Nothing More + SHVPES + In Search Of Sun @ Institute Temple, 5th December 2015
Oh, Metalcore. Melodic post-hardcore metallic rock metal melodical Corey Taylor core. A subgenre believed to have been dying on its arse for around a decade, over-populated by well-meaning bright young things who have every ingredient ready to go except for that one thing: identity.
Chugging riffs giving way to pretty intervals, double bass drums, thudding bass like a kick to the shins from a pair of industrial work boots, the singer effortlessly switching between satanic death growls and higher, piercing vocals then a clean actual singing voice for the time-honoured Great Big Chorus. At least one member can have a good go at male modelling and will be asked to stand closest to the camera in photoshoots, with irritatingly good hair. It all sounds good on paper, and when faced with it in a live setting all three bands in the Birmingham Institute’s Temple tonight bring the goods and set them alight.
Beginning with In Search of Sun, singer Adam Leader has moments resembling Tool’s Maynard James Keenan in his space-exploring emotional vulnerability. Infusions of melody and an ear for beautiful sonic horizons make for songs with just under a thousand interesting and alluring elements to pick out from each one.
Punchy but with a sense of considered sensitivity, and well-placed wit, In Search of Sun are a tasty prospect that could well make significant waves in the next few years.
Home-grown talent SHVPES are next. While the band are visibly having more fun than a nun in a skip full of rubber willies, with singer Griffin Dickinson proving impressively versatile, it is hard to shake the realisation that there are thousands of bands in these isles who can also play their instruments, write a few decent songs and deliver them with youthful gusto — but do they have individuality?
This is a question unlikely to be considered by tonight’s gatherers, with a frontal core of fans mirroring SHVPES’ energy back at them and everyone else awarding them rapturous applause. While it is easy to carp about a lack of freshness, the band easily has the talent in place to gradually develop this in due course. In the meantime, the scooping up of hearts and minds continues apace, with success.
Nothing More top off tonight’s bill, taking to the stage — then taking the stage, with We Are Not Machines — with an eerie, smiling confidence. The first impression is one of bigger stages being deserved, not least because the now-rammed room is now swaying to their beat.
Their attempts at more epic soundscapes fully connect and are executed with verve, although the vocals occasionally get lost inside the aural barrage. Smatterings of odd time signatures and memorably expressive, emotional guitar work contribute to a greater sense of flavour and, once again, identity.
With songs sounding hookier than Peter Hook playing hooky with Captain Hook and Abu Hamza, but still with a detailed depth and slightly proggy interest, this may be the last time Nothing More are confined to a smaller-capacity venue. On tonight’s evidence, the next stage of their career awaits them.
Review: James Stokes
Photograph: Steve Kilmister