The weather in Sheffield this past week has left us feeling as if summer lasted five days. Turning up to the concert at Corporation a queue had already started to form, a phenomenon I thought may have died, with the tours I’ve been to this year, so it’s great to see that people are still willing to wait outside in the rain all day just as I did as a teen.
Thrown are a band I’ve heard mentioned on the socials for a couple of months, at least. Where this sudden interest came from, I’m not sure. But a thing I’m certain of after witnessing them live is that this is only the start for the band. With a venue capacity of 150, only 20 tickets were left available at the door.
Thrown are a Swedish band fronted by ex-Grieved singer, Marcus Lundqvist. The band had only released their first single in 2021, yet already have 500,000 monthly Spotify listeners. The band are joined by Liverpoolian band Cut Short, UK’s Spitting Teeth and Kent band Graphic Nature.
The first band to open the night was Spitting Teeth. The band opened with their song ‘Empathy’, which had the band jumping straight into the set with amazing energy and showcasing the vocalist’s insane harsh vocals. The vocalist had great stage banter with the crowd and encouraged the crowd to mosh, which they did without much convincing. The stage was set for the night and the crowd were more than ready to get move at the band’s will.
The members of the band all had a matching colour scheme of black, with their guitarist covering his face with a mask – adding to the intrigue and vibe of the band. Towards the end of their set the vocalist joined the audience in the pit, not shy to get close and involved. It’s amazing to see a band that clearly loves performing live watching the crowd in awe and gaining new fans in the process. The band finished strong with their song ‘Suffer’ and by the end of their set, every single person in the room was already sweating…and we were only 1/4 of the way through the night.
The first note I wrote down for the next band, Cut Short, was “they have merch crop tops”. If you’re around on the socials of the younger metal fans, you’ll know this is something they’ve been begging for. The day has finally come my brethren. The next note I wrote was “Omggg they have their own lights” a major green flag when I see bands already starting to consider their stage production, so early in their growth.
As the stage was prepped for Cut Short’s entry, the lights went black and an atmospheric backing track was played. On they came…and what an amazing start into their set. The crowd were already swinging their heads along, as soon as the first riff was played, and the strength of the guitarists and drummer were clear to see from the get go. In came the vocalist who has a great grit to his voice that added some serious angst to their performance. The vocals only further enhanced by the great support from one guitarist providing backing vocals.
The band wasted no time getting active and jumping around the stage. The members encouraging the crowd to get closer to the stage and stand right under them. This type of energy transferring to the crowd below and by the end of their set we had a giant circle pit going. The next note I wrote down was “The room REALLY getting hot now”. Once the band had finished their set, almost everyone in the room had disappeared to refresh themselves ready for our next band of the night…
Graphic Nature are self described outcasts who found each other and began to write music together around 2019. Immediately upon taking the stage, the band had great crowd interaction and there were a good portion of fans in the crowd singing the lyrics back to the band.
The stable vocals of Harvey Freeman only go to add to the entire vibe of the band and pull the crowd into their world. The band themselves as a unit worked together well and had a great synergy going. Those that could move around were making sure to get close to fans on either sides of the stage, and those that couldn’t move were moshing almost as hard as the crowd below.
The audience were in a chokehold for the entirety of the show and with a special appearance from Connor Sweeney, previously of Loathe, the crowd went even wilder. Harvey encouraged the crowd to sing back lyrics so even those at the back of the room could get in on the action and get involved without risking a limb in the pit. After the last song, the band made sure to chat with fans, Harvey crouching down and getting pics right from the stage and the drummer and guitarist giving out their picks and sticks to fans below.
The entire vibe tonight was one of the reasons I love attending metal concerts. Those moments of interacting with your favourite bands in such an intimate environment has the potential to make your entire year. The crowd was amazing and enthusiastic for every single support that had come on the stage and were there for the love of the music scene. It’d be great if every city had a community of metal fans who could all come out to support bands as they have tonight.
There was no barrier at this venue and once the stage was almost ready for Thrown to take the stage, it was battle trying to find a good place to get pictures. Fans had piled into the room and even for those at the back, it was a tight squeeze. It only goes to show how excited the fans are to finally see this band live.
Thrown came on stage with such a force that I was absolutely blown away. Marcus paraded around the stage like he was always meant to be there and it was the most natural thing in the world for him to do. His clear intonation and stable harsh vocals roped the entire crowd into their set (which was only thirty minutes, by the way) and the vocals were only further propelled by the guitarist with his own harsh vocal backing.
The entire crowd was moshing and the pit was so intense I thought I about to lose a knee again (a story for another time) but despite all the sweat, this chaos fuelled the band to push even more and the atmosphere of the night was something I haven’t felt in a long time when covering smaller venues. Once again the crowd only getting wilder for another special appearance from Connor Sweeney.
Thrown announced their last song of the night, which was met with a swift “boo” from the audience, understandably so. They wrapped up their night with Parasite. The song itself allowing a great audience chant as they shouted back “I can see through you” to Marcus . The entire band was so confident on the stage, it was like they owned it completely. Their strength came from their entire vibe. To say they didn’t have much stage banter compared to other bands of the night, the audience was completely captivated and moved to every whim and mosh the music commanded. The only thing I could pick apart about the stage was that I wish their was more stage production, lights to go with the intense instrumentals but this is something that comes naturally with the growth of the band in question.
Every single band tonight had such an amazing energy that there aren’t any complaints I had. If I hadn’t been photographing this band, it’s such a shame that I would’ve missed this experience. It took me back to my days of seeing underground bands in the most obscure venues a 14 year old definitely shouldn’t have been allowed in. I can’t wait to see each of these bands grow over the next 5 years and hopefully I’ll be there to cover them every time they come to my neck of the woods and if you get the chance to see any of them in yours, DO NOT miss out like I almost did.
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