The first of the two bands to play this event were Japanese five-piece Coldrain. Their style is typical of the post-hardcore genre, with a mixture of melodic clean vocals, and harsh unclean screams, which could be seen straight away in their performance. The crowd were instantly engaged by their good stage presence, and talent. Both the clean, and unclean vocals from frontman Masato were consistently strong, as well as the instrumental from the rest of the band. The small crowd of only 200 loved them, and there was great energy and enthusiasm from the audience members, which is unusual to see during a supporting band’s set. They were certainly successful in getting the crowd warmed up and ready for the rest of the evening, and they left a great atmosphere behind them. They’re definitely a band worth checking out when they return to the UK in June, to play Download Festival.
After a short break, Chiodos entered to a screaming crowd, opening with their hugely popular song Thermacare, which vocalist Craig Owens used to perform with his old band, D.R.U.G.S. Chiodos could not have chosen a better opening song to play, as the crowd jumped right in, with a huge moshpit. The tiny venue allowed for their performance to be very intimate, and at one point, Owens even stood on the crowd, touching the ceiling. The band invited crowd members to crowd surf, and stage dive, and their wishes weren’t ignored. As well as playing some of their older material, Chiodos also performed two songs from their new album, Devil, Ole Fishlips Is Dead Now, and Behvis Bullock. These songs went down really well with the audience, and generated a lot of hype for the new record.
To close their set, the band played If I Cut My Hair, Hawaii Will Sink, which the audience adored. There were crowd surfers, stage divers, and powerful performances from the entire band. With thundering guitar riffs, and a mixture of both clean and unclean vocals, the audience members were left chanting for an encore. After one last song, Chiodos left the stage, with the crowd still roaring.
They put on a hugely energetic set, and really engaged with the crowd. Between songs, the guys cracked jokes, making the show fun, even in the gaps between the songs. They even brought out a cake at one point, for the guitarist Thomas Erak, to celebrate his birthday. The intimate venue made for great band/ audience interaction, and the atmosphere was buzzing throughout the entire set. Chiodos’ performance in itself was phenomenal, as every member of the band has great talent, and they worked together flawlessly, making for a hugely enjoyable set.
Despite this being a one-off show, Chiodos have promised to come back to the UK soon, so keep your eyes peeled for tour dates.
9/10
Chiodos: Website|Facebook|Twitter
