Getting into the Wulfrun today, no troubles at
all, abit wet but trouble free, could get used
to this sort of hassel free gig entry!
First up was Magna Cult, from the off it seemed
like there was only one grinding riff, then it
continued across there set, all there songs sounded
pretty much the same, same riff, drum beat, bass
line, im sure the vocals were different but who
could tell. They were fairly lively on stage and
i have to say there bass player was a scary looking
dude, his hair was awesome but on him scary too!
The fans there eventually got into it by the end
of there set, maybe beacuse it was ending or there
was something worth getting a bit rowdy over,
either way it didn't last long!
Next up was Rise to Remain, a band certainly
on the rise after playing download festival and
bloodstock after only forming in 2008! I can see
why, there riffs are pretty tasty and there are
some decent melodic heavy moments, that catch
the attention, there certainly doing better than
the previous band. The music at times was pretty
bass heavy, bad mix perhaps and the singers melodic
singing needs some fine tuning, he got better
after the opening tracks because they sounded
badly out of tune, but a standout was the guitar
solos, they were ripping most of the time, with
the guitarist pulling faces as he bent strings!
These guys put on a good live show, with some
decent songs, not bad.
Main headliners were Shadows Fall, after listening
to there latest release,i was fairly impressed
with it, so i was hoping for a performance that
was atleast on par with it. Sadly i was disappointed,
a lot of there songs seemed very repetitive, the
solos that sounded great on Cd didn't sound all
that good live. There a tight band, but honestly
i got board after a few songs. The rhythm guitarist
didnt look like he was feeling it either tonight
whilst the lead guitarist looked like he was having
a damn good time out on stage, Not sure if im
a fan of the melodic/scream combo, good on CD
live not so sure. Brian, i have to say amazed
me with the length of his dreads, i knew they
were long but bloody hell! i had to dodge them
a few times while in the photo pit. They didn't
put on a bad performance but i wasn't thrilled
by it either, even when Brian did a forward flip
into the crowd, i just wasn't that captivated
by the music.
Finally after a wait which seemed to go on and
on, Five Finger Death Punch finally came on to
chants of there band name! Ivan was wearing a
Wolverhampton Wanders goalkeeper shirt, which
was good of him. They Launched into there set
with Burn it Down, an apt choice as the crowd
were going mental! They followed this up with
Salvation and then way of the fist an energetic
choice for openers, as the crowd were loving what
they were hearing, and the band sounding like
a tight set up live. For some reason Ivan decided
to open a bottle of water right above me trying
to get the crowd and himself wet, got a bit soggy
but nothing to bad as it was pissing it down with
rain outside as i was coming into the Wulfrun
Hall tonight. Songs that also featured were Bulletproof,
Bad Company and Knuckles! There energy just kept
coming from these guys putting on such a good
live performance with the odd bit of banter between
songs and getting the crowd to sing in songs too.
They Closed there Set with there probable most
well known and massive fan favorite The Bleeding,
a brilliant closer, that sent the crowd back out
into the rain, past 11pm to cool down after a
pretty decent gig.
Magna Cult 2/5
Rise To Remain 3/5
Shadows Fall 3/5
Five Finger Death Punch 5/5
Review By Robert Lawrence |
