Unholy Alliance - Chapter II
19 November 2006
Brixton Academy
Despite a surprisingly slick effort from the Brixton Academy security staff to get everyone into the venue as quickly as possible, Thine Eyes Bleed were well into their set by the time I entered the main hall. What we were met with was barking vocals, cast across a wall of noise, with a very annoying constant hum of feedback. If the sound wasn`t bad enough, the non stop strobe lights made for very uncomfortable viewing. Having not heard anything by the band before, it was impossible to grasp onto anything under these circumstances and the bar beckoned.
Children Of Bodom may have had a huge Are You Dead Yet backdrop and Reapermen shielding their amps, but compared to their junkyard themed headline shows, this was a very stripped down performance. It also appeared that with fewer things to jump around on, the band`s energy was a little less than usual. Alexi took the limelight as ever, throwing his guitar over his shoulder and heading over to Janne Warmen for keyboard vs. guitar duels. Mid final song, Downfall, the battle went slightly awry, with Alexi comically accusing Janne "You f**ked it up!". Yes, no surprise Alexi`s banter was festooned with expletives. Sound wise things were a damn sight better than Thine Eyes Bleed, however with quite a thin guitar tone, the speedier portions were buried by the drums and it was the songs melodies and solos that really held things together.
Children Of Bodom set list:
Silent Night, Bodom Night / Needled 24-7 / Living Dead Beat / Sixpounder / Angels Don`t Kill / In Your Face / Hate Me / Downfall
Metal-head`s constantly bemoan the fact that they are treated like meat-heads. But with twats such as the one wandering out to introduce Lamb Of God, what can they expect. Yes, I`m well aware that his goading of the crowd was meant to be funny, but it was plain embarrassing. Lamb Of God don`t need this and their brutal display which followed proved that. Ruin roared out of the speakers with the band barley visible due to the rear lighting and dry ice. In fact they remained as shadowy figures for the duration of the set, which featured heavily new album Sacrament. As Walk With Me In Hell commenced, a large Lamb Of God - Pure American Metal flag unfolded to a rabid reaction. Randy Blythe`s vocals had been a sticking point in the past for me, finding it difficult to decipher his tortured caustic screams. Portions of Ashes Of The Wake corrected this, with the band seemingly realising it aids the live performance judging by the more catchy Sacrament album. Now we`ve got something to sing along with indeed! The pure Pantera-isms of Redneck went down a treat, with the bottom end organ shifting and was the only brief respite in a take no prisoners, hurricane like performance.
Lamb Of God set list:
Ruin / Laid To Rest / Walk With Me In Hell / Pathetic / Now You`ve Got Something To Die For / Blacken The Cursed Sun / Redneck / Black Label
They may not have been headlining but In Flames managed to be very creative in their presentation with some hugely effective Perspex boxes, shielding their amps, containing coloured strip lights. The theme from Knight Rider preceded the band with the strip lights running red like the front of KITT. Pinball Map kicked things off and really moved the evening up a gear. Despite the absence of Jesper Strömblad on guitar, In Flames seemed well up for it tonight, with Niklas Engelin ably filling the guitarist role he had previously covered in the late 90s. Anders Fridén isn`t always the most talkative of frontmen, but was full of banter tonight. Having already asked the OAP`s on the balcony if they need CPR yet, he then decided that as this was a metal show they should all be standing, to which they obliged. Whilst giving props out to each of the other bands on the bill, Fridén comically added Def Leppard to the list, claiming although they weren`t playing they were a really good band. Fitting in a dozen songs, aside from the expected, a few surprises had crept in. Egonomic, Resin and particularly Graveland, from The Jester Race, were welcome additions. Only For The Weak turned the front of the crowd into a mass of bouncing, with Come Clarity seeing the lighters come out.
In Flames set list:
Pinball Map / Leeches / Cloud Connected / Trigger / Egonomic / Resin / Only For The Weak / Graveland / Come Clarity / The Quiet Place / Take This Life / My Sweet Shadow
Flanked by two huge hanging inverted cross shaped Marshall stacks, and backed by projections, the Academy stage bathed in red light and shrouded in dry ice conjured up the image of hell as Slayer appeared with Disciple. Tom Arya`s question "Are You Ready For War" could only mean one thing, as we were hit with War Ensemble with fitting military images on the screen behind the band. There seems to be a trend in bands using projections, having seen Opeth and Blind Guardian also use them recently, and they are hugely effective as demonstrated by the images of planes and face of Osman Bin Laden staring down on us during Jihad. Obviously proud of their latest release, Slayer fit in four songs, an unusual high proportion for them. Certainly they went down well and in fact seemingly better than excellent renditions of Die By The Sword and Chemical Warfare, though those appearing to look a little lost also appeared to be younger or little older than the 23 & 22 year old songs! The final run-in was packed with classics, with Ed Gein staring at us during Dead Skin Mask which seeped into Raining Blood. Returning to projections of crosses up-ending and inverting, the King / Hanneman twin harmonies of South Of Heaven flooded the Academy. Angel Of Death, which was scandalously cut from the band`s Reading set, was back as closer with Dave Lombardo extending the double bass drum break to huge cheers.
Slayer set list:
Disciple / War Ensemble / Jihad / Cult / Die By The Sword / Chemical Warfare / Mandatory Suicide / Supremist / Eyes Of The Insane / Dead Skin Mask / Raining Blood / South Of Heaven / Angel Of Death
LINKS:
Slayer
In Flames
Lamb Of God
Children Of Bodom
Thine Eyes Bleed |
