Glamour Of The Kill + The Hype Theory + EofE + Ashes @ Queen’s Hall, Nuneaton, 5th March 2015
When this tour was announced the prospect of catching a band as established and as exciting as Glamour of the Kill playing an intimate rock club in north Warwickshire, for me, was too tempting to miss out on. Sadly, not many other seemed to share my view and the reality of this chilly Thursday night in Nuneaton was the kind of turnout so small that your toes curl in embarrassment for the bands playing. Nevertheless, there was still a rock show to be had and on it went.
Opening things up were Manchester fourpiece Ashes, who didn’t let the meagreness of the crowd put them off kicking off their set with admiral gusto. They offer a solid slab of metalcore with chunky riffing and some impressive clean vocals, while the addition of electro-tinged samples gives them an essence of Papa Roach – just with more shouting. They do seem to run out of steam towards the end of their set, but it’s hardly surprising given the low turnout and complete lack of an atmosphere in the room. Ashes certainly show potential and it would be good to see them again in a livelier setting.
Next up are Dudley’s EofE who this time last year were gathering new fans at a rate of knots thanks to an arena run supporting McBusted. Tonight’s atmosphere must have been something of a comedown, but after a somewhat stiff first number, the fivesome doesn’t seem to mind. EofE’s sound has shifted a little from what I remember hearing from them around the time they were mingling with pop stars, and they now seem more keen on a You Me At Six/Young Guns vibe, with big choruses and stomping guns, which is definitely a better offering for tonight’s hard rock bill. You can clearly see the effect of playing arenas on EofE, as their performance is incredibly tight. They can really sing too – it’s not difficult to see why they are marketable, and by the time they get to their final number they’ve really found their flow and have heads nodding around the room. After the year they’ve just had, it will be interesting to see their next move.
Direct support comes from London pop punkers The Hype Theory who, despite being a somewhat odd choice to complement tonight’s headliners, put on a fine showing full of energy, big hooks and big smiles. With synchronised bouncing from the off, along with with crowd singalongs and clapalongs galore, they do a grand job. Being a pop punk band with a woman singing, it might seem lazy of me to compare them to Tonight Alive and We Are The In Crowd, but it’s hard not to with The Hype Theory who clearly take a lot of influence from those acts and wear it proudly on their sleeves. They put on a show so full of boundless enthusiasm that it gives the impression they’re playing to 400 people rather than 40 and get a suitably hearty response as their reward. This five-piece really know how to put on a good show – catch them if you can.
Talk of putting on a good show seems like the ideal opportunity to turn to tonight’s headliners Glamour of the Kill, who look the class apart they are from the moment they take the stage. With a crowd funded EP and a real sense of energy behind them they look ready to take on the world and blast into their set with Out Of Control, If She Only Knew and Second Chance. While every band member is a fantastic musician and great performer, it’s front man Davey Richmond who steals the show, with great vocal skills, thundering bass lines and the stage presence of a real leader.
That’s no to say tonight is plain sailing; even a band as experienced and talented as GOTK can’t get over the elephant in the room that is the incredibly poor turnout (or maybe that should be the elephant that isn’t in the room) and there are a few awkward silences between songs, but the band doesn’t let it throw them off track.
They run through all of their recent EP, which sounds devilishly good live, as well as packing in plenty of cuts from the back catalogue, with Break, A Freak Like Me and Live For the Weekend all standing out.
But it’s final song Feeling Alive, the song that really broke GOTK, that truly sends the tiny crowd away singing and happy. GOTK deserve more than they got from Nuneaton tonight, but with more performances like this and hopefully a new album this autumn, it’s hard not to foresee far bigger crowds and far bigger venues on the horizon.
GOTK are a valuable piece of the current British metal scene and they always deliver – make sure you catch them on their next run.
Review and photographs: Dave Musson