Live Review

Kerrang! Tour 2013 – Brixton Academy, London

• 19th Feb 2013

Kerrang! Tour 2013 – Brixton Academy, Friday 15th February.

The Kerrang! Tour is always something to look forward to. Coming in the early quarter of each year, it gives the magazine’s readers something to do between the Christmas and mid-term period. And, always consisting of acts that the readers want, there’s no reason why this tour shouldn’t be a success – the 2013 edition was no different.

Kicking off with a brief DJ set from William Control of Aiden fame, the night really started when British act Fearless Vampire Killers took to the stage. While not widely known outside of Kerrang! subscribers, the alt-goth guys got stuff going with tremendous pace. Fan favourites such as Bow Ties On Dead Guys and Palace In Flames made appearances, while the relatively new track Death Or Disgrace was a nice treat.

The next support act was Tonight Alive, a girl fronted pop-punk outfit from Australia. While comparisons are always going to be made, they do come across reminiscent of early Paramore, and may be the next pop-punk band to make major waves in the scene. Their blistering set opened with Breaking And Entering, seeing front woman Jenna McDougall fist pumping and jumping around the stage, all to the crowds delight. Slower song Amelia brought out the lighters and mobile phone lights brought the crowd to its knees, while their final songs What Are You So Scared Of and Listening brought the pace right back up.

Probably the most shocking add to the bill was the final support, Chiodos. A post-hardcore band from Michigan only recently reunited with their original vocalist, Craig Owens, after a rather inharmonious split in 2009. Still, they’ve made amends, which is for the better. The band sound great live, and Owens’ voice need to be heard to be believed. Carelessly flowing between elegant vocals and thunderous screams, the band put on a show that could make the headliners worried. Songs from their first 2 records appeared throughout the set, standouts being A Letter From Janelle, Is It Progression… and There’s No Penguins In Alaska. It is also important to mention the appearance of Thermacare – a song the band wrote before their split. Will it appear on the new record? Hopefully, as it was a banger.

But, regardless of how great everything was beforehand, the crowd were here for one reason only – Black Veil Brides. The band who you either Love, Hate or Love to Hate made their first UK appearance since the release of their most recent record, Wretched and Divine. And the Brixton crowd were vying for the chance to scream as they saw their idols. And they didn’t disappoint.

Opening with pyrotechnics and their album opener I Am Bulletproof, the band maintained this high octane performance that they are known for. Rarely straying from their new material, apart from lead singles, didn’t seem to mind the crowd. The older songs which made appearances included The Legacy, Fallen Angels and Perfect Weapon. Other tracks were Resurrect The Sun and Shadows Die, which saw William Control join BVB on stage momentarily. The encore consisted of their current single, In The End, and with a burst of confetti, the Kerrang! Tour was over.

An honourable mention should be made to the man behind the sound desk for playing Taylor Swift and Carly Rae Jepsen between acts – they somehow got the crow singing along louder than the did to some of the acts. Other than this, it is easy to see the demand a concert like this has on the younger generation. Kids that don’t listen to what gets general play on radio and in television need a place to hang out and enjoy themselves with others who feel the same – the Kerrang! Tour is the opportune place for this to be.

Venue: Brixton Academy, London
Support Band: Black Veil Brides, Chiodos, Tonight Alive, Fearless Vampire Killers, William Control