King 810 + Hang The Bastard + Astroid Boys @ Academy 2 Birmingham – 25 September 2014
There’s no doubt that the world of Metal has certainly been stirred up by the arrival of King 810. For good or for bad, heading out on the road with the likes of Slipknot and Korn, their allegedly chequered pasts and the violent reputation of their hometown of Flint has attracted a huge amount of attention and has also been used as a prominent marketing tool. Being as intrigued as the rest of the music world, Birmingham Live! headed over to the Academy 2 to take a look for ourselves and to see whether their music was ready to speak for itself.
In a rather interesting lineup choice, the evening was kicked off by Astroid Boys, a hip-hop outfit from Cardiff. Despite being a member down (custodial sentences do get in the way sometimes), they attempted to get the sparse Academy crowd moving but unfortunately, it seems that only a handful of pre-existing fans were willing.
If Black, Doom and Groove Metal were involved in a brutal head-on collision, Hang The Bastard would crawl out of the smoking wreckage. Hot on the heels of the release of their most recent release, Sex In The Seventh Circle, the West Londoners demonstrated with their riff laden noise that it won’t be long before they’re headlining rooms of their own.
However, despite a really solid set from HTB, it did seem that many were present for one reason only and that was to weigh and measure King 810, this was demonstrated further by a last-minute influx to the evening’s crowd just prior to their arrival. It was also apparent that the now renowned armed entourage that usually share the stage with King 810 appeared to be missing, as was their usual police-tape cordon separating them from the audience.
As King 810 hit the stage, their opening, vicious rendition of Killem All immediately demonstrated their intent and made a clear statement that the music that sits at the heart of what they do belongs in a live setting. Smashing out riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place if they were surrounded by Rammstein style pyrotechnics, and fronted by David Gunn who’s presence seems to exude a barely contained maniacal rage as he spits lyrics that convey a view into life in their hometown of Flint, things were off to a good start. The tempo was maintained as they tore into Best Night Of My Life and Murder Murder Murder, spurring a crowd reaction that proves they already have an international following.
The set list came exclusively from their debut Memoirs Of Murderer, which is a rollercoaster insight into the mind of David Gunn and his ‘family’ from Flint. The record interleaves brutal, noise filled tracks with intense spoken word pieces and it’s the latter that may have lost the audience this evening. While flawlessly delivered from a center spotlight, and personally appreciated, Anatomy 1:2 followed up by Take It and State of Nature seemed to leave the room flat. It certainly wasn’t left that way for long though with the crowd being re-conquered as the tempo picked back up.
The band left the stage after War Outside, to be replaced by a whirling gold-glad figure that neither I nor anyone around me in the crowd could figure out. It was quickly forgotten though as King 810 exploded back onto the stage with front man Gunn shirtless and caked in dirt for their final track Fat Around The Heart.
There is no doubt that music communities have been divided by the arrival of King 810, but based on their debut and their performance tonight I’m excited that they are around and for the potential that they have clearly demonstrated. I can only hope that they consider consigning their more artistic elements to just their records and focus on what works best for them in a live environment, and also do us (and themselves) the service of allowing their music to convey their character rather than using gimmicks that ultimately dilute what it is they are trying to do.
One thing is for sure, baring incarceration or worse, the next time these guys are in town it will be in a room much bigger than tonight.
King 810 setlist:
Killem All
Best Night Of My Life
Murder Murder Murder
Treading & Trodden
Desperate Lovers
Boogeymen
Anatomy 1:2
Take It
State Of Nature
Write About Us
War Outside
Fat Around The Heart
Photographs and Review – Steve Kilmister