Live Review By Aaron Laight
Gallery Credit KK Live Photography.
Its 3:30pm on a Saturday afternoon and already the Metalhead community has started to descend on the O2 Academy in Birmingham (UK) for a night of pure metal from Carcass, Arch Enemy and Behemoth. Catching a glimpse of Nergal through the door to the VIP room certainly put a smile on my face and got me even more excited for the night ahead. My first time at this venue and I can’t find a fault with the venue, security or the people who run this event.
Unto Others take to the stage in a flurry of 80s goth nostalgia, despite being a relatively new band and were a definite surprise. I knew nothing of this band before tonight, but very impressed with these guys. Excellent songs, great delivery and a very entertaining watch.
Next up is the British extreme metal band Carcass, a band I haven’t seen live or even listened to before tonight. From the first beat the band fronted by Jeff Walker had the O2 right in the palm of their hands, fist bumping and even some cheesy clapping, but it worked, not losing the crowds attention once! Arch Enemy up next, a band I have seen before and was eagerly awaiting another dose. Opening their set with brand new single ‘Deceiver, Deceiver‘ the crowd went wild. It took a couple of songs for sound techs to sort out the levels unfortunately, as all you could hear was the drums, but once this was sorted, they hit all the right spots. The set consisted of awesome new material and some classics including ‘Nemesis,’ War Eternal‘ and ‘Ravenous.’ I could have stood for another hour watching this band blow the roof off the O2. Incredible performance and I look forward to them returning the UK again soon.
Finally, the time has come for the mighty Behemoth to take us all on a journey to the dark side. The intro begins and an enormous effigy of Nergal stares down a packed O2. Just before the curtain drops, we are treated to small glimpses of the Black Metal Icon with the help of a well-placed light. Not my first-time seeing Behemoth and being a big fan of the band and frontman Nergal, who I consider an inspiration on and off stage. I was not disappointed with a single moment in the set. We were treated to a chunk of material from the bands brand new album ‘Opvs Contra Natvram’ which was awesome. A particular highlight being ‘Off to War’ with a very fitting tribute to Ukraine. The set, the pyros, the makeup and outfits brought the whole show together and made for an unforgettable experience. Leaving me wanting more, I only wish I had got tickets to see them the following night in London.
The Fans
