The doors opened relatively early, giving attendees plenty of time to flock to the venue and get a couple of pre show drinks down their throats. A handful of gig goers quickly turned into a mob of tipsy rock n roll fans, and they all turned their attention to the stage as soon as Dinosaur Pile Up stepped onto it. 

Wasting no time getting into the swing of things, they launched straight into the enormous ‘Arizona Waiting’, instantly forcing the room to open up in approval. Energy and volume levels hit a new high, setting a bar for the rest of their set that would be difficult to raise. The set was full of classics from across their career, such as the anthemic ‘11:11’, the sleazy ‘My Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and the thunderous ‘Traynor’. The biggest crowd reactions came from a lot of the new material, though, which just goes to show how well loved it already is at this early stage in the album’s life.

The unrelenting pace of ‘Pouring Gasoline’ quickly rapped the crowd into a frenzy as the punk driven riffs rippled through the room. ‘Thrash Metal Cassette’ had a similar impact, birthing what would be the most active pits of the evening. The set closer ‘Back Foot’ stood as the defining moment of the evening, with every head in the building banging in pure appreciation of the quality of THAT riff. 

Their set proved exactly why they have so much hype around them at the minute. Their punchy riffs and unapologetically catchy choruses hit like haymakers, leaving a lasting mark. A short set on a one band gig meant the evening was over before it really felt like it began, but the tiny taste was more than enough to coarse adrenaline through everyone in earshot. 

The rest of 2019 is going to be huge for Dinosaur Pile Up, and these shows marked the start of their rise to bigger things. You’re going to want to come along for the ride. 

DAVE STEWART

One such bill made it’s way to London recently, providing a stage for three of UK metal’s best – Blood Youth, Palm Reader and Lotus Eater. The show was originally taking place at Underworld, but due to unforeseen circumstances the show had to move to the Boston Music Rooms – a much smaller venue. What do you get when you combine those three bands with an intimate venue and a lot of people? Carnage.

The venue was buzzing early on, with attendees occupying the majority of the space well before the opening band took the stage. That band was Lotus Eater – a pissed off, menacing and sludgy quintet from Glasgow. Their presence as they stomped onto the stage caused everyones heads to jolt in their direction, and their eyes remained transfixed for the entirety of what followed. Every single pounding note was loud and destructive, causing the pit to erupt into a whirlwind of flailing limbs. Their music is reminiscent of fellow UK crew Loathe, being both musically impressive and emotionally unnerving. An impressive opening display for the evening.

Next up was Nottingham’s Palm Reader. An incredible amount of hype and respect surrounds this band, as the release of their 2018 record ‘Braille’ was met with praise and positive reviews across the board, propelling them to a platform they were unfamiliar with. They didn’t seem to be phased by it at all, though, as they thundered their jagged tones into the ears of everyone that had crammed themselves into the venue. Front man Josh McKeown had the crowd firmly in his grasp, hanging off every syllable that left his mouth.

Palm Reader immediately drew everyones attention towards them by hurtling through the intense ‘Always Darkest’, which acted as a disclaimer for the rest of what was about to happen. It was followed by a set made up of non-stop big hitters from ‘Braille’, such as the enormous ‘Coalesce’ and the frantic single ‘Swarm’. ‘Internal Winter’ was met with almost instantaneous moshing, as the opening chords surged through the bodies of everyone within earshot.

There was a nice surprise in the set in the form of golden oldie ‘I Watched The Fire Chase My Tongue’, the inclusion of which caused the crowd to burst into action and scream every single word back at the stage. The shining star of the set, though, was closing number ‘A Lover, A Shadow’; the journey through madness and serenity is even more powerful live and there wasn’t a single person in the room that wasn’t completely mesmerised by what they were seeing. A perfect set from a monumentally underrated band.

The final band to take to stage was Blood Youth, and what a show this was for them. This stop of the tour acted as a hometown show for them, and the last time they did a headline show in London they played to almost nobody. This sat at the opposite end of the spectrum, as they performed to a completely packed out room of avid supporters, a large portion of which were wearing their merch. This was Blood Youth’s night, and you’d better believe that they brought their A-game.

On top of the amazing attendance for this show, this also served as the band’s first opportunity to showcase material from their new record ‘Starve’ to a London crowd. They wasted no time in doing this, starting their set with the raging ‘Spineless’ which immediately whipped the audience into a sweaty frenzy. They followed by performing a selection of tracks that spanned their entire catalogue, barely giving the crowd a chance to breathe. As well as gigantic bruisers from the new record like ‘Cut Me Open’, the haunting ‘Nerve’ and headbang anthem ‘Hate’, they rocketed through older favourites such as the bouncy ‘I Remember’ and the catchy ‘Making Waves’.

No matter where you looked, you could see appreciative heads nodding or enthusiastic mouths projecting the words directly back at the band. But the crowd participation hit an all time high for a very specific part of the set. Blood Youth ripped into ‘Closure’, the title track from the EP of the same name, and they’d barely reached the end of the first bar before bodies had started flying. The energy didn’t die down for the entire song, with the choruses echoing through the venue louder than a jet engine. Before the crowd had a chance to recover, they launched into ‘Reason To Stay’, a favourite from their last record ‘Beyond Repair’. Without hesitation, the pit reopened and the audience gave the band another dose of the same – something that the band were very visibly appreciative of. Set closer ‘Starve’ gave attendees one last chance to exert all of their energy, and the powerful title track served as a perfect end to their set. They deserved to be at the top of this bill, and they have most certainly earned their place at the top of many more to come.

Every band smashed their sets tonight. Not one person left the venue unhappy as everyone knew they’d witnessed a dazzling display of music. Lotus Eater proved to be a very effective appetiser, Palm Reader set an incredibly high musical bar that any band would struggle to follow, and Blood Youth brought one hell of a show into a very tightly packed venue. Not only was this an amazing evening for Blood Youth, it served as an incredible night for British heavy music. And the best thing about it? These three bands barely represent a fraction of how much good music is floating around right now. It’s still relatively early in the year, and this was just one of the many stacked line ups that’s hitting venues across the country. Let’s see what the rest of 2019 brings, ay?

DAVE STEWART

As ‘Mirror Reaper’ was given immense praise from outlets outside of underground metal publications such as AV Club and further exposure through Pitchfork, this brought them a whole new wave of fans. Whilst the Boston Music Rooms isn’t a particularly big venue, tonight is completely sold out, with fans waiting patiently at the very front, ready to experience the nihilistic experience Bell Witch has in store for us.

Once everything is in place, the billowing smoke cascades upon the audience, who passionately cheer and clap, before quickly dissipating into silence. Shreibman keeps lays his head firmly on his snare drum and keeps still, soaking in the desolate journey we are about to embark on.

The atmosphere is perfectly eerie as Desmond rings out the first few notes from his bass, which impressively enough replaces conventional guitar tone. You could cut the introspective tension in the room with a knife, as anticipation builds higher and higher until Shreibman’s drum fills kick in. Never before has a kick drum sounded so powerful and so deliberate with every beat in a live performance.

Further layers of smoke blast out from the stage as the audience soaks in the sluggish, gargantuan riffs alongside the careful but bludgeoning drum fills, each hit more devastating than the last. Both Desmond and Shreibman’s low register, hymn vocals and ghostly shrieks create an almost ritualistic atmosphere, encompassing the mutual catharsis of despair.

Due to the nature of ‘Mirror Reaper’ being a continuous song, unless you’ve memorized most of the album, it can somewhat hard to anticipate when each section has ended. This leaves half of the audience desperate to yell and praise each offering, whilst the other half hiss and shush them, not wanting to be detached from Bell Witch’s hypnotic gaze.

Not to be completely overshadowed by ‘Mirror Reaper’, the second half of their set spills into material from ‘Four Phantoms’, shifting the mood from mournful to unparalleled misery.  Hearing segments of ‘Suffocation, a Drowning II’ in particular now feels like a fitting tribute to Guerra’s passing,  leaving the audience wanting more, but nonetheless a stellar end to a 45-minute set that feels profoundly life-changing in essence.

The band takes to the stage a little before 10pm. Frontman Schuylar Croom is wearing a black denim jacket with a He Is Legend patch emblazoned on the back, and there is an acid green streak in his hair. He declares London is the only city where he never has to ask the crowd to come closer, crooning “stay close London, this is gonna hurt.” Croom then turns his back on the crowd for an unexpected groovy little dance sequence that sets the tone for the rest of the evening.

One thing is for sure at this point, Croom is a man who knows how to use his hips.

Shedding his jacket just one track in, the band drops into fan favourite ‘Everyone I Know Has Fangs’, a sweaty sing-along heavy track from 2009 album ‘It Hates You’. Having opened with 2006’s ‘The Widow of Magnolia, it becomes apparent that despite ‘Few’ being released on April 28th, this is not a set that is going to celebrate the new record.

Despite playing to what is frankly, a less than sold-out crowd, substantially smaller than their initial venue – the band appears to be having the time of their lives. Croom is a force to behold. Essentially the rock version of Father John Misty, his sass laden performance is incredible.

Frontmen of the next generation take note, Croom is doing how it should be done. This isn’t the Topshop leather jacket kind of awfulness we’re subjected to so heavily nowadays, it is authentic and grimy and everything you want from a stage show.

A track from 2014’s ‘Heavy Fruit’, ‘Be Easy’ appears to transform the show from a heavy rock show into a dance party. It’s less of a mosh pit and more of a good time. Croom inexplicably lights a match mid song, and licks it out in one smooth motion – most surprisingly, without setting his beard on fire. He never stops moving, dancing his way through the breaks, supported by the high energy of the other band members, it doesn’t seem out of place. They are having a good time, and so are we.

The only song from the new record that makes this set is ‘Sand’, but it comes away as a crowd favourite. People are off their feet, and enthusiastic about the new material. The chorus is sung back en-masse, heads are banged, and hands are thrown in the air. The crowd’s response to ‘Sand’ begs the question, should there have been a few more tracks from ‘Few’ in this set?

Acting as the catalyst for crowd eruption, from this point, the show evolves (devolves?) from dance party to mosh chaos. ‘Mean Shadows’ sees fans storm the stage, with stage dives and security attempting (and failing) to take back microphone, which then cuts out. But even a null and void microphone can’t stop this, so the show goes on. Vocals are revived before ‘The Seduction’ begins, and the show rolls on to end in a sweaty mess with ‘I Am Hollywood’.

After the fact we see Schuylar sitting outside the stage door shirtless and lighting a cigarette. He is everything you want from a rockstar in 2017 – there is edge and chaos, and he oozes a kind of cool that is unachievable by most people. It’s the kind of post-coital visual that should exist after a proper ‘rock show’.

Manchester’s Pijn are the gentle ease in, the light up, those first few tokes. Wavering lap-guitar notes unsettle before rising like smoke into glossy clean lines. There’s an irresistible undercurrent of rhythm, building rimshots and bass hooks underpin the meditative, airy guitar layers. When it soars and begins to drive its classic post metal fare, calling on the spirits of Russian Circles and tonights headliners. It’s richly atmospheric stuff, shifting dynamically between the lilting and gentle and dramatic, tolling drones. Impressively focussed and undeniably uplifting, Pijn certainly prepare the way.

Conjurer bring that initial rush of intensity, the dawning realisation that your reality is altering, of just how fucked you are. Crushing doesn’t do the Rugby quartet’s set justice. Caught between breathless blastbeats and blistering riffs, they stride from snaking moments of respite and lucidity and towering passages of precision destruction. While older cuts like ‘Behold The Swine’ are just as raw and vital as ever, Dan Nightingale and Brady Deeprose howling and roaring their unbridled rage, it’s the newer material that elevates their set to truly staggering. They execute it with infectious levels of conviction and sorcerous energy, the more technical passages seeing them channel a heavier Death, and the moody, lighter instrumentals steering towards the shining waters of post. They leave the stage to uproarious appreciation, having set the bar unenviably high for those who follow. Their next release might see them cement themselves as the best UK death metal has to offer.

Next up, Ohhms capture that point where your mind is fully open – conspiracy theories, universal truths and the secrets of the cosmos are all accessible to you. The world clicks into focus, everything makes sense. They kick in with ‘The World’, a chugging, grooving mass of stoner-prog that showcases just how vital a listen to debut album ‘The Fool’ is as it moves through cascading drops and racing, uptempo runs. It’s surprising that they don’t take this opportunity to throw down some more new cuts, but instead indulge in a history lesson, taking the audience back to 2014 with a instrumentally dense, glacially majestic rendition of ‘Rise Of The Herbivore’ and a slightly stripped down (but no less powerful) ‘The Anchor’. There’s an unearthly, cosmic vibration to what Ohhms put on tonight, spacey guitar layers, ringing bass notes and deliberate, organic build ups placing them in the same realms as the likes of heyday Sleep – bluesy, soulful and more than a little sexy. Paul Waller belts out crooning cleans despite suffering a touch of laryngitis, and the Kent riffmongers acquit themselves admirably.

Croydon massive Slabdragger might be the perfect stoner party band. They’re the part of a trip where everything sounds ten times better, you’re ready to party, senses heightened. Yusuf Tary and Sam Thredder take to the stage dressed as Cheech and Chong respectively, acting up to the 420 vibe. They might not take the dress code seriously, but they sure as hell take their mighty riffs seriously. ‘Evacuate’ is absolutely rampant, an unstoppable, ripping ride that has Yusuf shrieking away like a scalded cat as Jack Newnham attempts to batter his kit unconscious (somehow not missing a beat despite wearing sunglasses inside on a pretty dark stage). Their bluesy licks and swagger are irresistible, and the good fucking time the trio have on stage radiates out like a cloud of potsmoke into the audience. ‘Mercenary Blues’ whirls you round the stratosphere with its constantly moving riffy lumber, smoothed out by Yusuf’s smooth, wailing cleans. Closing with an absolutely unstoppable ‘Dawncrusher Rising’ threatens to shake the venue apart, and there’s a smile on every face by the time Slabby D are done. A force of nature – one of the most exciting live bands in British music, not just British metal.

Headliners Bossk are a comedown – just not in the usual, negative sense. The gentle ease back to normality, the slightly tired, fuzzy headed final stop, the satisfied, relaxed calm. Sparkling, drifting labyrinths of guitars entwine and wrap around the venue, drifting to the roof like embers. A fluid undertow of bass is ever present, grounding things with big, ballsy hooks. What’s most noteworthy is how consummately professional Bossk are – while other bands may spend time chasing their own riffs, trying to pump up the crowd, the Kent gents are more than content to let their music do the talking. Solidly built, meticulously crafted layers run the gamut from moody shoegaze and indie influences straight through to towering, buzzing stoner rock. When Sam Marsh appears on stage to screech out into the void, it’s as another instrument, another part of the organic, effortlessly linked whole. They understandably favour material from long awaited debut ‘Audio Noir’, and it has a packed audience lapping it up. Arguably not as intense as some of the other bands on the bill, Bossk are no less capturing. A magnetic, undeniable presence.

It’s nights like tonight that reinforce the importance of labels like Holy Roar Records. A label comprised of ardent fans is something vital, and the fact that they were able to unite such an eclectic lineup is no small thing. For all in attendance, whether indulging in herb or not, one thing certainly tied them together – a truly historic night of holy riff.