Eighteen Visions, Leeds Cockpit
This review was to be my third in four days. How prolific am I? (Hint, Hint major music press who may be looking for new staff.) The fact that each of the shows I had been to this week offered me something interesting each time, but all had a similar music style, to me showed the versatility of post hardcore / screamo bands, and that even though most people are quick to make presumptions about the genre, I’ll back it to the mountains and say I believe it is one of the most exciting and capturing genres today.
A band that take that theory and hurl it straight into action, were this evenings opening act MISERY SIGNALS. Oh how I have been promised so much from this band, and the one thing I will say is… Believe the HYPE. These guys are quite literally the dog’s balls of hardcore/metal/screamo. With a front man who practically runs the show by himself and a backline of hard hitting, fat, and messed up guitars, intricacy and power combine to form one of the best sounding bands I’ve seen in months. Misery Signals can take you from the blood, sweat and tears of their most brutal, destructive riffs, and within seconds have you floating on their sea of tranquillity as melody and mystery take over. I’m hoping these guys will be over again soon. (9.5)
EMANUEL are to take the stage next, and are a little less “full on” shall we say than their predecessors. The bands punchier and rawer sounds are a lot more punk than metal, but still includes obvious breaks into lighter melody and powerful hardcore. The band have been on a steady rise since, their major introduction to the U.K, notably their appearances on the last Vagrant Tour gave them a mass of confidence. However, tonight’s performance was below key, particularly in relation to their dates with Senses Fail and From Autumn To Ashes. Although they sounded great, the live performance was slightly toned and in this case, the foursome weren’t appreciated as much by tonight’s punters, and in my opinion Emanuel were slightly out done by the bands performing either side of them. (6)
On to this evenings headliners, EIGHTEEN VISIONS are another band that people have been raving about. However, this is one band that failed to hit the spot with tonight’s performance in my estimation. Combining the post hardcore trend, with a more “glammed” up approach, in my opinion the My Chemical Romance side of the genre with trimmed perfect hairstyles and specially selected wardrobes is the weaker end of the spectrum and although this band on sound may go a long way on the commercial side of things, their root into music via Good Charlottes stylist designers isn’t as credible and to be fair is a serious put off. Despite working well with tonight’s crowd, the band that are on their fourth outing in the UK now did little to impress me. I’m sure there is a new wave of hardcore kids now on a mission to slay me for saying that, but it’s as simple as. (6)
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