So upon entering The Exchange for the
first time, it was exactly what you could wish
for as a small venue. A small, dark, sweaty room
full of metal-heads. The crowd filtered in fast
and before Breed 77 were presented on the stage
there was a decent sized crowd ready and waiting.
Breed 77, what can I say? They were absolutely
full of energy, and André Joyzi absolutely
rocked it on the drums, the power coming from
the stage was incredible. It was a real let down
that the crowd were motionless, despondent, and
seemingly uninterested in what they had to say.
Lead singer Paul Isola desperately tried to get
some sort of action brewing but the crowd were
a real let down. The sound was fantastic, the
music was tight, and the stage presence was certainly
there. I really have no clue what problem the
crowd were encountering. They received a slight
singalong when their cover of The Cranberries’
‘Zombie’ was played, and they took
a request from a chap at the front to play ‘Insects’.
These guys were crowd pleasers, and please me
they did. It was a real shame that they didn’t
get the response they so rightly deserved.
Malefice had a great sound, and every beat of
the drum, every strum of the guitar was spot on.
They too struggled with this awkward crowd (who
were clearly only there for The Defiled, and seemed
unwilling to open their ears slightly!). The power
behind lead singer Dale Butler’s voice was
captivating, and held my attention through their
entire set. The overall set went down fairly well,
and they even got a half decent cheer at the end!
I sincerely hope these guys get the recognition
they deserve at other gigs, because tonight’s
response was pitiful, to put it bluntly!
Well, well, well. Everyone knows I’m a Defiled
fan by now. After witnessing many, many gig and
festival performances it’s now pretty easy
to spot when these guys are on a roll. And they
were fucking epic, as per usual standards! Since
I last reviewed them they have had a drummer change,
and jeez, Needles is one smooth, slick bastard.
He makes his drum playing look effortless, joking
around, spinning sticks, and generally entertaining
from the backline! He really adds a certain something
to the band, and his character shines through
the music.
As predicted, the crowd had obviously saved their
energy for The Defiled as all of a sudden there
was an overhaul of mental people struggling to
get to the front, and they kept up the pace throughout
the set! This little venue quickly became a mighty
sweaty venue, and was nice and loud!
They played through some new songs from their
upcoming album Daggers, and the crowd knew some
of them already. There really is something unique
about Defiled fans, I’ve never quite met
any that are quite so devoted to one band before!
There was only one point that I could *possibly*
make a criticism about their performance this
evening, and that was when someone knocked the
mic stand from Stitch’s face! Completely
out of his control and it was resolved quickly.
The pit was ace for such a small venue, and fun
was had by all! Always worth going back for The
Defiled, at the very least, they’ll pour
some Jäger down your throat. At best, they’ll
knock your socks off with their innovating new
music and vigorous set!
Breed 77 4/5
Malefice 4/5
Defiled 5/5
Review By Karlie M
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