crowd surfers, circle and mosh pits. However in one touching sentiment the band demanded the crowd to split in half but not for a wall of death as some of you might imagine but for a wall of high fives with lead singer Tom Lacey to declare just before the drop: “we don’t always play hardcore shows so I want to see some high fives, none of that punching and kicking bullshit” which is testament to the bands good time attitude and the importance they place on their fans safety.

Lacey looked as if he was really enjoying this final performance being every bit the front man he has refined over seven years in the band. As well as thrashing about the stage during such high octance tracks such as Black Art Number One he was also busted some comedy demanding everyone get on their “twinkle toes” instead of the usual “OPEN THIS FUCKING PIT UP!”.

The band then played a perfect cover of ‘Back in Black’ by ACDC which was both hilarious and amazingly well performed. After playing hits such as Running On Empty and Up To You the band came together at the front of the stage and took one last bow as The Ghost Of A Thousand before leaving the stage for good. Punk and hardcore just wont be the same.

TRC Bright Lights


‘Bright Lights’ is the latest studio album from genre-smashing hardcore lads TRC. The band have been making waves in the UK underground hardcore scene since 2006 with their savage mix of hardcore riffs, throat splitting vocals and UK hip-hop.

Upon first listen it is difficult to take TRC seriously because the Hip-hop over the crushing riffs often sound comedic. However this is a band where the more you listen, the more you enjoy and their latest offering Bright Lights is no different.

The opening track ‘Define Cocky’ sums this band up perfectly especially if you have ever had the chance to see them live. TRC are a band that knows how good they are and they have every reason to. The lyrics “I’m better than you” are howled at you from singer Anthony Carol while impossibly catchy chugging riffs crash about your ears making it difficult to stay still whilst listening through.

The brilliantly titled H.A.T.E.R.S or ‘Having Anger Towards Everyone Reaching Success’ is a damning tribute to everyone that this band has caused controversy for. “You don't have to like me. You're just mad. 'Cos I tell it like it is. And you tell it like it might be.” Is one of the many genius lyrics aimed right at the heart of anyone who has ever smack talked this band for what they do and after all, that is what hardcore is about, making music about the things that mean the most to you. This song is pretty much TRC’s middle finger to everyone who doesn’t like them which I think, is hilarious.

London’s Greatest Love Story is another extremely poignant song on the album all about cheating and getting cheated on “I’m a love struck liar burnt in the past so I keep her in the dark” is one of the heart felt lyrics shouted forth about why some people cheat. If you are going through a break up put this song on and start smashing things up I guarantee it will make you feel much better.

Go Hard Or Go Home is one for the beat fans because the riffs during this track are manic. The song is essentially one massive break down whereas Crash Landing has a more thrash feel to it with powerful melodic riffs and rapid blast beat drumming.

Bright Lights is an excellent hardcore album and one that shows that TRC are still keeping it real and making music that resonates within people, whether it’s writing lyrics about everyday life problems, going to gigs or the people that hate them you would be hard pressed to not find a song on the album that you can relate to. If you hate hip hop but you like hardcore this album may be a difficult listen however if you can get on with this change of style the album is a stand out offering in today’s hardcore scene, pounding riffs, raw vocals and honest rap, what more do you want?