 Me Vs Hero are tonight’s openers and they
hit the stage to quite a large turnout. Their
music doesn’t really have much originality
or distinction from their genre they sound like
they’ve just put 3 bands together like A
Day To Remember, All Time Low and New Found Glory
and nothing really new or creative. They give
it their best on stage but not too many people
really get into it; I think if they had a more
original sound then a lot more people would be
interested and if they ironed a few creases out
of their stage show then they could really have
something there, tonight though no such joy.
 Chiodos are up next and after being disappointed
by the previous act I’m praying that Chiodos
step up and bring back the faith. I’ll be
fair they come on and they bring a dark atmosphere
and a more aggressive attitude to the stage; however
the vocals get on my absolute nerves after a while
managing to have whiney clean vocals and quite
whiney screaming vocals as well so you can’t
really escape from it, the music itself is quite
good though and some of the members onstage are
over the top. The vocalist just plays it cool
and calm whereas the keyboardist bounces around
constantly as though he’s the main attraction
of the band. Overall it’s a step up from
the earlier band but still isn’t the kind
of thing I would have foreseen Skindred bringing
with them and it’s not my cup of tea.
 Welsh ragga punk legends Skindred are one of the
best British artists on the scene with their unique
sound and style. Tonight they are back out on
the road to promote their latest studio effort
“Union Black” and to prove that their
status as possibly the best live act around is
well deserved. I cannot argue with that the set
they play tonight is possibly the best live show
that I have ever witnessed, it’s just got
everything; sing along’s, jumping around,
pitting, classic Benji Webbe humour, mash ups,
dancing and above all some amazing songs. Some
things they incorporate into their set really
get people in the mood, for example during “Trouble”
they include a breakdown in the form of Metallica’s
“Sad but True”, they have a mash up
of their song “Selector” and Tinie
Tempah’s “Pass Out” and then
in their encore (they themselves don’t play
it) they put on Rihanna’s “Only Girl”.
They hit the stage to “Bruises”, one
of their heaviest songs to date and it shows the
 room explodes with bouncing and violence. This
atmosphere continues with “Roots Rock Riot”,
“Set it Off” and new track “Doom
Riff” with every member of the audience
moving in some way or another if not bouncing
then dancing or pitting. They get the sing along
going with a few verses from “State of Emergency”
before stopping and launching into “Trouble”.
They do give us a taste of the new songs with
other new debuts such as “Guntalk”,
“Living a Lie” and “Cut Dem”
which proves that their new album must have gone
down a storm as it’s only been out for 4
days and a fair few people seem to know the material.
More Roots Rock Riot songs “Rude boy for
Life” and “Rat Race” before
bringing the atmosphere to a calm personal level
by playing the song “The Fear” which
goes out to anyone that’s been picked on
for “Wearing a slipknot t-shirt or liking
Pantera”. This band is a statement for every
heavy metal fan in the world, they stand up for
us and unite us under one roof as equals it’s
a terrific atmosphere that gives you hope. They
bounce back out for their 4 song encore and smash
through “Stand for Something”, “Pressure”
and finally bringing Sam Thompson from Me Vs Hero
back onstage to help them sing their new anthem
“Warning” with half naked people all
over the room swinging clothing around in the
air.
Skindred have never played a bad show that I’ve
ever witnessed and never released a bad album
either and seeing as their new album may be the
strongest to date they can only go up in the world.
Anybody who’s a Skindred fan or anyone who
isn’t needs to get out and see this band
it’s such an energetic night out full of
fun. Nothing beats that kind of atmosphere.
Me Vs Hero – 2/5
Chiodos – 3/5
Skindred – 5/5
Review By James Webb
Photos By Robert Lawrence
|
