The heat in Folkestone’s Leas Cliff Hall is pretty unbearable this evening. The air feels thick; the perspiration shining on everyone’s skin feels like it’s seeping from the very walls. It’s not pleasant but hasn’t deterred a sizeable crowd from turning up for the penultimate date of Trivium’s Goblins and Wizards tour. It’s not surprising, given how rarely heavy metal descends upon the South East and, with three bludgeoning acts on the bill, might even be worth the sweat I can feel breaking from every pore.
Swedish foursome Orbit Culture open proceedings with a pummelling assault on the ears. Silhouetted in semi-darkness, the brutal use of the double bass pedal married with strobe lighting means this band look almost as forbidding as they sound. The thrash fast ‘Alienated’ generates the first real circle pit of the evening; even those of us too sensible (or too boring?!) to participate turn around to watch. Surely metal is the only genre where the audience is almost as fascinating to watch as the band? The wall of death that accompanies the commanding ‘Vultures of North’ with its relentless rhythmic pulse is similarly a sight to behold.
Bleed From Within produce a mighty racket shot through with moments of melody, courtesy of guitarist and clean vocalist Steven Jones. ‘Levitate’ even generates a bit of a singalong with something resembling a chorus. But it’s frontman Scott Kennedy I struggle to take my eyes from, his incredible energy not diminished by the rising temperature. He launches himself into the crowd as ‘The End of All We Know’ concludes and is held aloft by the worshipping throng. Judging by the number of t-shirts in the audience this evening, these Glaswegians have quite the following. Admittedly, I’m not sure metalcore is really for me but there’s no arguing with the performance.
