Obey The Brave + Malevolence + Napoleon + Kublai Khan + Lock & Key @ The Oobleck, 9th April 2015
By 7:00pm the pool area at the custard factory was already pretty packed with black hoodies, skinny jeans and snap backs, colours on show were for the likes of Thy Art Is Murder, Astroid Boys, Deez Nuts, Sentenced and of course a selection of tonight’s lineup Obey The Brave, Malevolence and Lock & Key.
As we made our way into the Oobleck I did notice that the usual trend for a hardcore (or beatdown) shows to fill from the back and sides of the venue first with a complete absence of any die hard fans rushing in to cram against the barrier. I guess I’d see whether the pits for the evening would give good reason for this as the evening progressed. Anyone that’s ever been to a gig like this will know that one of the measures of a successful band is their ability to use their breakdowns to fill and cause chaos in the pit, so I’ll be giving a breakdown rating to give a feel for how each band did.
Local lads Lock & Key opened things up, beckoning the crowd to take two steps forward to fill the intentionally left void in front of the barrier. By the time they launched into The Legacy, their deliciously slow breakdowns drew out the hardcore dancers in the crowd for the first spin kicks of the evening. For me, their set peaked with So Alone, Rich Lardner introducing it as being about a disease that damn near killed him, its catchy riffs and slick vocals filling gaps between breakdowns brilliantly.
Breakdowns – 7/10
This being the first time that Texans Kublai Khan had brought their blend of politically and socially motivated metalcore to the UK, I was impressed at their ability to pull the crowd back from their smoke break around the pool outside the venue. As their first track finished, they wasted no time in making it clear that they stand up for what they believe in and that they speak up against things they don’t. Crowd interaction between songs was mostly used for expressing appreciation for the crowd coming out to see them and make them feel that their mammoth trip over from Texas for fifteen minutes of set time hadn’t been wasted. Blossom was dedicated to the Birmingham Straightedge and did its job in filling the pit. Musically, things were tight and Nolan Ashley’s angry vocals, while a little muffled, fit the bill. Looking forward to seeing these guys in the UK again soon.
Breakdowns – 6/10
As Napoleon were setting up and sound checking I caught a couple of snatches of electronic almost 8bit style samples, which I felt could either be really interesting or rather worrying.
As they kicked off, it took me a couple of minutes to realise that it was Wes Thompson on vocals, I’d obviously not kept up to date with my melodic hardcore news and lineup switcheroos as it was only reading up after the gig that I learned of his (pretty ugly) split with previous band Climates.
Unfortunately, Napoleon just didn’t seem to hit the mark for me, their whole sound just seemed a little confused, almost like a band experimenting to find their style — not something that you would necessarily expect from a band that’s been around since 2011. In addition to their overall sound there was also a huge amount of noise in the mix that was really apparent during the extended breaks between songs. I don’t think I was on my own, as there was little reaction for Napoleon from the thinned out crowd. Here’s hoping that things settle for them and they find their groove again with the current lineup.
Breakdowns – 2/10
There are few bands that can annihilate a venue like Malevolence. Whether it’s the type of fans that they attract, their stage presence, the quality of their live sound or just their absolutely filthy, deliberately sludgy breakdowns I don’t know, but whatever it is, crowds lose their minds (and often, significant amounts of blood). Their set was a good chunk of their album Reign Of Suffering along with a first airing of one new track, and while I didn’t catch the name, holy shit did it bring the heavy!
Malevolence don’t just solely rely on chuggy breakdowns though, there is a huge amount of technicality to their riffs, and Alex Taylor spits live lyrics with a level of venom that even exceeds what they laid down on their record — him barking “Through the lies I see the fucking truth (troof)” during Condemned To Misery was pretty much the highlight of the evening for me. This really is how it should be done.
Breakdowns – 10/10
Obey The Brave have been regular visitors to Birmingham almost since the release of their debut record Young Blood in 2012 and because of that I was surprised at just how few people had stuck around for their headline set. It sadly appeared that most people had been there for Malevolence and therefore the crowd had thinned out significantly but that didn’t seem to daunt the Canadians in any way, launching straight into Raise Your Voice, which saw their die hard fans crush against the barrier to sing back Alex Erian’s lyrics.
I’m not sure whether Obey The Brave do anything particularly groundbreaking with their strain of metal/hardcore or offer anything massively heavy in terms of breakdowns but what they do deliver is done incredibly well, smashing through track after track of grooving riffs, technical drumming and uncompromising vocals.
Breakdowns – 8/10
Based on their performances Malevolence and Obey The Brave certainly set themselves apart as leaders in their genre and were provided with back up from some great local talent and some promising international visitors. In all, despite a little inconsistency, another hugely successful evening of metal and hardcore for the Oobleck and Birmingham alike.
Review and Photographs: Steve Kilmister