It’s been a long five years but finally, Chicago’s own Harm’s Way is back in London.
After a career highlight show at this year’s Outbreak festival, the band are gracing The Underworld with a close not full headline set fresh off the release of their latest album “Common Suffering”.
Opening tonight’s show is the East Anglian metallic hardcore Bind.
It’s great to see an opening band bring the energy & get the crowd moving just after doors. Mixing the blend of emotive breakdowns & the new wave of modern hardcore these guys put on a great show. If you love bands like End & Knocked, these guys will be right up your alley.
Next up are Chaos Reigns with their meld of frantic hardcore punk. These guys turn the energy up a notch more! Giving me heavy The Bronx & Gallows vibes these guys are non-stop. They have great crowd control & even the vocalist & guitarists jump into the middle of the pit for the last half of the track. A really fun chaotic time!
London-based After Smoke Clears bring that modern metal edge to the show. These guys put on a great show also. A lot of movement from the band & even having a guest vocalist on a track was a nice mix-up. Groovy-style riffs with trap beats might be a big difference to the rest of tonight’s line up but ASC make the stage their own & keeps the intensity from the opening & last note.
Now the time has come for Harms Way to take the stage. Ripping straight into “Become a Machine” the crowd erupts & chaos ensues. It’s been a long wait for these guys to play London and you can feel it with the instant reaction the crowd is giving tonight.
Following it up with the classic “Breeding Grounds” shows the band’s classic tracks are still some of the heaviest & hardest tracks in hardcore still.
“Devour” & “Terrorizer” from the bands new album “Common Suffering” fits perfectly into the set. These tracks have quickly become some of the band’s best & biggest songs. A huge pile up of fans begins as they sing along with vocalist James Pligge for the chorus section of “Terrorizer”.
In the eyes of a new HW fan the group might be a modern metal band but these guys are a hardcore band at heart & their interaction with the fans & encouraging their participation will always be at the core of the band.
Bringing out a very slept on track “Mind Control” from their “Blinded” EP brings back that fast Entombed style riffing & gets the audience circle pitting the whole way through the track.
Closing out their set with the staple “Scrambled” finished anyone who is still left standing in the pit. Tonight has been a monumental show of the band & one of their biggest in London to date. And it just goes to show that Harms Way are untouchable when it comes to live shows!
Review: Joseph Mitchell