Devil Sold His Soul, The Defiled, Gojira and Ghost at O2 Academy Bournemouth 22/3/13

Post-hardcore band Devil Sold His Soul opened the show, and with their energetic stage performance they definitely set the tone for the rest of the night. The harsh vocals from lead singer Ed Gibbs were outstanding and blended well with the harmonic guitar riffs. Devil Sold His Soul bring a fresh take to post-hardcore music and they received a great crowd reception in Bournemouth.

After recently getting signed to Nuclear Blast Records and having finished recording their album new ‘Daggers’, the past couple of months have been great for metal band The Defiled. Their performance proved exactly why they were chosen for the third time to play on the Jagermeister tour: their energy on stage is contagious and it’s almost impossible to stand still whilst watching them perform. ‘Call To Arms’ was definitely a crowd favourite and it will be interesting to see what musical direction they take when their new album is released later this year.

French metal band Gojira are well-known for being an incredible live band, and tonight in Bournemouth was no exception. Opening with ‘Explosia’ from their latest album ‘L’Enfant Sauvage’, Gojira definitely rocked the O2 Academy. The crowd reception was incredible, there were mosh pits and headbangers everywhere. The heavy riffs and harsh vocals from lead singer Joe Duplantier were amazing, especially in the metal anthem ‘The Heaviest Matter Of The Universe’. Gojira are definitely one of the best live bands in the metal scene at the moment and I’d highly recommend that you see them at least once!

Swedish heavy metal band Ghost have always been somewhat of a mystery to many, mainly due to five of the band members wearing hooded robes, whilst lead singer Papa Emeritus wears a cardinal outfit. Despite their identities being a secret, Papa Emeritus managed to interact with the crowd perfectly, instructing them when to sing and clap, whilst the crowd obeyed him as if he was the real pope. With a backdrop of a church, lots of smoke and incense being burnt, it almost felt as if you were in a real church, apart from the metal music and hundreds of metal fans. They played classic songs, such as ‘Satan Prayer’ and ‘Ritual’, as well as their impressive new song ‘Year Zero’.  All in all, it was an incredible night of metal music for only £5! 

Check out Devil Sold His Soul here: http://www.facebook.com/devilsoldhissoul
Check out The Defiled here: http://www.facebook.com/thedefiled
Check out Gojira here: https://www.facebook.com/GojiraMusic
Check out Ghost here: http://www.facebook.com/thebandghost

Sons and Lovers, Yasmin and Ellie Goulding at O2 Academy Birmingham 16/12/12

Sons and Lovers were the first band on stage and this was their first ever tour. Their lead singer was very energetic, and it didn't take long for the crowd to warm up to them. All of the members were very talented musicians, and they were an enjoyable and harmless band to watch perform. Their latest song, ‘Golden’, which they played live is available to download from their Facebook page. Sons and Lovers are a good opening act.

Next on stage was Yasmin, a DJ from London. She played many unique remixes, including songs originally by Ms Dynamite, Kelis and Ricky Martin. Yasmin’s remixes have an ambient and relaxed vibe, whilst still sounding new and exciting, and the crowd enjoyed listening to a powerful female DJ. Expect big things from her soon!

Ellie Goulding arrived on stage in black shorts and a black top to an adoring crowd of fans. She instantly impressed the crowd with her incredibly beautiful and powerful voice. Not only is she a great singer, but during the concert she also played percussion and an acoustic guitar. She played a strong setlist, with songs such as ‘Figure 8’, ‘Hanging On’ and ‘Joy’. Her band were also all very talented musicians and all of her songs sounded very unique and even better than on record. Ellie revealed her favourite song that she had written was ‘My Blood’, and she played it very passionately. For the encore she played her impressive cover of ‘Your Song’ by Elton John, before ending her set with her most famous song, ‘Starry Eyed’. Ellie Goulding is an amazing female artist, who unlike most in the pop music industry, is very talented and her voice doesn't need auto-tuning.

Check out Sons and Lovers here: http://www.facebook.com/sonsandlovers?group_id=0
Check out Yasmin here: http://www.facebook.com/YasminOnline?group_id=0
Check out Ellie Goulding here: http://www.facebook.com/elliegoulding?group_id=0

Papa Roach and Stone Sour at O2 Academy Brixton 10/12/12

Opening with ‘Still Swinin’’ from their latest album ‘The Connection’, Papa Roach instantly proved the crowd were in for an incredible night of live music. Jacoby Shaddix’s vocals were on top form, and he seemed genuinely excited to be on stage and perform for the first UK date of their December tour. They played a well-varied setlist, including ‘…To Be Loved’, ‘Getting Away With Murder’ and possibly their most famous song, ‘Scars’. Ending their set with the angry anthem ‘Last Resort’, they played a great set for fans both old and new. Papa Roach are a hugely underrated live band and put on a strong live show.

Stone Sour rocked the world in October with their new album ‘House of Gold and Bones – Part One’, and tonight in London they rocked the whole of the O2 Academy. Corey Taylor has an incredible stage presence; it’s almost impossible to take your eyes of him whilst he’s singing. With both strong screaming vocals and softer singing vocals, he’s the ultimate metal singer. Stone Sour opened their set with ‘Gone Sovereign’ and ‘Absolute Zero’, the first two songs from their latest album. Partway through their set Corey Taylor exclusively revealed that  the rumors were in fact true: Stone Sour are playing at Download Festival at Donington Park in 2013. Jim Root is an incredible guitarist and makes even the hardest of riffs look effortless. Stone Sour played a great setlist, packed full of both old and new songs, including ‘Orchids’, ‘Made of Scars’ and ‘Reborn’. ‘A Rumor of Skin’, one of their newer songs, is incredibly powerful to watch live and the crowd definitely enjoyed themselves, with moshpits filling the sold-out O2 Academy. For the encore Corey Taylor came on stage with an acoustic guitar and played songs such as ‘Bother’ and ‘Through Glass’, which was very moving. Stone Sour are amazing live, and their set at Download Festival is definitely not one to be missed!

Check out Papa Roach here: http://www.facebook.com/paparoach?fref=ts
Check out Stone Sour here: http://www.facebook.com/stonesour?fref=ts

Bayside, Pierce The Veil and A Day to Remember 2/2/11

Last night, I attended the A Day To Remember tour at the Birmingham o2 academy. As I made my way towards the academy, the queue was visible from many roads away. The turn out for this gig was amazing; it was probably one of the fullest gigs I’ve ever seen at the o2, mind you it was to be expected considering the sold-out tour and how popular A Day To Remember have become recently since their latest album ‘What Separates Me From You’ was released in November.

After a long time outside in the queue, I got into the academy at around half seven-ish; when Pierce The Veil came on stage. They were met by many cheers and opened with ‘Yeah Boy and Doll Face’, which is one of my favourite songs by PTV. Vic Fuentes’ voice was incredible and filled out the whole academy. The band had lots of energy and they were fascinating to watch. After they finished that song, they went into a cover of the popular song ‘Like a G6’, which was a real crowd-pleaser and created many mosh pits and circle pits. The next song that they played was even wilder, not because of the band but because of the crowd’s reaction when Jeremy McKinnon (lead singer of A Day To Remember) came on stage to perform backing vocals. All in all, they were an amazing live band and I think they’ve gained a lot of new fans from their pretty much flawless performance; they really got the crowd ready for the brutality of A Day To Remember.

The next band on were Bayside; a rock band from New York. However, the crowd didn’t sound excited for when they came on stage; they were not greeted with an inviting reaction. Nevertheless, they started their set and after the first couple of songs there was the smell of regret (and sweat… lots of sweat) amongst the crowd and they seemed more inviting and started to enjoy their set. The sound of Bayside’s set seemed a lot calmer than Pierce The Veil’s and it almost created a restless atmosphere amongst the crowd; they wanted A Day To Remember and they wanted them now. I honestly have nothing against Bayside, I personally think they were pretty good live but I do not think that they were the right genre of music for such a pit-loving crowd and that they needed a heavier band to set the right atmosphere.

As soon as A Day To Remember came on stage all hell broke loose; it was absolutely insane. I had seen them before (when they supported Bring Me The Horizon a few years ago) so I knew that the atmosphere was going to be mental, but it was incredible to see so many people inspired by what used to just be small band from Florida. They opened with ‘2^nd Sucks’ which set the style for most of their set; heavy guitar riffs, powerful lyrics and a mixture of screaming and singing. They played a mixture of older songs, such as ‘I’m Made Of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of’, ‘Mr Highway’s Thinking About The End’ and ‘Homesick’, whilst still playing newer songs such as their recent popular single’ All I Want’, ‘The House That Doubt Built’ and ‘Sticks & Bricks’. I honestly have a lot of respect for Jeremy McKinnon as he can scream so powerfully, but he can also sing so beautifully; it’s so much better than most of the generic ‘screamo’ bands that are around today that couldn’t hold a note to save their lives. Jeremy proved what an amazing voice he had when he came onstage for the encore with an acoustic guitar and played ‘If It Means A Lot To You’; it was beautiful. When they played the popular song, ‘The Downfall Of Us All’, it was received by many crowd surfers and even more insane pits; it was obvious it was a real favourite amongst the fans. The last song was ‘The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle’ and it was an amazing song to end on.

 All in all, it was a great gig and was worth badly injuring my foot and the bruises. It wasn’t just a day to remember; it was definitely a night to remember too!