Ill Nino + God Forbid + Exilia + Sanctorum @ Academy 2, Birmingham – 21st March 2009
Sanctorum started tonight’s metal bash off with some hard-hitting roaring thrash. For an opening act they got a really good reception from the crowd. There were a lot of heads nodding and impressed faces, and the occasional two-man mosh pit throughout their fast paced performance. Their intricate guitar solos were impressive and the vocal roars were cutting. However the melodies that were sung didn’t always fit with the pounding music. The drums and guitar riffs thumped and towards the end they got a few people head banging and dancing in time with the hair swinging on stage. They also got the crowd involved in raising their devil horns up high and the applause at the end of their set showed that they’d put on an impressive display. There were some problems with the sound at times such as a little too much reverb on the bass, added to this was the odd screeching sound from the speakers, which was uncomfortable to hear. However over all Sanctorum was a great opening band that set the standard and pace for the night ahead.
Next on were Italian four-piece Exilia. They started strongly with a pulsating heavy beat that the band moved to in unison. Long dreads were swinging furiously as an aggressive sound forced its way out. The vocals were raw but croaky for the majority of the set; and sometimes the vocals were drowned out by the reverb off the bass. However her vocals were powerful and did improve in strength as the set progressed. Exilia have great energy on stage and really know how to work the crowd, again devil horns were raised on request and heads nodded to their powerful beat. There was a good mix of talking, shouting and melody in the vocals that made for a more creative sound. However it was promised that they were going to play something heavier with the anti-Bush track ‘Kill Me’, it didn’t really materialise. Each song played was quite similar in style and they did lack variety. The music overall was tight and well performed and ‘Stop playing God’ was a definite stand out track with a more catchy melody.
It was obvious that next act God Forbid had a big following here tonight. The devil horns were raised as soon as they took to the stage and roars from the crowd rang out. The crowd were totally with them from the start and fists punched the air to the harsh beat. This band is brutal and this was reflected in the mosh pit that formed taking up a large chunk of this small venue. The aggressive guitars and beats coupled with the growls from Byron were pure thrash metal that was softened by some more melodic backing vocals with some occasional tuning problems. Lead vocals were sometimes drowned out towards the start of the set, but became dominant as their performance went on. They played a mixture of new songs off their latest album ‘Earthsblood’ such as ‘Walk Alone’ and ‘Empire of the Gun’ that got a good reaction from the crowd, but older track ‘Antihero’ was met with a roaring reception where devil horns and fists were raised at the almost flawless guitar riffs and solos. Byron spoke of their ‘real metal’ influences before they played ‘To the Fallen Hero’ inspired by the late Dimebag Darrell. The crowd sang along passionately to this one making it a great atmosphere to be in. Byron was a commanding front man throughout and the crowd completely obeyed every instruction from him. They finished with ‘The end of the world’ giving a last chance to move before their return in the summer. It was a powerful and aggressive performance that was probably worthy of a headlining spot.
It seemed to take an eternity for headliners Ill Nino to take to the stage. After the stage goes dark and roars emerge from the crowd, chanting erupts and still they do not appear. Finally they bound on stage and the mosh pit starts. Tracks such as ‘God Save us’, ‘This is War’ and ‘Te Amo…I hate you’ were hard hitting and turned most of the room into a manic mosh pit that only rested when the melodies in each song broke up the aggressive sound. Again another brutal force had taken over the Academy 2. The combination of Spanish and English lyrics creates a more extraordinary flavour to the band’s sound. The interesting Latino drums and guitars mixed with the metal riffs and screams make this band truly unique. The drums particularly stand out in their live performance, as they are more dominant than on the record. There is enough melodic singing in this band to create catchy sing-a-long tracks, but also an immense screaming that rips through. It is a good balance between extremes. Vocals were a little weak in the melody of ‘Corazon of Mine’, but I noticed that overall there was much improvement in their performance from when I saw them last year.
Their set list was more brutal and aggressive, leaving out the more ballad-like tracks; this meant the mosh pit was relentless throughout much to the approval of the band. Describing Birmingham as the home of metal, they realised that they don’t need to tell us how to behave at a metal gig. The energy amongst the crowd matched the pace of the music brilliantly, but it was manic and not for the faint hearted as bodies flew and crashed about the dance floor. Crowd favourites for the night were ‘liar’ and ‘How Can I Live’ and ending with ‘What Comes Around’ allowed the crowd to sing and mosh one last time. For the hardcore fans in the crowd, the set was an intense, hard-hitting and enjoyable spectacle that got them moving, singing and shouting constantly. For those not wanting to join the moshing, one eye was kept defensively on the pit while the other watched the dreads of front man Christian swing round the stage.
Two enjoyable performances were followed by two immense sets that created constant mosh pits. This gig was energetic, aggressive and quite intense.
Review – Karen Trenbirth
Photos – Helen Moss