Back in September 2015 the Cancer Bats announced a massive 18 date UK tour for January 2016 which sees them playing intimate sized venues of the UK and also sees them playing many towns and cities across the country that they haven’t played in a number of years and throughout the whole tour they are Supported by Oregon metal three piece Lord Dying, UK hardcore rockers Palm Reader and American groove rockers Incite and it is safe to say that it is one of the best value for money tours I have ever seen with tickets being a measly £11 which works out under £3 per band.
I headed down to the Marble Factory in Bristol tonight on what happened to feel like the coldest day of the year to catch the show and due to interviewing Liam Cormier from the Cancer Bats when the doors opened I missed the start of Incite but made my way into the venue half way through their set and managed to catch a few songs of their 30 minute set where they managed to warm the crowd up nicely with their massive riffs.
Up next were UK hardcore crew Palm Reader who played one hell of an hectic 30 minute set which got the crowd moving especially during ‘I Watch The Fire Chase My Tongue’ , however from start to finish things did not sound right as the vocals were drowned out by the aggressive instrumental work however the band did not let this harm their performance as they put 101% into things and flung themselves across the stage whilst unleashing their hardcore sounds. I hope to check Palm Reader out on the live circuit in the near future where hopefully things will be more on their side.
The main support band of the night were Oregan metal band Lord Dying and they wasted no time in unleashing the riffs and were quite a pleasing band to watch with the band made up of two guitarists and a drummer with their bass player absent from the tour but it wasn’t noticeable as the band sounded solid and laid down some proggy sounds, for the majority of the set my eyes were on Nickolis Parks who was an outstanding drummer who literally beat the crap out of his kit yet the duel guitar assault from Chris Evans and Erik Olson plus lead vocals from Olson was also a pleasure on the ears.
The Cancer Bats took to the stage to play an explosive 70minute 19 song set which was pure mayhem from start to finish and in true Cancer Bats style they let the music do the talking and wasted no time as they blasted their way through the 19 song set which to me and any hard core Cancer Bats fan was the perfect Cancer Bats set with them starting with ‘True Zero and finishing with ‘Satellites’ from their latest album ‘Searching For Zero’ whilst also playing songs spanning through their entire back catalogue with the likes of ‘Bricks And Mortar’, ‘Pneumonia Hawk’, ‘Hail Destroyer’, ‘French Immersion’, ‘Beelzebub’ and ‘Lucifer’s Rocking Chair’ getting the crowd going with the mosh pit flowing well with arms flying everywhere and people on the outskirts of the mosh pit were also giving it their all jumping up and down like they were on pogo sticks whilst shouting along word for word with Liam Cormier.
Towards the end of the set Liam Cormier stopped the music for a few minutes whilst he spoke to the crowd to announce that at the end of the tour on the 21st February he will be shaving his hair to raise money for Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation whilst also donating his saved hair to create wigs for cancer patients, he also said that at the end of the show he will be at the merch booth with a massive welly collecting peoples donations and would appreciate it if everyone could donate as little as a £1 to help give cancer the boot, the announcement was met in such a positive way from the crowd with loud cheers and the Cancer Bats then launched back into business playing the likes of ‘Drunken Physics’, ‘Sabotage’ and Satellites’ and it is safe to say that the cover of Beastie Boys ‘Sabotage’ and ‘Satellites’ was the perfect double header to end the show as the songs got the best reaction of the night from the crowd with the majority of people singing their lungs out.
As soon as their set ended Liam ran to the back of the venue like promised and chatted with the fans, collected donations and posed for photos looking as thrilled yet knackered as anyone would after playing such an energetic 70minute set.
It may well have been the coldest night of the year so far but the Cancer Bats and co did a great job of warming people up as by the end of the night The Marble Factory was one hell of a sweat pit and eventually a few hundred happy Cancer Bats fans left The Marble Factory fully entertained whilst also doing their bit for charity as they headed back into the cold for that long walk back into the centre of Bristol.
The Cancer Bats still have a few dates on the tour left so seriously if they are heading to a town or city near you, do yourself a favour and head down to the show as I can gurantee you will not be dissapointed as the Cancer Bats are easily at the top of their game.
Palm Reader – 2.5/5
Lord Dying 3.5/5
Cancer Bats 5/5
Review By Trigger |
