SikTh + Heart Of A Coward + Idiom @ O2 Academy 2 Birmingham – 9th November 2014
In 2008 progressive metal/mathcore outfit SikTh announced, that after the departure of their frontmen Justin Hill and Mikee Goodman, they would be calling it a day. Since then there have been many requests for a re-union with the band always maintaining they would get back together ‘when the time is right.’ At the end of 2013 SikTh announced they would be headlining the Red Bull stage at Download Festival 2014, clearly the time had arrived. Their appearance at DonningtonPark was the first of a number of festival appearances and they have now hit the road with the Download Freezes Over tour. Tonight sees them return to a Birmingham stage for the first time in eight years and with Heart Of A Coward and Idiom on the bill too, it promised to be a good night.
Upon entering the venue I was fully expecting to be stopped and asked to leave due to my lack of facial hair, but thankfully I was granted entry and so found my way to the barrier to watch the show, in amongst the beards. I was quite shocked at the number of people already in the venue, as with the November weather living up to the name of the tour I expected people to arrive just in time for SikTh; but first band on, Idiom, would be playing to a more than substantial sized crowd. With vocalist, Matt Sharland jumping a good three foot into the air before a six foot fall into the pit, it was clear these Exeter lads had certainly had their Weetabix this morning. A longer than expected set from Idiom but an enjoyable one, with a cover of Too Close by Alex Clare, and Sharland clambering into the crowd for their last song to ensure maximum engagement with their audience.
Opening with Shade, Heart Of A Coward quickly proved they were the heaviest band on the bill and were proud of it. The band were welcomed by several hundred banging heads and a few pre-existing fans screaming their lyrics back at them, but by the end of track three, Distance featuring Justin Hill of SikTh, the whole room was captivated by the powerhouse that is Jamie Graham; be it cleans or screams, Graham nailed all of them. The band’s request for a circle pit went down like a lead balloon, but the room of tech heads were never going to comply, they might have got beer in their beards. Tracks seven and eight were undoubtedly their most well known with the entire room transfixed on the quintet and willingly partaking with the sing-along line, “I don’t give a fuck,” in Deadweight. With a shoot-out going to SikTh and Idiom before finishing their last song, the crowd were left in high spirits and so were the band. Syncopated pedal/guitar patterns, impressive vocal ability and complex yet heavy tracks all made for a top set from Heart Of A Coward.
With the wait for SikTh’s set being about thirty minutes the anticipation levels were high, eight years and thirty minutes is a long time to wait to see one of your favourite bands and this crowd could not wait any longer. Bursting straight into Bland Street Bloom, SikTh had set their bar very high, but with every track being as tight as the last, they were never going slip under it. As this was my first time seeing SikTh I had no preconceptions, but any that I could’ve had would have been blown out of the water. The dual vocal attack of Justin Hill and Mikee Goodman makes their music stand out and this shows through even more in a live setting. By track four the previously mentioned ‘tech heads’ had clearly all finished their pints as the request for a circle pit was welcomed with open arms. When Will The Forest Speak? sees Goodman take on an a capella monologue-esque set of lyrics that he delivers in several different styles. Was I interested? Yes. Did I feel like I was at a poetry recital? Also, yes; experimental metal, ladies and gentlemen.
Peep Show, a more mellow side to SikTh, is performed by Hill, with Goodman off stage; a great opportunity for Hill to boast his vocal abilities for a while without his overpowering partner by his side. Upon Goodman’s return however, the pace is instantly picked back up. Personally for me, the reason the dual vocalists work so well is due to Hill being the better vocalist and Goodman providing the showmanship that a good frontman needs; without each other it just wouldn’t work. What surprises me most about SikTh is that despite sounding like the love child of Every Time I Die, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Periphery, they still manage to incorporate breakdowns that are heavy enough to rip your face off, Suffice being a prime example. As the sextet left the stage for a short break, chants of ‘SikTh’ were heard from the crowd. They came back out armed with Pussyfoot and Skies Of Millennium Night. The latter was clearly the favourite among fans, with the band getting the every line of the lyrics screamed back at them. As the last few notes ring out, the band are smiling from ear to ear, and so they should be. SikTh are back and are very much here to stay.
SikTh Set List:
Bland Street Bloom
Part of the Friction
Hold My Finger
Scent of the Obscene
Flogging the Horses
When Will the Forest Speak…?
Wait for Something Wild
Peep Show
SanguineSeas of Bigotry
Another Sinking Ship
Suffice
Encore:
Pussyfoot
Skies of Millennium Night
Review: Dan Wilson
Birmingham stage photograph courtesy of Tom Russell/SikTh (official)