Resolve // Cane Hill // Acres // Half Me // The ‘Human EU/UK Tour’ // Live Review // The Key Club // Leeds
One day I was just letting youtube do its autoplay thing. Then on came this track…it had rap…a cool beat…sick vocals. It was “Older Days” vocal performance by Resolve featuring Paleface Swiss and Ten56. After going down the rabbit hole, I found yet another band injecting some much needed modern interpretations to metal. So, you can bet your ass that as soon as I saw they announced a UK tour- I was there begging to be given a press pass. And that, my friends, is how we found ourselves in Leeds.
Half Me are a German metalcore band. They came on with good energy to get the crowd warmed up for the night. The band had some great crowd interaction going on and many of the crowd were receptive too. With how much the band moved around, it made the stage feel so much smaller. Each band member seemed to be taking some responsibility for the engagement of the crowd with both sides moshing or getting close to the edge of the stage, which is great to see (especially with the band being new to the UK). The only downside was the horrid lighting. That’s not on the band though- unfortunately, Key Club isn’t known for its spectacular stage design. Don’t even get me started on the layout of the venue. ANYWAY.
Being the opener is never an easy feat, especially on a weekday when most of the fans will turn up just before the headliner. The band did great with what they had. The room was about half full when this band was on, some people filtering slowly into the venue as the minutes passed. It’s a shame many of the crowd tonight would’ve missed this opener. Their musicality spoke for them and the vocals were delivered with a great roughness round the edges that made it feel raw. The beatdowns and riffs were solid too, you can’t help but mosh your head violently with a look of disgust and amazement on your face.
Acres are a UK metalcore band. My first time seeing them was when they supported Dayseeker last year. Even back then, I remember witnessing first hand the die hard fan base the band has that I can’t help but admire the grafting they’ve done. It’s surprising they aren’t further up the list of iconic British bands of this generation yet. Everytime I see them, they deliver clean performances and the vocalist has a great energy about him that makes him a perfect frontman. The way he roams the stage confidently just draws you in and makes you have all eyes on him.
Each of the members always go hard when they perform. This translates back to their fans below who match that energy and gather closer to the stage. With the space the band have, there isn’t much they can do but, they don’t let it hold them back. There were definitely fans here specifically for them, I could see a Dayseeker hoodie within the crowd- no doubt they discovered the band during that tour. I can only imagine how many more die hard fans they’ll have brought in tonight. The crowd was getting busier during their set and I could see people popping to the merch stand just as they finished with an orderly queue forming.
Cane Hill are an American born 4-piece metalcore band. Immediately you’re struck with the raw vocals and screams, that hit you right in the gut and those goddamn fry screams were brutal. Finally after two bands were forced to wrestle with the worst lighting known to man, we could see the faces of the band on stage. They got into their set with “Kill Me” and man…the crowd were here for it.
The band seem to have been awaited in the UK for a while. The crowd almost doubled in size and everyone was packed to the stage even before they came on. The crowd clearly excited for the new material of the band, with the vocalist teasing their new album as “100% f*ckin h*rny.” which was met with a loud “WOO” from below. After almost every song, there was a heckle from the crowd of some sort, screaming things like “come to the UK more often then!”, after the vocalist was chatting about how it’s their first time here in a while. The vocalist handled the crowd with grace and seemed more like a buddy than a celebrity to these people. We got our first mosh pit too. I cannot emphasize enough how hype this crowd was.
The vocalist was constantly interacting with the crowd. He would throw the mic confidently for them to finish the lyrics and then pace between left to right, scrutinizing the crowd. The guitarist was one to watch for this band too. He would be throwing out some aggressive facial expressions, as he struck some chords on his guitar. He also provided some great harsh vocal backup for the vocalist. It was great watching him and the vocalist deliver on that energy that the crowd were craving. How the guitarist was able to mosh as hard as he did and his hair didn’t move at all is a magic I need to learn (aka if you see this bro, what hairspray you use?).
Resolve are a four piece band hailing from France. The band are currently touring to promote their newest album, “Human”. Firstly, the thought they put into the wardrobe doesn’t go unnoticed. I applaud bands who put thought into their style, it leads to so much more presence when on stage. Some avid fans were lining the barrier since the start of the show and it became evidently clear this was why. Throughout the set, the band members who could move around were interacting with the crowd below and holding hands and fist bumping those with them outstretched. The vocals were strong and the energy of the guitarists was immense. All would constantly be moving around the small stage and looking out to the audience (the vocalist at one point sitting down on his platform and singing directly to a fan). One fan even managed to make it on stage, having a moment with the vocalist before diving back off.
Now, with the headliner on stage, it’s clear a lot of the crowd tonight were here for the main support. About half the crowd had disappeared by the time they came on but that didn’t stop the enthusiasm of the people here for the Human tour. The pit circle was there…small…but there. It’s unfortunate that it seems some people didn’t stick around. If you bought a ticket for a gig, may as well see all the bands performing, as that’s what you paid for. That’s my philosophy anyway.
Resolve was great at dominating the stage. At one point, the lights were black and the band left the stage. I looked around thinking in panic “but they haven’t played older days yet.” Then an ominous soundscape played and on came the band again, the vocalist asking “are you still with us?” The band had a couple more songs and then played the adult game of peekaboo, aka “encore!”. And now, it was time for “Older Days”. An absolute tune and even more so live. The lights only heightened their presence and the flashing made them feel that much more menacing. It’s great to watch a band just absolutely kill it. The band wrapped to a strong finish, with a huge line forming at the merch stands as we made our exit.
Resolve will be continuing their Human tour until the end of April, where they end in Europe. The rest of the year, the band has a busy festival schedule ahead of them. The supports have an exciting year ahead too; Cane Hill will be releasing their newest album later in the year, Acres hinted to another supporting slot later in the year and Half Me have been teasing their own EU/UK tour. Metalcore is in a renaissance at the minute, and trust me when I say you don’t want to miss out on experiencing these insanely talented bands live.
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