Our Hollow, Our Home, In Hearts Wake, Landscapes and The Amity Affliction at The Cellar Southampton 8/9/13

Southampton-based band Our Hollow, Our Home opened up the first night of this metalcore-filled tour in the United Kingdom. It’s rare that the first band on at a concert get a good reception, however, the local group managed to quickly engage the crowd with their catchy riffs and energetic stage presence. Formed in 2012 by some of the former members of Deadlines, Our Hollow, Our Home’s melodic songs make them both memorable and enjoyable to watch perform. Their most recent single ‘Rest Assured’ was well-received by the audience. Connor Hallisey’s screaming vocals sounded strong live, and mixed with Tobias Young’s harmonious backing vocals, they were able to create a sound that pleases fans all across the metalcore genre. Despite missing one of their members, guitarist Josh White, they were able to perform an unforgettable set and it’s obvious that they have got a strong Hampshire fan base. They seemed very grateful to be on the stage alongside the huge bands on the line-up and reminded the crowd to support their local scene, making them both humble and a great live band to watch.

Byron Bay in Australia seems like a hot-spot for impressive metal bands recently, as it is home to bands such as Parkway Drive and 50 Lions. Adding to the thriving metal scene there is In Hearts Wake, who formed in 2006. Opening their killer set with ‘The Unknown (Strength)’, their brutal metalcore sound made the crowd instantly descend into mosh pits and throwdown pits. Near the end of the set the spotlight and vocal duties descended onto bassist Kyle Erich for a beautifully slow rendition of ‘Inertia’, which prompted many fans to get their lighters up and sway their arms in the air. The blue stage lights added to the mellow atmosphere and despite it being very different from their usual heavy sound, it was very well-received by the audience and it proved that as musicians they are all very versatile and talented. Ending their seven song set with ‘Departure (Death)’, In Hearts Wake definitely gained many more fans during their impressive performance.

Modern hardcore punk band Landscapes kept the fast-paced vibe going with their rebellious and angst-filled songs. The Somerset-based band were full of energy and it reflected well onto the crowd. The drumming was particularly impressive and it worked extremely well with the bass-filled songs on their short but sweet set. The technical guitaring was another strong point for Landscapes, especially the catchy riffs which kept the crowd wanting more. The crowd was full of people hardcore dancing along to the rhythm of the songs and enjoying themselves listening to the original hardcore punk sound which filled the venue. The heavy vocals merged well with the strong breakdowns and the lyrics were both heart-felt and impressively performed.

Headlining band The Amity Affliction are one of the biggest Australian metalcore bands around at the moment, and their show tonight in Southampton definitely proved why. The crowd anticipation before the Brisbane-based quartet arrived on stage was almost overwhelming and they were definitely worth the wait. Opening their set with their latest single ‘Greens Avenue’, the crowd were instantly engrossed into The Amity Affliction’s stellar performance. Lead singer Joel Birch’s harsh vocals filled The Cellar perfectly. The contrast between his and bassist Ahren Stringer’s clean vocals created a perfect harmony that is only found in metalcore music.  ‘Anchors’ was definitely a crowd favourite and Ahren’s clean vocals were particularly strong during this song. During ‘I Hate Hartly’ a fan climbed on stage and screamed the vocals to the whole of the final verse, proving how much The Amity Affliction respect their fans (it also probably helped that he was really good at screaming). One of the strangest parts of the set was definitely the cover that The Amity Affliction chose to perform: ‘Born To Die’ by Lana Del Ray. Although it seems like an unlikely song for an Australian metal band to cover, surprisingly they were able to perform it with ease and it honestly sounded incredible. Joel screamed the verse and Ahren sang the chorus and it worked well; the crowd definitely loved it. Joel even joked that Lana Del Ray refuses to let them release it as a single. Members of the crowd got up on stage with the band, and unlike most concerts, the band loved it. They complimented how involved the audience were getting with the performance and Joel even let some very persistent fans scream and sing into the microphone during the songs. For their encore they chose to perform possibly one of their most popular songs, ‘Open Letter’. Almost every fan was singing along and when The Amity Affliction left the stage it was easy to see that everyone had an incredible evening. If I had to recommend that you only see one metalcore band this year, it should definitely be The Amity Affliction. 

Check out Our Hollow, Our Home here: https://www.facebook.com/ourhollowourhome/
Check out In Hearts Wake here: https://www.facebook.com/inheartswake/ Check out Landscapes here: https://www.facebook.com/LANDSCAPESUK 
Check out The Amity Affliction here: https://www.facebook.com/theamityafflictionofficial/