 
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
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