Live Review

AxeWound – Camden Underworld, London

• 9th Oct 2012

My third venue experience in London and at last, one I’m familiar with – The Camden UNDERWORLD. Fitting name for a venue that you have to walk down stairs to get to, and down further stairs to the actual stage floor; adding to the type of darkness you find in a Hollister store. I definitely felt like I was walking into hell (in a good way).

Up first and the only support act, were local THE SMOKING HEARTS. The excitement began when the lead singer appeared on stage. He had a type of stage arrogance that was well deserved. Posing for pictures mid song, sipping his beer when he got the chance and swinging his mic, Ben Mills was everything you wanted in a front man, including the ability to sing. It was hard not to notice bassist Calvin Roffey, lifting his bass into the air, head banging and screaming backing vocals, and with his long black hair, it was becoming a whirlwind of a performance. The incredible riffs coming from guitarists Nobba Green and Simon Barker, and combined with drummer Matty Taylor’s insane speed, they were really creating an atmosphere for the night ahead. Before this, I had never seen the Londoners live and I was becoming increasingly impressed with each song. The crowd seemed reluctant to get involved in the band’s effort to include them experience, but I wasn’t sure if this was due to them wanting the main act, not liking The Smoking Hearts or just simply they weren’t familiar with the band. Either way this is a band I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on. Their second album ‘Victory’ is available now.

The main event the crowd had been waiting for, the first London performance of AXEWOUND. If you didn’t know already, this band is made up of members from Cancer Bats, Bullet For My Valentine, Glamour Of The Kill, Rise To Remain and Pitchshifter. Now I am a massive Cancer Bats fan, so only just discovering that Liam Cormier is the lead vocalist, I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed in his performance. Within seconds of members taking the stage, every inch of the floor was filled and for a shorty like me, I couldn’t see a thing. You can expect the already massive fan base this British/Canadian band was going to have and it was pretty obvious from circle pits that filled the entire floor, the repeated crowd surfing to the point a light got kicked out and almost every member of the audience having their devil horns in the air. The super group ruined the stage, in addition to fans of all members screaming for the band they came from. The ridiculous guitar riffs gave fuel to yet more giant circle pits that even I couldn’t escape. There’s an indistinct reason that the metalcore band had sell out shows all over the country, even if we ignore the reputation of each member, this is a band who know what to do. AxeWound are not my cup of tea, but then I could appreciate the ear-drum shattering performance. The new album ‘Vultures’ is out now.