Page 114 - Metal Hammer Issue 334 - UK (May 2020)
P. 114
LIVE REVIEWS
BEARTOOTH
Unearth: Trevor Phipps
whips up a frenzy THE AMITY AFFLICTION/HIGHER POWER
O2 ACADEMY, BRISTOL
It’s never fun watching a band struggle
to make an impact onstage, even more
so when it’s one of the UK’s hottest
prospects. For whatever reason, HIGHER
POWER are blunter than a butter knife
tonight; they’re met with little response
for their material and the biggest cheer
comes when they give a shout out to the
other two bands on the bill. Next to THE
AMITY AFFLICTION, it’s even more
painful; the Aussie metalcore mob have
had a new album out for all of three days
and there’s an packed crowd singing
the material word for word. The pits
accompanying a thumping Pittsburgh
are just as bruising. No one is stopping
BEARTOOTH from glory this evening,
though. For a long time, headlining
venues like this seemed just out of their
reach, but they’ve worked damn hard to
jhw#khuh#dqg#lw#doo#sd|v#rļ#ryhu#wkh#frxuvh#
of 90 exhilarating minutes. Instantly
connecting with the sold-out crowd,
wkhlu#shuirupdqfh#lv#frqĽghqw#dqg#
comprehensive, peaking highest with
a raucous Manipulation and never
dropping lower than fever pitch. By the
time In Between#Ľqlvkhv/#erwk#edqg#dqg#
audience are exhausted but delighted.
UNEARTH GRAND MAGUS
It’s been one hell of a party.
ELLIOT LEAVER
PRONG Prong: still trying to work WOLF
THE FLEECE, BRISTOL
Plvvlqj#htxlsphqw#dqg#jdļd#wdsh#lvvxhv#
ULU, LONDON out whose fist it is make for an inauspicious start to a new
Mismatched metal institutions experience a bipolar night tour, yet WOLF battle on heroically in the
only way they know how, with Skull Crusher
and Voodoo warming up the crowd’s vocal
EVERYTHING ABOUT TONIGHT ULU. Fans emerge from the woodwork cords. Despite the venue’s sound robbing
is beneath PRONG. The beloved trio dqg#vzdup#olnh#ľlhv#wr#vklw/#vzrrqlqj# frontman JB’s guitar of its thunderous
have been fusing punk and metal for iru#wkh#phorghdwk0ľdyrxuhg#phwdofruh# punch, GRAND MAGUSġv#Ľuvw#vkrz#lq#
35 years and, the last time they were in aggressors. Their acerbic tracks are far d#ihz#prqwkv#Ľqgv#wkhp#lq#lpshulrxv#
London, they headlined the Underworld khdylhu#wkdq#zkdw#Surqj#rļhuhg/#exw# form, spanning new songs Wolf God and
in a blaze of glory. So, taking the stage lack the same dynamic variety. Untamed to the 15-year-old Kingslayer.
before Unearth is beneath them. Euhdngrzqv/#vorz#rshq0vwulqj#ulļv/# The reception that greets the likes of Steel
Playing at a student union is beneath ceaselessly roaring vocals… these are Versus Steel and the epic overdose of On
them. And for that student union to be all mid-00s genre conventions Hooves Of Gold underlines the Swedes’
less than half-full is… just insulting. that the Bostonians continue to gladly sheer consistency in delivering undeniable
However, consummate professionals relish in. Still, with pits opening up metallic anthems. Energetic bassist Fox
that they are, Tommy Victor and co rise from third song Incinerate (a choice can’t help but steal the limelight while the
above, bringing their energised East fxw#rļ#qhzhvw#doexp#Extinction(s)), understated Ludde propels the rollicking
Coast attitude to a room neither packed people clearly don’t have a problem stampedes of Valhalla Rising and Like The
nor enthused enough to deserve it. with that. Fortunately, even for those Oar Strikes The Water, with not even the
Their hour is jam-packed with classics, usually unmoved by such things, crowd’s predominantly tedious heckling
from the raging hardcore of Disbelief to Unearth still feel like a treat to watch. – why does it always happen to Swedish
the dance-tinged catchiness of Whose Frontman Trevor Phipps is imposing bands? – able to dampen the celebratory
Fist Is This Anyway? Yet it isn’t until dqg#frqĽghqw/#nhhslqj#frqwuro#dw#doo# atmosphere. Voices are already croaky
penultimate banger Snap Your Fingers, times, while the instrumentalists by the time an encore of I, The Jury and
Snap Your Neck rears its head that crowd headbang as hard as their attendees. Dawn Of Fire are unleashed, but naturally
and performer seem to properly gel. They do end the evening on a high, enough is left in the tank for the theatrics
Prong did everything right tonight; although tonight’s ultimate legacy ri#Ľqdoh#Hammer Of The North, with chants
London let them down. will be the unfair imbalance in each continuing well after instruments have JAMES SHARROCK
Although Prong weathered oceans of act’s reception. been downed.
apathy, UNEARTH quickly win over MATT MILLS ADAM REES
