It may be a bank holiday weekend, but that hasn’t stopped The Dome from selling out one show and two nights celebrating Thy Art Is Murder’s seminal debut album “Hate”.
Setting things off are UK-based HM2-soaked Heriot. A band I’ve heard of for the past number of years but always managed to miss at shows. Tonight I finally got to see them & boy was it ridiculous.
Heriot now firmly gets my title of the heaviest UK band of 2023.
Smashing tracks like “Dispirit” & new track “Demure” really showcase how expansive the band’s sound is, Mixing parts of Nails, Deftones & Slipknot with ethereal passages known with Nine Inch Nails or Godflesh creates some of the most devastating music I’ve heard from the UK scene in some time. Vocalist & Guitarist Debbie Gough’s blend of soothing & ritual-like singing with her ear-piercing screaming gives the band a unique & diverse sound. This is a band to keep your eye on & I can see the headline of The Dome in a few years to come!
Now for the always amazing Fit For An Autopsy! Since working for Rock N Load I’ve been lucky to review FFAA a number of times & they always kill it! Tonight was another night of killer performances from them. Just like TAIM, they are celebrating 10 years of their album “Hellbound” so getting to hear classic tracks like “Do You See Him?” & “Thank You Budd Dwyer” was great to hear now so many years later with a band that has crafted a new sound & sonic assault blaze through now deathcore classics.
Not only did FFAA hit us with classic but tonight got a great deep cut in “Savages”. A great track on the later half of the band’s new album “Oh What the Future Holds”. The band knows that being over in the UK a few times over the past year that the crowd will want something different really shows they put time & effort into their live performance.
Once again FFAA proves that they are one of the kings of tour & have over the years cemented themselves as one of the leading bands within metal.
https://linktr.ee/fitforanautopsy
Now it’s time to celebrate. Thy Art Is Murder since the release of their first album “Hate” have become a household name in the deathcore scene. With years of touring & multiple releases, the band have become a colossus act & has been able to take over the world.
Where some tours celebrating albums may feel like a cash-in tonight doesn’t, this tour feels like a true celebration. The effort the band put in right from the album opener “Reign of Darkness” shows the band still have passion for the album. Vocalist CJ McMahon’s north face jacket makes a comeback & injunction with his now stample gnarly mic stand shows the old & new can still merge perfectly.
Hearing “Immolation” live again after a number of years was a great pleasure for me. A track that has always been my favourite on the album showcases the sound the band started to take after the release of “Hate”. The more blackened style of deathcore, bringing elements of Behemoth & Dimmu Borgir gives the band even in early material a chance to shine.
Closing out the album set with last track “Doomed from Birth” shows just how strong an album “Hate” is, not once during the performance has there been a lull in quality or heaviness.
Even those signposted at the front of the stage are no crowd surfing signs doesnt bother the crowd it’s that much of a show they ignore them as fans duck & weave past security trying to ruin the fun ha!
Before the band finish with an encore CJ greets the crowd, stating London has always been the bands favourite place to play. Every London show on every TAIM tour has sold out! And even when the tickets for the show sold out they had to do a second night that was sold out too. That shows the love for TAIM is strong within the capital tonight! Closing out with “Puppet Master” leaves the crowd on a high as everyone sings along “No gods, no masters…
Think for your fucking self!”. A fantastic night celebrating a now perfect deathcore record. I will see everyone at the 20 Years Of Hate tour right?
Review: Joseph Mitchell
Photography: Tony Giannattasio
