HEIGHTS, HEART OF A COWARD, AGAINST THE FLOOD and BLACK POLARIS
CAMDEN BARFLY – 18/7/11
I was due to go to the Craufurd Arms near Milton Keynes but didn’t, so I decided to make up and go to the Camden Barfly the following day for the next instalment of the “Rep Your Threadz” tour. The band which attracted me the most was Heights, whose newly released album “Dead Ends” and preceding EP are just awesome. My research told me that there could be some other interesting Modern Metal interpretations from the other up and coming British bands on the bill here tonight.
This was a bit of a local event. All the bands here were broadly from within a 50 mile radius of London. It was a bargain too, costing between a fiver and eight quid, depending on where you bought your ticket. I like the Barfly. The pub downstairs has a nice atmosphere. Everyone gathered in readiness and happily in anticipation of the event. The floppy haired, befringed Hardcore brigade were strong in numbers as you would expect, and no-one looked over 20, except for yours truly of course.
Tonight we had four bands. Starting proceedings was Black Polaris whose members come from Royston and Biggleswade. Thirty or forty spectators gathered for the start of the set. In the first two or three minutes, the intent was clear. This was chunky, layered Death Metal with a strong technical edge and a great groove line. The sound quality at the Barfly was first class. Cleverly, there was no pause for breath in the first ten minutes as the Royswade posse tore through the intro and two further numbers, “Forget” and “Reflections”. The meaty output was fronted by an angelic-looking but threateningly deep growling vocalist. As he gave the crowd their orders, the lead guitarist performed his technical magic. A deep, thunderous sound ran under and over the surface. Energy poured out from all angles, supported now and then by delicate touches from the guitarist. The vocalist screamed to wake up any dead people who happened to be lying around. A Post Metal section intervened but got a bit lost in the noise. But this was good noise. Fast, standard Hardcore followed in the form of “Oracle”. The vocalist had a point to make to the reticent crowd: “I don’t like this space and I want you to fill it”. Rarely have I seen an opening band have such impact. Perhaps Black Polaris weren’t quite crossing the border of euphoria here but this was fast, lively, punchy and aggressive. “Oblivion” lost me a little bit in the structure. All the Hardcore motions were followed. Was it technical or wasn’t it? What was going on? But hey, why am I asking? Holes were being punched in the floor here. It’s great being part of that. And there’s maturity in the musicianship too. “Jump” commanded Angelface, and the crowd jumped to a point but there was enough here in this invigorating performance to tell me that this was going to be a lively evening. But it didn’t end there for Black Polaris, who finished with a bang, bang, bang. We were promised a surprise, and here it was – a Lady GaGa track “Love Game” (thanks for telling me what it was afterwards, guys). This was a bold idea and it worked. The consummate, thumping riffage was just what we wanted. We had heaviness, fluidity, mobility and the chance to test the floor boards. I spoke to the band members afterwards and they were impressed with the response. Well, I was impressed. Better still the crowd was impressed too.
Downstairs and outside in the rain while recovering from Black Polaris, I could hear the floor thumping above me. It was time to go back up and witness the next act, Against The Flood. There was a man in a white hoodie roaring his guts out for our pleasure, supported by some fearsome axemen. The man in the hoodie exhorted us to go crazy. But this band isn’t to be underestimated. The huge wall of sound held together well and was enhanced by some superb technical guitar work within the overall musical maelstrom. This was a collective effort. In amongst it we heard desperate appeals to the emotions within this loud and heavier than heavy framework. This was controlled noise. I looked around me and could see the violence was overpowering some at the back, who didn’t know what to make of this onslaught. Then, unannounced, the technical riffage and emotional outbursts would enter the huge, breathless soundscape. Mr Hoodie was a bit of a comedy act. His South London accent was so strong that I couldn’t get any of the track titles. But this was about Heavy Metal ambiance, not track titles. There was some moshing but Against the Flood weren’t getting the animation from the crowd that I felt it deserved. Everything was right. It was deathly heavy. Even the harmonies were good. But most of all this was the ideal musical accompaniment to having your face torn off. There was only one emotion to feel after listening to this – anger, just sheer anger. Against the Flood proved they are a very accomplished unit.
The deep bass and aggressive, chunky rhythms signalled the Modern Hardcore sound of Heart of a Coward from Milton Keynes. The skins were being hit hard. The band moved up and down in formation. This was the first time tonight that we heard clean Hardcore-style vocals – not very good, I’m afraid although they did get better during the set. “Shade” was announced and off we went into a fast groove line. This band’s music wasn’t as mature as the others. But there was plenty of support here for Heart of a Coward. The violence level within the audience went up by 150%, spurred on by yet another dynamic frontman and bagloads of energy. Thump, bang, mosh … this was the perfect motion for headbanging, punctuated by the odd pause for breath. “Break These Chains” was excellent. Screams, melody and motion like an unstoppable train characterized this song. There was a pleasing low-in-the-range sound throughout this set. But that musical train was generating action. “Break These Chains” was typically hard-hard-hitting and the frenzied headbanging went on to the end. “Keep this party up” declared the singer. “We Stand As One” followed. As ever it had a hunting rhythm but the crowd picked up on the anthemic nature of the track. A teasing melody in the middle gave the active members of the crowd the chance to get their breath back. The set finished with “Around A Girl in 80 Days”, another crowd-pleasing number. Some members of the crowd rushed the stage and enveloped the singer. A deep throaty section served as the prelude to the end of another highly charged and enjoyable set.
A banner was pulled across the stage. It advertised the band’s name and with a drinks company endorsement in the corner. The five band members looked undernourished but well scrubbed. They were ready to perform. The dry ice rose. We were plunged into resonant noise. The anthemic and menacing “We live alone and that’s how we die” was struck up. Heights had begun their set. Heights are different.
“Eye for an Eye” was a natural follow-up as it’s fast and heavy at the beginning. Some took the bait and moshed but the attempt to whip up the crowd didn’t succeed. The sound was too high in the mix to be effective. The drummer, bassist and one of the guitarists unobtrusively took control of the rhythm. The singer and the other guitarist took charge of audience interaction. The tall guitarist hung off the beam. The singer took the initiative and jumped into the crowd. It was rough out there. The drum pounded solidly meanwhile. The track developed majestically and apocalyptically. The singer continued to scream. Violent madness reigned out there. The singer was taking his life in his hands. He was ok. “We haven’t seen enough of this on this tour”, he commented approvingly.
Next up was the deeply-rhythmed “Forget”. The deliberate beat provided the edge, in fact a very sharp edge but the other element of this track is its resounding chorus, at least on the recorded version. Here the chorus lost its potency in the noisy mayhem. The lads of the band came forward to chant the chorus for us. It’s such a good track but the message didn’t seem to be getting across to the back of the room where many were presumably unaware of the band’s magnitude. I was pleased that the band reverted to a track from their debut EP, “The Land, The Ocean, The Distance”. The track in question was “Empires”. It was strong and big with its insistent beat and outerworldly Post Metal rhythm. It was a sheer delight. In fact in sound and ambiance it was uncannily like Cult of Luna, who I saw perform on this very stage some four or five years ago. The difference is that you don’t see Cult of Luna bouncing round the stage. The subtlety is there and after experiencing exotic mellowness, the track develops into a chanted anthem against a massive backdrop. This really was a case of scaling the heights. I liked the fact that rather than sticking to the basic formula of the recorded version, which sound balance apart, had been the case until now, the band indulged in few short moments of cool ambiance to close out the magnificent “Empires”.
At this point the singer made an announcement, telling us indirectly that there had been some issues in the band, stressing that there were no hard feelings and at the same time introducing us to the new bass player who had only played one song with them previously. Well, bravo the bass player and the band for making this transition so seamlessly cohesive. “Oceans”, another deliberate track with a hypnotic chorus, followed. It was once again loud and chaotic but I sensed control. The drum set out the clinical and threatening tone as we all shouted the key message of the song: “Is this where life begins”. This was ready made for audience participation. I did however notice weariness creeping in among the band. This wasn’t surprising as it was their umpteenth day on tour and the lads from Heights were giving it their all. Another Hardcore sing-song was announced with “The Lost and Alone”. The crowd at the front set about damaging the floor before it started. The majority at the back stayed put. All the bands tonight had vainly and good-humouredly sought to gain total audience participation. Even the 20 or so hardcore moshers seemed to be tiring. For “The Lost and Alone” the singer of Heart of a Coward came on to lend support and help arouse the crowd. Hardcore mayhem reigned on the one hand while on the other the drummer and bass player maintained the dark ambiance. This perfectly welded contrast is the strength of Heights. “The Lost and Alone” stopped to allow the singer time to organize the mosh circle. The atmosphere was wild. And then it stopped. There was a curfew and we had run out of time for the evening. The lead singer leapt into the crowd. He was in luck as he jumped in front of me. I was the first person tonight not to want to wrestle him into the ground. Instead I shook his sweaty hand, thanked him and commended him on his energy.
This was a brilliant evening. We were entertained here by four British Hardcore bands all peddling different styles and variations. Every band here tonight had loads of energy, personality, great audience relations, superb technical skill, anger, noise, fun and mayhem. The environment was excellent, I got trodden on twice and had a great fitness workout into the bargain. What more could anyone ask for? Yes, Britain’s Got Talent.
Andrew Doherty
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