Biffy Clyro / ¡Forward, Russia!

¡Forward, Russia! are already onstage by the time I find Sheffield Octagon, situated on the outskirts of the city centre. I do not mind however; the band have an obvious gimmick with the matching self-named t-shirts and the unusual titling for songs (debut album ‘Give Me A Wall’ is full of songs with names ranging from ‘Seven’ to ‘Nineteen’, in order of when they were written).

‘Nine’ is their largest hit, but still the majority of the crowd here are not that influenced by the disco punk that the Leeds foursome are producing. It is very different to the random rock from the Biff.


Singer Tom still has a strong fondness for wrapping his microphone cable around the top half of his body, singing with a voice like a yelping puppy (I am not a fan). The other band members yelp along, but the rhythm section and musical ability is second to none.

Surprisingly lacking at this gig are the chants of “Mon the Biffy”, shouted by at least one audience member at every Biffy gig I have been to so far. The band themselves are more talkative between songs, especially Simon Neil saying “Hi” and other little bits. His voice is evidently struggling tonight, halfway through a thirteen date tour after the Kerrang tour and summer festival run of this year alone (to be followed by a few slots supporting Linkin Park next January). The poor lads vocal chords must be exhausted, no wonder banter is reserved most of the time.

Are we therefore seeing a changed Biffy? The new album ‘Puzzle’ is completely different to the crazy and complicated rock sounds of the first three albums, but seems to have gained them a huge following on top of their loyal underground fan base from the mid nineties.



Fans lap up the tunes ‘Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies’ and ‘Get F*cked Stud’, and the girls dig songs like ‘Folding Stars’ (with it’s Foo Fighter’s style) and ‘Now I’m Everyone’. That’s the thing with Biffy; they in no way try to be cool (look at the name; apparently stemming from the use of a Cliff Richard Biro!) but manage it anyway, appealing to the boys with their heavy rock and vocals and to the girls with three handsome (if two-thirds hairy) looks and passionate melodies.

Being one of the underground fans (I first saw them support the Larmer Farmers and pre-Cribs band Wrinkle somewhere in Bristol) the songs from ‘Blackened Sky’ are my favourites. ‘The Kids From Kibble and the Fist of Light’, as crazy as it sounds, and ‘57’ (always played faster live) and ‘My Recovery Injection’ are fitting to the Biffy sound of light and dark, heavy and soft peaks and troughs, filled with intricate melodies and vocals from Neil and the Johnston twins.

I am glad Biffy are now getting the recognition they are now; though I am not a fan of their musical direction these days, they deserve it after years of touring and building a fan base with their own style. Let’s just hope their crazy melodic days are not over just yet.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.