Tonight 3,000 people have gathered to witness Thy Art Is Murder’s biggest headline show to date. A huge milestone for the deathcore Aussie superstars.
Currently touring in support of their recent phenomenal album “Godlike” the band have curated one of the heaviest tour packages of the year. Featuring some of their biggest peers in Deathcore, Whitechapel, Fit For An Autopsy & Spite have all joined to create a night of pure brutality.
Starting the night are Southern Californians Spite. Mixing a bend of nu-metal and modern deathcore these guys really make a great first impression & get the crowd moving! Doors might have only just opened but “Made to Please” sees the most pits already start to kick up & heads banging.
Bassist Stephen Mallory’s long hair whips like a windmill as he throws himself around the stage with great presence. The band might only have a small area on the stage but they make up for it with energy & tracks that grab everyone’s attention.
Being an opener on such a stacked tour can always be a nervous affair but Spite really takes the crowd by the horns & gets them riled up. Closer “Kill or Be Killed” gives the band once last to make an impression. A perfect blend of early deathcore & hip-hop style rhythms. Spite is a band to keep an eye on for sure!
Next up are the New Jersey powerhouse Fit For An Autopsy. It’s always a great night when I get to see FFAA live. Seeing them multiple times this year & still enjoying each show more & more just shows how superb of a live show they put on. Even with a show on this huge scale, they are able to make a mammoth of a venue feel up close & personal.
Smashing out hits like “Black Mammoth” which is a few years old now still feel fresh & even tighter each time they come to London. Bassist Peter “Blue” Spinazola enigmatic stage presence is always felt strong & vocalist Joe Badolato’s vocal range with each record & performance gets even more brutal & beautiful.
“Hellions” showcases just how extreme & relentless the band can be. Drummer Josean Orta’s superb double kit work always blows me away. Such a great technical drummer but still has a great feel to his playing! The track has these great blackened death metal moments which really breaks up their set well. Whenever FFAA play London its a must-see & every time they tour they just get better and better. Seasoned vets showing the new generation of deathcore fans just how it’s done.
Fellow Deathcore veterans from Tennessee-based Whitechapel are up next. Now admittedly I’ve never delved that deep into Whitechapel’s music. So tonight I was really looking forward to seeing them live & hearing their material. And I can say now I’m a fan! Whitechapel are obviously now a legacy act within the deathcore genre but I didn’t think I would get that great of a show!
Opener “I Will Find You” is a newer era song for the band but it’s a great way to grab the audience’s attention. Fast-paced, great riffs & hooky chorus! Phil Bozeman’s vocals right from the first growl are just magnificent.
“The Saw Is the Law” sees the crowd pop & the pits get even more chaotic. A chuggy, breakdown-filled track, this ones a heavy hitter. The use of three guitarists doesn’t feel like a gimmick either with the group. The tone & heaviness is there & gives the group a great dynamic.
Closing out their set with one of the pillars of the deathcore sound, the mighty “This Is Exile” was just the crowd one last chance to indulge in the brutality the band brought. It may be a track that is now fifteen years old but damn it hits hard. A truly great performance from these guys & they’ve made me a future fan!
Now for the moment, we are all here for. As Thy Art Is Murder starts, drummer Jesse Beahler gets the crowd ready. Smashing his drums in the most primal way, the band unleashes “Destroyer of Dreams” from the new album “Godlike”.
Tonight the band is in perfect form, like a well-oiled machine these guys are truly the kings of deathcore right now. The harsh & hypnotic guitar riff of “Slaves Beyond Death” begins and the crowd erupts. The audience has come here for an apocalyptic show & TAIM is here to give it to them.
Now TAIM has had some inner band turmoil recently, but something great has come. The addition of vocalist Tyler Miller is the perfect fit for the band. Now a change of such a personality of the previous lead singer can kill a band in their tracks. But here Miller has been able to take the lead & really make an impression. The guy is technically amazing in vocal duties, but what he has that I feel has been missing from TAIM for some time is crowd interaction. His banter with the crowd & his call for more pit chaos is a much-needed part of TAIM’s arsenal.
“Make America Hate Again” and its light show, hell all of the band’s stage projection each year gets better & more professional. It doesn’t feel egotistical, but it suits the band’s style & the use of a ton of lights and Pyro really helps them step up to the next level.
At the halfway point of the set “Bermuda” a track from the newest album is a great addition to the set. A very ethereal track that slowly builds in intensity & atmosphere gives the crowd a moment to breathe but also shows just how much the band have evolved over the years as musicians & songwriters.
Closing out the set with the now legendary track “Puppet Master” just goes to show that the band are still able to write hits later in the musical career. This has truly been one of the best TAIM shows I’ve seen the band perform. And even on a huge stage like the roundhouse, they have been able to project every ounce of energy & note to every single person in the crowd. Tonight will go down as a huge milestone for the band & really can’t wait to see these guys dominate the world!
Review: Joseph Mitchell
Photography: Antonio Giannattasio
