An industrial estate a couple of miles outside Newcastle city centre is not the normal place for a metal show. Neither is a brewery, but here we are at Anarchy Brew on a cold January evening for Born of Osiris, Within Destruction, Aversion Crown and Lacernia Roe. I have never been to this venue before, and the long drive down the access road had me questioning where I was going. Nonetheless, I got to the venue with time to spare. It is a cold winter evening and normally you can find respite from the cold when you enter the venue. Not tonight, as it is just as cold inside as out. We are in a brewery after all, which is essentially a warehouse, although they have got some beer garden style heaters hanging from the roof, which was a warm welcome (pun intended).
First up on the bill this evening is the upcoming North Carolina deathcore crew Lacernia Roe. Kicking off their set with a little girl telling you how to brush your teeth leaves you feeling a little uncertain, which doesn’t help when the band appears wearing horror style masks and delivers a crushing opener in ‘Teeth’. Customers are still slowly arriving as the band push through their set to a half-empty room. It is still only 7pm on a Friday evening, not the best welcome for a band who are on their first tour outside the States. Unfazed, Lacernia Roe plough through, bringing an innovative approach to their brand of deathcore. Blending heavy elements and breakdowns with unique horror-style soundscapes and intentionally disjointed song structures gives this band a distinctive feel.
The venue has filled up now and the bodies are starting to keep the cold at bay, ready to welcome Australian quartet (fronted by an Englishman) Aversion Crown. They bring a more straightforward style of deathcore, almost leaning toward a modern style of death metal. That being said, there are some more unique parts to their music. ‘Ophiophagy’ has some very nice, almost harmonic guitar parts, shoegaze reminiscent. Some songs incorporate a subtle use of synths and electronic pieces which give a nice balance to the set.
If you told me that the next band had influences of deathcore, hip hop, pop, electronic and Japanese themes, I probably would have said I’m going to go to the bar to grab a beer. I am very glad I stayed. Within Destruction hit the stage like a big metal party, blending all those influences into an infectious brand of metal that you can’t help but smile at. Very much like metal crossed with Eurovision.
I couldn’t get over how good this band was. They were extremely polished with a big clean sound that would feel just as at home in much larger venues. That doesn’t mean they are not heavy. They still throw in plenty of breakdowns and gutturals that hit much harder after the cleaner parts of songs.
Hitting the stage like a freight train, tonight’s headliners Born of Osiris waste no time hammering into their set. Bathed and backlit in cool blue lighting and smoke, the band have an almost ethereal presence on stage. With this being the Through Shadows tour, their latest album naturally has the bulk of the plays.
‘In Desolation’ was a crunchy riff laden standout. The Discovery, one of the band’s crowning achievements, also features a high volume of songs making the set, with ‘Devastate’ providing everything you want from a live song. Rounding out the set is a wide collection of songs reaching back to their first EP The New Reign, with ‘Angel or Alien’, ‘Under The Gun’ and ‘Machine’ offering a selection covering most albums in their catalogue. Born of Osiris don’t rely on any flashy spectacles or gimmicks on stage. What they do is bring a truly solid and well played live presence, rattling through their set with as much power and confidence as you will get from a band that has been on the go for nearly twenty years.
