With months of strikes, rising bills, threats of recession, it’s been hard to find much to be positive about as we settle from a post-covid world. With the sad events in Brixton, many worried about what will happen with the long overdue gigs we were expecting and hoping for. Thankfully, the Trivium camp were hot on the case and a swift venue change to the Hammersmith Apollo was put in place to keep the dream alive.
Along for the ride, German legends Heaven Shall Burn and Britains rising stars Malevolence. The crowd shares a mix of old and young, with many seemingly clueless about at least one of the bands on the evenings line up, the blend of variety with the bands mixed with conversation around the venue between people exciting those that don’t know what is coming sets the tones for the perfect storm, and with openers Malevolence, they are the brightest of flares to set the night off.
The Sheffield bruisers are no strangers to big stages now, their rise in the last few years is taking off faster than a shuttle launch, their heads however remain fully attached and they do not let the moments slip them by. Whipping up a frenzy, Malevolence take control of the venue like they are the headliners, and despite their limited time, they pull everything out of the bag. Heavily concentrated one of last years best albums, Malicious Intent, and rightly so! With fire in their bellies, they seek to destroy and whip up a circle pit that could barely be contained to the venues walls. The band just get better each and every time I see them, explosive, tight, and just in the right place at the right time. Between their insanely heavy sludge-esque hardcore sound , and their mellow side with tracks like ‘Higher Place’ that gets an airing tonight, Malevolence are destined for greatness with no glass ceilings. Expect big things, and don’t sleep on the tickets for their UK headline shows coming at the end of the year!
With the toughest of tasks at hand in following Malevolence, Heaven Shall Burn tilt the scales in the favour of a more melo-death metal feel. Probably the least known band on the line up to the crowd, they win them over with riffs galore. Powering through song after song with a wealth of a back-catalogue to choose from. Their crisp sound cuts like a knife, reminiscent of the bands from the era they formed, they find themselves earning fans easily as the set progresses. They share openly their love and appreciation for all that is anti-fascist, animal rights and vegan. It may have turned the odd fan off, but you can’t have everything, and power be to those that do live the vegan way. The Germans are set to return for a main stage slot at Bloodstock, and with a performance like this, it’ll be enough to push those sitting on the fence of buying a ticket. Sadly any hopes of their new split single from both Heaven Shall Burn and Trivium don’t make either set, a cover of Trivium’s ‘Pillar of Serpents’ alongside with Trivium and their cover single of Heaven Shall Burns ‘Implore the Darken Sky’ would have been a true gift to witness.
On a night that could have been anyone’s, Trivium have their work cut out for them. Both bands before have put on performances worthy of headline status, and flanked by two dragon statues, they do just that. With the curtain drop comes the bright and vibrant stage lights and the start of a set that goes from fast to faster. Mic stands scattered along the front of stage has the band running all over and making use of the much loved venue. They kick off with a couple from the album that catapulted them into the limelight, Ascendancy, before jumping to 2017 release title track, ‘Sin and the Sentence’. Matt has a great time interacting with the crowd, his humour shines through as he jokes and riles up the Apollo.
The set that has been varied and mixed up all tour gives as much depth to their discography as you could wish for, the double edged sword of this is not everything you want can get played, and with their most recent two releases, ‘What the Dead Men Say’ and ‘In the Court of the Dragon’, their most impressive work to date, we are limited to just three. ‘Catastrophist’ and ‘Amongst the Shadow and the Stones’ straddles ‘Strife’ before we are given the treat of ‘The Deceived’ with Malevolence members Josh and Alex guesting on stage. The second half of the set is filled with title tracks from releases, ticking all the right boxes for fans. ‘In the Court of the Dragon’, ‘Shogun’, and ‘In Waves’ all make the cut capping off a fantastic and long overdue night, but the night wouldn’t be the same without that song that really started their journey off all those years ago, ‘Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr’. I do wonder if the kids in the band writing that song ever realized how far their journey would come…A near perfect night, if I could change it and ask for one thing, it would only be that Obituary were on the UK leg of the tour also!
