 
Walking into the o2 it was intriguing to see such
a varied range of the people there, it was almost
as if anything goes, from 17 to 60 years old,
full on metal-heads, fishing hats, shaved heads,
long hair, girls, boys and anything in between.
It's odd for a band to pull in such a different
mix of people, I knew this was going to turn into
an awesome evening.
I was pleasantly surprised with Da'ath's energy,
they seemed a good way to start off the night,
they gave the crowd an insight to how the rest
of the evening was going to develop.
As High on Fire began their set I felt the atmosphere
of the evening had dulled slightly, no one was
really paying much attention and lead singer Matt
Pike almost sounded like he was forgetting his
words in places. Considering the headliners that
were about to follow, I felt this wasn't really
the time or place for this band to be.
Fear Factory started as they meant to go on, epic
vocals, and double bass pounding through your
heart as they carried on with this brutal rock
show. You could feel every vibration pulsating
through your body as they played ''Smasher Devourer''.
The audience consisted of a sea of devil horns,
Burton C. Bell had complete control and he knew
what he was doing. It was so apparent as they
played how much of an established band these guys
are, every song they played seemed completely
effortless, as if they could play these instruments
in their sleep. Pure talent. Even the room was
smoke-filled with dull lighting, creating a real
dark and sinister atmosphere.
Before playing ''Slave Labor'' the band went off
stage and a dramatic classical melody blasted
through the speakers as the crowd waited in anticipation.
They returned to the stage and tore the stage
up once again. This song was broken up with a
melodic guitar riff in the middle, completely
changing the tone for a minute or so, yet they
still emulated metal. The crowd began chanting
''Fear Factory'' in unison, before they broke
into ''Linchpin''. Everyone sang along, and Burton's
dirty, gruff voice was on key every time.
The crowd were thanked for attending the show,
despite the horrendous amounts of snow outside!
Fear Factory appreciated that every fan had made
an effort and that the academy was still full.
The calm didn't last long, ''Powershifter'' was
absolutely merciless. It seemed that the crowd
were not putting in quite as much energy as required,
considering the amount of ferocity on stage. Of
course, there were the die-hard sweaty metal-heads
that were consistently in the pit, but others
seemed to be quite happy just standing and listening
to this carnage.
Before they played their final song they thanked
everyone once more, the support bands, etc etc.
''Replica'' brought out the beasts within. Finally
there was more crowd participation, bigger pits,
and headbanging to the exteme. They concluded
their gig with one massive build up, with drummer
Gene Hoglan creating an astounding ambience. They
had time for one final thank you before leaving
the stage and everyone feeling generally battered.
Da'ath - 2.5/5
High on Fire - 2/5
Fear Factory - 4/5
Review By Karlie M
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