Darkness falls on a freezing night in High Wycombe but it’s just about to start getting hotter in Wycombe Academy of Music and Arts as the scene gets set for some severely heavy metal. A loyal crowd are pumped for some ear piercing guitar riffs, dirty screaming and brutal mosh pits, and that’s exactly what they’re getting.
Opening up for the night is High Wycombe’s own, Honour In Ashes, who set the bar high for the night. Their first song gets a pretty impressive mosh pit started, that later bands struggle to achieve, and it’s obvious that this band already have a good following. High pitched guitar riffs and impressive vocals are pulled together by aggressive drum beats and that holds this crowd perfectly. The crowd are instructed to explode on the count of three, and it begs the question, do they really need instruction? They’re already going insane and the chanting just goes to show how much of an impact this band is already having. There is a very promising future for Honour In Ashes. With a bit of progression they can achieve amazing things.
One questionable cover of System of a Down’s Chop Suey later and Kieland Ridge present the crowd with a calmer set then the night is use to. The understated, much slower, aggression of this band conjures up nostalgic memories of a grunge period, supposedly lost decades ago, but this band may well bring it back.
For two bands this show marks the end of a mini tour across the UK. Decodes and The Art of Reason show more potential than most tonight and this tour may well be the start of something much bigger for both acts.
The Art of Reason’s increasingly perfect mix of rap and synth made for a fitting cover of Limp Bizkit’s Break Stuff, which shaped up to be the best cover of the night. This band are definitely on to something and it’s quite obvious that soon their going to hit that mark.
Decodes’ track, Nurturers and Murderers is a first-class progressive track which is entrancing live. A line-up reshuffle might have been just the thing this band needed to get them in the right direction and their upcoming EP is sure to be a masterpiece.
The most impressive vocals of the night are clearly displayed by Cascades whose lead singer is left breathless on more than one occasion, and no one is blaming him. Their change in musical direction since their line-up and name change has proved to be nothing less than a musical master stroke. Expect great things from this band.
Headliners, Limit The Dead, play no games in showing exactly who they are and what they’re here to do. Warnings of strobe lighting get the crowd buzzing for the long awaited climax of the night, and they did not disappoint their audience who are captivated from the word go. This melodic, heavy metal is the best way to wake up a crowd after an exhaustive night of head banging and the strobe lighting just helps that along!
Limit The Dead
http://www.myspace.com/limitthedead
Cascades
http://www.myspace.com/cascadesuk
Decodes
http://www.myspace.com/decodesuk
The Art of Reason
http://www.myspace.com/theartofreason
Kieland Ridge
http://www.myspace.com/kielandridge
Honour In Ashes
http://www.myspace.com/honourinashes93
Clear Shot
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001670915455
Hey- Thanks for the great review.
ReplyDeleteHonour in Ashes
http://www.myspace.com/honourinashes93