Band: Alesana
Support: Glamour Of The Kill, iwrestledabearonce and We Came As Romans
Venue: Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
Date: 07/02/12
A chance to attend a metal show at such an intimate venue as Rescue Rooms in Nottingham was not one to be missed, this being aptly proven by the flocks of fans, poised and waiting, for the evenings event to begin. The atmosphere was truly electric from start to finish and the quality of the performances were more than equal to the enormous anticipation in the air.
York based outfit Glamour of the Kill had the task of setting things in motion and they did so in the best possible way, their blend of metal and glam proved to be the perfect way to kick off an evening of beautifully crafted music. The biggest applause of their set came in the form, unsurprisingly, of their critically acclaimed track ‘Feeling Alive’. Although only occupying the stage for a small amount of time they utililsed the spot with remarkable ease.
iwrestledabearonce were next on and the crowd were getting increasingly pumped up. Presenting an increasingly infamous cocktail of genres, ranging from metal to hillbilly rock, they absolutely owned the stage, with Krysta Cameron proving that the metal scene is undeniably not monopolised by persons in genetic possession of a Y chromosome. Right from the get go she had the crowd by the throat and didn’t let go until the last note of ‘Tastes Like Kevin Bacon’ stopped resonating around the venue.
The third support slot was filled, to the brim, with We Came as Romans. By the end of their opening track, ‘What I Wished I Never Had’, one thing was made abundantly clear, this hugely talented band were born to play live. Smashing their way through their setlist with a massive stage presence and an even more massive sound, David Stephens and his bandmates definitely meant business. The highlight of the set coming in the form of ‘Roads That Don’t End And Views That Never Cease’ with it’s beautifully crafted vocal melodies, courtesy of Kyle Pavone, mixed seamlessly with the unclean vocal assault from David Stephens. ‘Mis//Understanding’, the lead single from their 2011 album ‘Understanding What We’ve Grown To Be’ proved to be a stalwart crowd pleaser once again and was ingeniously placed mid-set for best effect.
With headliners Alesana all that was left in this metalfest, and after close on three hours of moshing you might have thought the crowd would be starting to wain slightly, this however was so far from the truth that it may have well been a dot on a distant horizon. The crowd, at this point, were insatiable but their appetites were about to be destroyed by a set that would probably make the weak of heart cease to be. Alesana brought their ‘A game’ with them for this gig and it was absolutely appreciated by the gathering of fans here. Blitzing their way through a very impressive and refined set comprising of a mix of songs from their last two albums. The stand out song of their set was without a doubt their encore, as Shawn Milke and Dennis Lee worked their way through ‘Annabel’ in perfect contrast to one another’s vocal talents and provided a very suitable end to the evening.
All the bands on show at this gig offer a glimpse into the future of the metal scene, not allowing themselves to be pigeonholed into any one specific genre is the goal of most bands touring at the moment and all four bands this evening showed, without a doubt, that fighting against genre stereotypes is a fight they will do anything to win.
Reviewer: Adam Frost
