Every Time I Die w/Maylene & the Sons of Disaster, London Borderline, 21^st December 2009

Now some of you may have read my Taste of Chaos review of both ETID and MATSOD. If you did, then you will be well aware of how pumped on this show I was. However, I was one of the unfortunate souls who missed out on getting tickets. Despite this, I braved the journey to London through the snow, slush and sleet to interview MATSOD and was fortunate enough to find out Santa had been smiling on me and I did actually have tickets for this show. Being a true Brit, student, and under the guise of a proper journalist I spent the 2 hours prior to Maylene’s set stood in pub celebrating my early Christmas gift and getting right into the Christmas Spirit.

By the time I went into the Borderline, I was no longer feeling the cold, or any pain, which is just as well because Maylene and the Sons of Disaster put on the show I had hoped for at Taste of Chaos and I was battered by other enthusiasts dancing to their Southern sounds. They were loud, they were kooky, I felt like saying “yeehaw” on more than one occasion. This pub style environment is definitely the one to see MATSOD in and I would recommend everyone do it just for a good time.

After Maylene’s set I decided I was front rowing ETID, and I was going to commit to that decision if it killed me. Their set was blinding, literally, I don’t remember seeing much but my throat was hoarse and I remember being incredibly wrapped up in the entire situation. I punched the ground, I concussed myself off a monitor, someone used my back as a spring board to get onto the stage; madness erupted in the Borderline during this set. The photos of bloody handprints on the walls, and the tales of the soul whose blood it was being taken to A&E after the show are just a hazy reflection of what happened in Borderline that night. It will go down with my as the best show that I don’t remember of my 21 years.

Today, on Christmas Eve, with a lump on my head, some ridiculous bruising all over my legs, and a bit of a gammy hand, I wish all of MATSOD and ETID a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and please don’t stay away for too long.

Interview with Andy Williams of Every Time I Die

You may have the opportunity to read my recent review of the Taste of Chaos show in London a few weeks ago. Well fortunately enough for me I was also allowed a quick interview with guitarist Andy Williams. Due to time restrictions I was only given the opportunity to ask him my research topic questions, but being the legend he is Andy gave me some of the best answers yet. Enjoy!

Alison A: How would you describe a pit at a hardcore show?

Andy W: I don’t know, it’s a way for people to get it out, for people that work all week long, go there, just get their frustrations out, people that are masochists I guess.

AA: Would you say this behaviour is distinctive of the scene?

AW: I don’t necessarily think it’s a scene thing. There’s a whole different types of trends. Philadelphia in the 90s was very violent but if you went to Canada they didn’t. I don’t think it’s a hardcore thing, I think it was based in metal and then just crossed over into hardcore. We do it a little different though I guess to hardcore.

AA: Would you say the quality of the show is proportionate to the size or intensity of the pit?

AW: Yeah, as a whole, I mean if you look out and the whole crowd’s moving its better you know? That’s how I look at it, for sure. So I would say yeah, the bigger the pit the better the show.

AA: At what point does a pit or audience become “out of control”?

AW: Never. Not with me, you’re asking the wrong person! I want to see as much shit going on as possible.

AA: You want to see some blood?

AW: Oh yeah!

AA: Would you say there are younger or older people in your audience?

AW: We’ve got a very eclectic crowd. You could definitely look out there and see some 40 year old dude moshing with some 14 year old dude, you know what I mean? So we have like, a very eclectic crowd. It’s awesome.

AA: More male or female people in your audience?

AW: Oh hardcore in just general has always been more male oriented. We like to beat our chests so… It’s the easiest way to get stuff out. I was just talking about this upstairs about metal dude. I mean all metal dudes are fucking nerds, so they come to shows and they get to bop a couple of 14 year old kids in the head and that makes them feel like they’re something. But as soon as they leave the show they’re going to go home and play World of Warcraft or whatever they do. That’s how it is with hardcore too, they’re all dorks. They go home on the internet, talk shit, you know, it gives them a pedestal to talk.

AA: If there are more females in a pit, would you say that affects the behaviour?

AW: Not with me and my friends it never did! We still just went nuts when I was a kid. But yeah, I think so, I think it definitely dictates it. It’s funny, some people are like “Oh you’ve got to be timid” but it’s like, she’s in there, that’s how we always looked at it.

AA: What would you say are the unspoken rules of being in a pit?

AW: Oh god, I don’t know. Like I said, I mean if you were talking to someone else in the band maybe, but there was one point in time, this is a no bullshit story, that website lambgoat did the 5 most violent dancers in the United States and I was number 2.

AA: That’s actually amazing.

AW: This was like at the time, like ‘98 or something.

AA: That’s sick.

AW: So it like, there were no rules. Like me and my friends in Buffalo would just straight fist fight. It was just like, not a jock thing, but like a matter of just… we just went off you know?

AA: Do you have any examples or experiences of a pit that you would like to share?

AW: Oh in fact it happened with Killswitch in the States last time they played, the city was Fort Wayne, Indiana, it was will Killswitch and Dillenger Escape Plan, this is so weird cause it’s not hardcore related at all but it’s fucking great! It was an ETID over 18s show, so we were all worried like “fuck ETID in over 18s in Fort Wayne, Indiana” – the worst city ever, and believe me if anyone from Fort Wayne’s reading this, it’s my favourite city after this show – so yeah, it’s like hick city, blah blah blah. So it’s a college town and we played a place that held like, 2300 people or something like that? It was sold out, 18 and over, every single person in there was just drunk, wasted and horny, and for some reason none of the other bands got a good reaction at all, except for us. As soon as we got out there girls were showing their boobs, it was fucking retarded, and then while we were playing people were uprooting shit out of the ground and like, crowd riding mad, and the pit was enormous. I saw a girl crowd riding and a garbage can crowd riding and the can fell and the girl fell into the garbage can, no joke. Right in front of me. It just blew me away. That was it for me. I couldn’t believe it. That was great, it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen at a show. They came from opposite directions! That was cool.

Taste of Chaos with Killswitch Engage, In Flames, Every Time I Die & Maylene and the Sons of Disaster: 3^rd Dec 2009, Hammersmith Apollo

I am personally not a huge fan of metal. Nor am I fan of large venues, particularly the Hammersmith Apollo. I am, however, very much into the Southern hick sounds of Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, and Every Time I Die have been my favourite live and recorded band for the past 5 years. This review is going to cover these two bands as I feel they are the most relevant to the scene this site covers. I’m sure some of you will agree with me when I say Killswitch Engage are ironically great whilst being hugely samey. Meanwhile In Flames fans at the Apollo on this particular night put me into an utterly shameful “I only like hardcore” frame of mind. Call me prejudice, but long hair on dudes and studded bracelets aren’t my deal.

It’s obvious however that it’s not only me that senses this divide between the two halves of this tour. As MATSOD take to the sake it is evident that appreciation in the metal scene consists of arms folded and a monotonous nodding head. MATSOD’s fans up front try to counter act this with hoots, hollers and dancing hard. It’s not hard to get into the vibe of MATSOD’s set as well as new vocalist Schuylar Croom (of He Is Legend) pulls some moves I’d expect I’d expect to come straight from the swaying swinging sixties and seventies. Croom definitely looks the part for this band, but MATSOD’s only problem is the lack of original line up. Some of the filling members clash with Croom and guitarist Jake Duncan’s bohemian image to a point that it just doesn’t look like the all the members are playing the same gritty Southern sound. As a MATSOD fan though I enjoyed the set, but would prefer to see them in a smaller venue with a more appreciative audience.

Next up is Every Time I Die. Following the release of New Junk Aesthetic earlier this year I’ve been desperate to see some of this truely epic record performed live. And oh boy they do not disappoint. Perhaps it’s the new material, perhaps it’s the addition of new drummer Ryan Leger, maybe it’s both, but ETID seem to have a whole new lust for life in this performance. The audience they draw is a testament to their increasing popularity at the recognition of their 10 year history. Despite pulling a significantly larger audience than MATSOD, the metal heads are largely unresponsive, but all the ETID fans in the venue attempt to make up for that and the announcement of a headline show at the Borderline on December 21^st sends a flurry of excitement through the venue as people start frantically texting friends that might be anywhere remotely near a computer.

As they wrap up their set with some old favourites such as “Floater” and “The New Black”, as well as the new tracks as well, I feel as though the night’s ended for me after ETID. Despite catching a few songs here and there of In Flames and Killswitch Engage (the latter of which I have seen on TOC several times before), they don’t seem to match up musically with ETID and MATSOD, though the improvement in the audience’s reception and energy is evident and impressive.

Perhaps it goes to show that booking agents are acknowledging that music fans have varying tastes and that tours consisting of similar sounding bands can end up just being a drag, but this combination of two metal and two hardcore/rock bands just doesn’t seem to fit too well. Perhaps that’s just me getting more stuck in my ways the older I get, but I feel that Taste of Chaos has lost some of the originality that created such excitement around the tour in its early years. This tour just feels like a metal show, but with fantastic support.

That said, I am psyched out of my mind for Every Time I Die’s headline date at the Borderline (now announced with support from Maylene and the Sons of Disaster). Hopefully this club show will allow Maylene to put on the live show I had hoped to see, and cement ETID’s reputation as an amazing live band into the public psyche.

Simple. They start a… metal band?

Fall Out Boy’s John Trohman(guitar) and Andy Hurley(drums) have paired up not only with Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano of Anthrax, but Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die.

The Damned Things have already written about 15 songs, and are hoping to hit the studio this upcoming month. They haven’t released anything yet… no layout, no blogs, nothing. The anticipation is growing as we wait to see what this crowd of completely different musicians come up with.

Stay tuned to hear more info about what TDT is up to!

Local band Kingdoms (Underground Operations) opened the show with tight, heavy, melodic music, showing it up for Canada, being the only Canadian band on the show. Even though most people in the building weren’t even aware Kingdoms were playing the show, I can guarantee they were not disappointed in the performance and passion displayed by this up and coming band.

Up next was Architects, a band that I personally was very interested in seeing because I’ve heard lots of good thing about them, but never have had the opportunity to check them out live.  I was very impressed by the performance this British progressive metal band. In my opinion, the recordings they have do not do them justice. If you really want to experience Architects, you have to see them live. They will be playing on October 12th again in Toronto, with August Burns Red and The Acacia Strain.

Now for the band most of the crowd came out to see, Bring Me The Horizon. As I said earlier, for some reason BMTH have cast a spell upon teenage girls. When Vocalist Oliver Sykes first stepped on the stage, an almost “Jonas Brothers” reaction was given from the crowd. As for the music, BMTH played an okay set. I must say, there current CD “Suicide Season” is not as appealing to me as there 20o6 debut, “Count Your Blessings”, which made it disappointing when only one song off Count Your Blessings was played. One Flaw I really found in Bring Me The Horizons live music was that it was very sloppy. At Times it would be very hard to tell one song from another, or hear which guitar riffs were played. While I wasn’t very impressed by them, there very loyal fans backed them 100% and made it very obvious they enjoyed the performance.

The next and final band that played can be defined in two simple but very very important words, stage precense. On top of playing their songs bang on, Buffalo Southern Hardcore band Every Time I Die had some of the best stage presence I have ever seen. With Bassist Josh Newton wearing a full one piece skeleton suit, and guitarist Andy Williams having very interesting handle bars, you know this band knows how to put on a show. The most impressive thing I saw this show was ETID guitarist Jordan Buckley, front flip from on the stage into the crowd with out ever stopping playing his guitar. All in all the show was ended on a very positive note with a very talented band.

To see photos from this show go to: http://www.damagedpress.com/featured/2009/10/photos-every-time-i-die-bring-me-the-horizon-architects-kingdoms/

]]> http://www.damagedpress.com/reviews/bandreviews/2009/10/epitaphzune-tour-every-time-i-die-bring-me-the-horizon-architects-kingdoms/feed/ 1 http://www.damagedpress.com/featured/2009/10/photos-every-time-i-die-bring-me-the-horizon-architects-kingdoms/ http://www.damagedpress.com/featured/2009/10/photos-every-time-i-die-bring-me-the-horizon-architects-kingdoms/#comments Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:37:32 +0000 Josh Mahoney http://www.damagedpress.com/?p=388 Lineup: Every Time I Die, Bring me the Horizon, Architects & Kingdoms
Venue: Kool Haus
Promoter: Live Nation
Equipment: Nikon D300, 50mm 1.8 prime

As much as I was sad that Oh Sleeper was apparently not playing this show anymore, it’s always good to see Kingdoms. Totally loved this show, high energy for all the bands!

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