Every Time I Die - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, 15/11/17

You know the last gig review I did? Where I said I hadn't been to a gig in a long time? Yeah, well, that's been quickly rectified. This show was my second show in 2 days, and who better to spend that time with than Every Time I Die and their their loyal cult of Etidiots. Little bit of personal backstory; Every Time I Die are my favourite band of all time, and have been for well over 10 years. The first time I heard about them was by attending a My Chemical Romance show in Wolverhampton, and they were they main support. Up until that day, I hadn't heard anything that made me feel or react the way their set did. The next day I went to my local HMV in Tamworth (RIP) and bought a copy of Gutter Phenomenon, and the rest is history. I went on to track down the rest of their back catalogue, as well as buy every new record when it comes out. I used to listen to the songs and read the lyric booklet to ensure I had all of Keith Buckley's cryptic, sarcastic and intricate words memorised. More importantly, though, every time they come over to our shores I make sure I attend at least one date on the tour. I've lost count of how many times I've seen them, I just know it's a lot. Which brings me to this show. And I was excited.

Higher Power

Opening the show was Higher Power, a band who I've heard of but never listened to. I made an assumption that they would be a hardcore band, and I was sort of right. Musically they sounded like old school metal with a modern hardcore feel. Even the guitar tone was similar to old Metallica records, which gave the thick chordy riffs an even more classic feel. The vocals were completely unexpected, though. I guess nowadays you just expect new bands in this scene to have a screamer as a vocalist. This was the opposite; none at all. I didn't latch onto it straight away, and found it kind of difficult to get my head around at first. By the time their set had ended, though, they had completely won me over. I was appreciatively nodding along to every riff, scrunching my face at all the dirty bits. It was great. This is exactly the kind of band I expect the boys to bring on tour. Something a little bit different.

Knocked Loose

Next up was the main support, Knocked Loose. These guys have been rapidly developing a fan base both in this country and in their homeland of the USA, and for good reason. They're unique. I joined the party fashionably late, only getting into their most recent release Laugh Tracks a couple of months ago, but now I'm at the party I don't want to leave. 11 tracks of heavy, sludgy, unrelenting noise. I was so intrigued to see if they could pull it off live, and unsurprisingly, they did. In places it was like watching them record the album. Highlights of the set for me were the obnoxiously heavy Oblivions Peak and single Billy No Mates. But I've got to give a special mention to No Thanks going straight into the minute long moshfest that is Counting Worms, complete with loud and enthusiastic barking from the crowd. If that didn't warm the crowd up for the oncoming storm, I don't know what would.

Every Time I Die. Photography by Ryan Winstanley

And so, it's time. The boys. Every Time I Die took the stage. Before I go on talking about their set, it's worth noting a few things. Jordan Buckley (guitar) broke his foot the previous night, but still walked out on stage with a special boot-cast. Their drummer Dan Davison left a couple of months ago, and had been replaced on this run by Norma Jean's drummer affectionately referred to as Goose. Keith also took a moment to let us know that the zipper on his jeans had broken, which although wasn't as serious as the issues previously mentioned, was still an issue. Amidst a wall of feedback and guitar wails, they launched straight into No Son Of Mine without warning. The room erupted with approval; a pit opened up before the first chord had finished and hordes of people were spitting the lyrics straight back at the stage (myself included). They then began playing Floater, another big favourite amongst fans, and the pit just got bigger and wilder. The chaos had already begun.

Every Time I Die. Photography by Ryan Winstanley

They continued to storm through a mixture of both new and old material stretching all over their back catalogue. From the recent belter with a hilarious video I Didn't Want To Join Your Stupid Cult Anyway all the way back to old mosh-tastic Romeo A Go-Go, the latter of which I'd never seen them perform before. Crowd favourites Bored Stiff and Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space went down an absolute storm, with every single guitar note hitting like a ton of bricks, and lighter more party anthem-like tracks We'rewolf and The New Black almost echoed through the venue due to the number of people singing along. They may have been injured, and they may have had some line-up complications, but this was possibly the tightest I've ever seen them. Jordan was still running about and jumping around like his foot wasn't in a cast at all, Goose was faultless behind the kit, and Keith's zipper didn't cause him too many issues. They closed the set with the opener of Low Teens, the heavy and crushing Fear and Trembling. A weighty, wall of noise to bring a chaotic night to an end. I was left speechless. So was most of the crowd. Their longest set I've ever seen, and also their best. They didn't disappoint. But, to be honest, they never do.

The tour left the country for the second time a couple of days back, and now they have the legendary Comeback Kid along for the ride too. If you managed to get to a show, you know how mind blowingly good it was. If you didn't, trust me, you NEED to see these guys in the future. There's no show like an Every Time I Die show.

D.S

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Comeback Kid - Outsider

Comeback Kid are one of the most important bands in their genre to have come out of Canada. Alongside Alexisonfire, Cancer Bats, Silverstein to name a few, Comeback Kid are a band who have become both masters and pioneers of the punk/hardcore scene, and have paved the way and inspired countless bands that have followed them. Or so I'm told. Personally, I haven't listened to them much at all. I've always seen so much hype around them, and I've seen people that are into them REALLY praise the band. I, for some reason, just never really got round to giving them a spin. So I thought it was about time I paid them some attention. What better time to do it than for their newest release?

I sort of knew what to expect. Sort of. The only other album I'd listened to was Wake The Dead which came out 12 years ago. Aggressive, fast, heavy in places, polished hardcore. Bands can change a lot in that amount of time, but I assumed that they wouldn't have changed the formula too much, just honed in on what they were good at and made it better. And that, from my perspective, is exactly what they've done. Right from the opening title track "Outsider", they begin to warm you up for what's to come. A punky, tasteful and gradual build, transitioning into a fast paced and snare driven verse with Andrew Neufield (vocals) snarling his vocals right in your face, followed by an anger filled fist bumping chorus. The vocals are an enormous improvement on what I'd previously heard, full of venom and anger, expertly delivered. The second song "Surrender Control" followed suit, and it blew me away. An absolute powerhouse of a track. The verse riff is a meaty slice of hardcore, impossible not to bang your head to, and it explodes into a huge chorus complete with gang chants and an immediately memorable hook. Two tracks in, and I'm already excited for the rest of the album. The third track, though, presented me with an unexpected surprise.

The first of the guest spots was on this track, the first single that was streamed, titled "Absolute". And the guest vocals came from the legend that is Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad, The Devin Townsend Project, general musical genius). A guest spot that I didn't expect to hear on a hardcore record at all, but a welcome one. And it fits. It fits so well. The track out of nowhere gets slow and sludgy, and Devin's vocals creep in alongside Neufields. It adds an eerie feel to the track, and completely adds to the overall impact. All of the tracks that follow are all unique and stand out in their own way, but all sound like they belong together on this album. The fast paced hardcore riffing and soaring choruses of "Somewhere Somehow", the whirlwind of thrash on "Livid, I'm Prime", the Gojira esque groove and all out mosh fest that is "I'll Be That". Album closer "Moment In Time" is a musical journey through everything you've just listened to, starting off gentle and soothing you into thinking it's a ballad. That is, until it all of a sudden explodes into blistering guitar tones, pounding drums and vicious vocals, before slowing right back down again to give you a bit of recovery time. But it leaves you hungry for more. It makes you want to listen again. Outsider explores every corner of the genre and isn't afraid to draw inspiration from outside of it, and weaves it all together to create an absolute belter of an album.

If you haven't listened to Comeback Kid before, this is the perfect album to start with. It has everything. If you're a hardcore fan, you'll love it. If you're a punk fan, you'll love it. If you're a metal fan, you'll love it. If Stick To Your Guns, A Day To Remember and Hatebreed somehow managed to have a baby, Comeback Kid would be that baby. Although I think in some of those cases Comeback Kid actually came first, so that doesn't really work. But you get what I mean.

I've been more impressed by this album than I thought I was going to be, and it's been a welcome surprise. It's without doubt going to be regularly listened to over the course of the month. The album came out on September 8th (at time of post, yesterday), and you can find it on iTunes, Spotify, Deezer and everywhere else you can think of. You can probably grab it in stores like HMV too if you want to cop a physical copy. 

Also, if they play anywhere near you, grab a ticket.

I'll see you in the pit.

Maybe.

I'm getting on a bit and I'm a lot more afraid of flailing limbs than I used to be.

Maybe just see you at the bar. If you buy a drink.

I guess you might not need to if you don't get thirsty.

Erm.

I'll just see you there I guess.

D.S

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