Misery Signals

+ August Burns Red, Emmure

Underworld, London - 6 Apr 2008

by Simon T Diplock

Metalcore veterans defy backchat to play a blinder

"‘Anchor’ sounds like a cruise liner has landed on the pub above the venue, frontman Karl Schubach proves how much he has made the band’s old material his own with a powerful roar through ‘Five Years’, and the Underworld’s dance floor explodes into a mess of arms and legs for a thunderous rendition of ‘The Failsafe’."

The view from the queue outside the Underworld tonight is mixed. The line snakes all the way around the venue from a sign that says ‘Sold Out’, but depending on who you talk to, this show is either going to suck or go down a storm; to demonstrate just how dire metalcore has become or prove that there’s plenty of life left in the genre yet.

Word from some folks, see, is that Emmure are riding a wave of deathcore connections and MySpace popularity as long as they can. But just ten seconds into their titanic set, burly frontman Frank Palmeri ripping through his lines sounding like he’s ripping through his vocal chords, it’s clear that the Connecticut quintet are just as powerful, persuasive, and deadly precise in the flesh as they are on CD. And there’s certainly no studio trickery or social networking sites to blame for just how heavy two new songs are.

The backchat also hints that August Burns Red are Christian metallers who’ve yet to write a goddamn decent tune. But if their recorded work has always lacked something, live tonight the band are incredible. Aggressive but amiable, unbelievably tight but still inspired and armed with songs like the venomous rush of ‘Compusure’, there’s an invaluable electricity and intensity to their set. 

And finally there’s some nasty comments aimed at the headliners, sneers about how Misery Signals are too old and too slow to still succeed in this scene. And actually the band are old hands now. But experience hasn’t worn them down, it’s given them a dedicated mentality, an honest attitude, and a vital, rock-solid sound - all of which pour off the stage tonight.

And man do they have great songs too. ‘Anchor’ sounds like a cruise liner has landed on the pub above the venue, frontman Karl Schubach proves how much he has made the band’s older material his own with a powerful roar through ‘Five Years’, and the Underworld’s dance floor explodes into a mess of arms and legs for a thunderous rendition of ‘The Failsafe’. All in all, pretty fucking good for the scene’s supposed elder statesmen.
Outside in the cold before tonight’s show there was a feeling that some people had come to see these bands fail, arriving only to say ‘I told you so’ and sling some trash online the next day. The left with simply no ammunition. Instead, all three bands played out of their skin to a crowd that couldn’t help but love every second.
How all metalcore shows should be.

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