Confession, Miss May I, The Ghost Inside and Parkway Drive at the HMV Institute Birmingham 8/4/12

Confession are an Australian hardcore metal band; a good choice for a support band for Parkway Drive. Confession arrived on stage to the ‘A Team’ theme song, a surprising yet original entrance for a metal band. They played a new song called ‘Heartless’ which started off slowly, then progressed into a fast song with brutal sounding vocals. They were received well by the audience, especially when they played a cover of ‘Break Stuff’ by Limp Bizkit. They ended with ‘Long Way Home’, a song about travelling and playing shows.

Miss May I had many moshpits before they even arrived on stage, proving how strong their fan base is. Levi Benton proved himself to be an extremely energetic front man who is very talented. They played a good mix of old and new songs, dedicating ‘Forgive and Forget’ for their fans who had seen them before.

The Ghost Inside exploded onto the stage, filling the HMV Institute with brutal hardcore riffs. Jonathan Vigil has an incredible vocal range and was extremely impressive. They played a strong set and closed it with the incredibly catchy song ‘Unspoken’.

After three strong support bands, Parkway Drive took centre stage. Parkway Drive are renowned for their incredible live shows, and it’s safe to say that they definitely delivered. Opening with ‘Unrest’, they managed to make the whole crowd move; it’s almost impossible to stand still whilst watching Parkway Drive live. Winston McCall sounded truly grateful to every fan there and he gave an impressive performance. Ending with the melodic song ‘Carrion’, they proved that Easter Sunday is a perfect day for hardcore metal.