Gig Review

Rise To Remain
Bleed From Within
Birmingham, Academy 3
18th September 2011
 
                            
Rise To Remain         Bleed From Within
                        
Bleed From Within are a band that have never really grabbed my attention in the past, having saw them play on the Sylosis UK tour their live show bored me as it seemed generic and a bit too over the top; tonight however is explosive, superior sounding and generally improved in every single way. Lead vocalist Scott Kennedy has got a screw lose; the man was bouncing off the walls, hanging off the lighting rigs, crawling over the crowd, diving into the crowd and passing the microphone around. I don’t actually know which side of the barrier is safer, on the one hand we’ve got some chaotic pits in full swing and people bouncing all over the place but on the other side Kennedy is everywhere and infiltrating all of the venue. I couldn’t even tell if he was backed by a band as all I can see is guitars, drums and flailing hair windmilling all over the place, terrific live performance that’s definitely changed my mind about the band, one of Scotland’s finest exports since Mendeed and Logan.

Rise to Remain have toured the UK excessively to the point where tonight’s gig marks the 6th time I have seen the band perform; in the past I have given mixed reviews, pointing out flaws in Austin’s voice, the lack of energy on display and just generally displaying a lack of focus, after what I’ve just witnessed you may as well disregard all my previous comments about the bands performance as this marks the definitive moment that will be remembered as the turning point in Rise to Remain’s career. Austin’s performance is perfection compared to way back when I first watched them open up for Trivium, especially as the guy has had severe throat problems that a doctor recommended a week of rest for so after that to come onstage 2 nights after and perform to this standard speaks very highly of Austin’s commitment to music. The whole band is just full of live and energy tonight; Austin crawls over the audience and bounces all over every inch of the stage, Ben shows off his exceptional guitar skills with ease with some humorous facial expressions, whilst the rest of the members are dangerously close to head banging themselves into a brain aneurism. Mixing songs from their extremely popular EP “Bridges Will Burn” and impressive debut album “City of Vultures” give for a very interesting set list; opening up proceedings with “The Serpent”, Armageddon erupts and bones begin to break, the relentless energy flowing from the band and audience doesn’t remotely let up until the last member leaves the stage. The chaos is fuelled by the heaviest of the bands material; “This Day is Mine”, “Illusive Existence”, “Salvation”, “Purify”, “Nothing Left”, “Power Through Fear”, “City of Vultures” and closing the night with vintage Rise to Remain song “Bridges Will Burn”. The band has really come out of their shell this year, with a debut album that’s actually favouring a lot heavier life than on CD and a new attitude, the band are set to dominate the UK over the next few years. See you in December for Defenders of the Faith III!

Bleed From Within – 4/5
Rise to Remain – 4.5/5

Review By James Webb

 Rise To Remain


Austin Dickinson
Ben Tovey
Joe Copcutt
Pat Lundy
Will Homer

 Bleed From Within


Scott Kennedy
Ali Richardson
Davie Provan
Craig 'Goonzi' Gowans
Martyn Evans

 Band Related Links
Rise To Remain Myspace
Bleed From Within Myspace
 Review Score Code
- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
- What Was That?