Пятница 2 Окт 2009, 20:20

Wed 30 Sep – Misery Signals, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, Your Demise, Break The Sky

Most people see a Wednesday night as a night that's slap bang in the middle of the week - Some people look forward to it and start drinking early, some people dread the second half of the week ahead looking at their workload, some people anticipate the pending weekend and some people like to spend it at a cosy venue just a minute away from Camden Underground station in London.

For those that enjoy the last of what I've mentioned, guests are privileged with seeing Break The Sky, The Number 12 Looks Like You, Your Demise and Misery Signals play a spectacular, fist pumping set in the Camden Underground. With a bar and seats right next to the entrance, visitors can enjoy their pint without fear of it getting spilled, while some stairs through a nearby doorway leads you into a central "pit" used for spectating the bands play.

First up was a band that looked like they were a part of the tight-bonded audience that had come to express the crowd's eagerness and served to pump up the atmosphere. These were Break The Sky.
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Although this was only the beginning of the night, these guys were not afraid to jump into the deep end. I had only just recently discovered via Break The Sky's Last.fm Description that they were only re-forming for this gig to play and support the night. That fact proved that these musicians are indeed, a nostalgic group where talent would flood right back to their veins at a chance, as they certainly did play with talent, and feeling. I hadn't heard of Break The Sky Before, but it seemed that the local younguns did; they were screaming, shouting, and singing along, many of them dancing in the crowd. As I watched from the stairs, I saw many heads nodding, many faces screaming along with the singer, and a lot of sweat. Actually, something funny popped up when I was looking through the photos I took of Break The Sky:
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I'm so happy to see his deepest feelings. Awww.

Break The Sky played without fear of being unrecognised. From my point of view, the look of their faces said that the music they played would mean something to themselves, the crowd, and will pour energy into the venue, enough to get everyone pumped up for the next band.

Which was just what the audience wanted, needed and got, because for a hardcore gig, The Number 12 Looks Like You isn't the best suited style for the night. Then again, they had a lot of fans at the gig, with heads nodding along, one particular fan in a slipknot shirt thrashing her head away. Seeing this, I saw that diversity among the fans is really important to a gig, after all, what do they go for?
The Number 12 Looks Like You really showed they were enjoying themselves, with the lead singer thanking and gracing the stage with his catchy screaming, hair running everywhere.
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The band played relentlessly, with little need for a break. And when they did come to a point where they did a calmer song, the singer took a few minutes to sit down and sing his little skinny heart out.
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I stood in front of the guitarist for the band mostly, the fact that people were going mental in the middle meant that I couldn't get any decent shots, but I'm glad I did, because man, this guy is such an excellent guitarist. First of all, I was impressed that he was playing a 7 string so well:
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damn, just looking at the picture of his guitar makes me melt

but pictures aside, if you were there, I assure you that hearing him play would be mindblowing. Tremelo palm mute-shreddings, dancing around in weird 5th, 9th, 7th, 99th chord shapes, running and skipping along god knows how many scales, all in a flash, squeals included, made my jaw drop with an "oh-my-god-that's-awesome" look. He even felt the need to show off a clean-tone 5 minute slap experience with his seven string. But man, watching him play was so inspirational. Just the look of intensity in his face, you could see the intensity would rush down from his brain, to his arms, fingertips, and eventually through the amp. Using a combination of clean tones and crazy constructed rushes of distortion, The Number 12 Looks Like You made the crowd laugh, sway, jump, and go fucking nuts. Watching these guys reminded me of Between the Buried and Me, with weird prog-math-super-technicality in their riffs, structures, and sudden spasms of energy and solos.
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Next up was a band that I've always wanted to see, and had been waiting a very long time to see, this was Your Demise.
A four piece band from Hertfordshire, this band was and is always known to me as pure aggression.
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Bursting with energy, the lead singer Ed (formerly of Centurion, he joined just after the previous singer George recorded the latest album Ignorance Never Dies) screams into the crowd, reminding people of the pure anger the band is about, the pure anger shown in songs such as Burnt Tongues, Nothing Left But Regret and the infamous Blood Stays On The Blade. The band played fearlessly, Ed growling and shouting into the microphone (which came off the lead about five times - get it fixed, man!) and jumping all over the stage.
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Guitars crunching, bass thumping, drums smashing, Your Demise delivered a set that could send our likely bunch of lads demolishing the place. thankfully, things didn't get too out of hand.

The next band, who I've heard of, but not heard from, was Misery Signals. The crowd were proper hyped up by this point, and ready for anything. No surprise when an intro of crushing palm-chugga-chugga riff sends the hardcore dancers flaying and flying into the middle of our makeshift arena.
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I never heard any Misery Signals before, but they already have a wide following. Within seconds of their brutal set was the stage filled with fans, diving into the sea of fists. What crazy youth, eh.
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Misery Signals certainly made an impression on the Camden Underworld audience. throughout the whole set, there wasn't a single head that was still, a single fist not pumped, a single foot unmoved. Without a doubt, Misery Signals played like they meant it, which they probably did, mentioning on stage that it was the last date of the weight of the world tour ("no it aint!" shouts some joker at the back). Pulsing palm mutes, catchy lead riffs and mesmerizing rhythm, The band ended the night by bringing the whole crowd to a jump and dance, fists flying everywhere.

I have to say, the night was one sweaty night. You could feel the heat coming off the centre of the room, that's how much people sweated from the hype, dancing, and that's how much energy a band puts into their fans to know that they're decent.