Opening up the pits first is Plymouth bred band Brotherhood Of The Lake, of whom bound across the intimate space when ripping out songs sharper than the edge of a growling chainsaw. 'The World To Me' is so gnarly, that the crowd's immediate reaction is to start throwing their hands in the air or throwing random punches at one another. 'Every Nerve Ending' finishes their set with a jagged end, making BOTL stand out from the other bands set to play tonight.
Up next is Last Witness. Anticipation has been building up for this band since their announcement to the line-up, and taking a hold of the main support, these guys definitely put on their best to try and impress TDWP extreme fan-base. Unfortunately, a lot of criticism is going to be heading their way, as although the crowd seem to be gagging for them, and the instrumental work was immaculate, the vocals are too poor to live up to the expectations of their performance. Then out of nowhere, as if it were a miracle, front man Theo's voice suddenly improves, taking the audience but total surprise. As 'Dreamland Welcomes You closes their set, it's a disappointment that this unexpected blessing of immaculate vocals only hit the surface of their performance. It appears that Last Witness have slithered away from their crowning glory moment, that has now given Brotherhood of the Lake the upper hand when taking home the black crown for best support on the line-up.
The air is thick with excitement as well as the racking of nerves. As individually each band member groups up on stage, it's only when the entire band are present that the tension is sliced in half with the drop of the gut wrenching adrenaline pumping 'Dead Throne. It's total mayhem every where in the venue, and as if it were a zombie apocalypse, there is no escape from their fierceness and brutality of the audience's reaction. As 'Born To Lose breaks down into 'Mammoth, it's no question how on earth TDWP have manage to sell out tonight's venue, when in fact it seems almost criminal to have them play such a cooped up place, when justice should be served by them headlining a greater venue. The reason why? Mike Hyranica and Jeremy DePoyster clean vocals are flawless, Chris Rubey and Andy Trick's guitars are within perfect harmony with one another, and Daniel Williams drumming is absolutely insane, hitting every pot and pan of the drum kit in faultless timing to every song. Nothing is left untouched by their talent, even during the robotic voice over of the zombie-tastic 'Outnumbered and 'Escape. It's the slamming of the pitch perfect growls and the intense guitar shredding that really throw you off edge and into the deep end of the venue's chaos.
There's certainly no way of distinguishing between Prada's sound in the studio and their live performance, as everything matches up perfectly due to such incredible ability to play and the tremendous amount of effort that the Ohio sextet let out while on stage, as heard during the thunderous 'Born To Loseand 'Mammoth. Hands down the most memorable moment of tonight's show would be when the anticipation rapidly unfolds alongside the intro of 'Assistant To The Regional Manager. As Hyranica and co. are enticed back onto the stage, the abrupt burst of sound unleashes the fans into becoming a swarm of metal hungry sweat dripping monsters, all clawing at the feet of the band. A dozen crowd surfers later, and these monsters have room in their belly for just one more song, so why no better way than to end the show with the tooth grinding, blood boiling and all time favourite 'Danger Wildman. With tonight's show having it's up and down moments, it's The Devil Wears Prada who perch high on their black thrones.
article by: Emily Rawson
photos by: Georgia Rawson
published: 24/02/2012 14:48
FUTURE GIGS
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