Unprocessed // Avralize // “…And Everything In Between” EU/UK tour // Live Review // The Key Club // Leeds
Metalcore has seen a good number of bands seep through the cracks in recent years. One of them being Unprocessed. The German band has a style of mixing that gentle plucking of a guitar with the heavy harsh vocals of metal. It’s always a treat to see live.
Avralize are the openers for the tour. The German 4-piece already seem to have quite a strong fan base here in Leeds. The barrier is lined with phones and people singing along, as well as a pit forming in the back. The lack of a barrier at this venue means the fans are right at the edge of the stage, hands stretching up but careful not to be whacked by one of the guitarists doing a spin.
The band has a great presence on the stage, their outfits almost looking like they’re about to hit the club. They throw up some kicks and do some spins on the small stage making it feel bigger. Unlike the usual Key Club, we actually have some pretty nifty lighting too, so the band looks even better than the typical silhouette from an overpowered smoke machine seen here (I may have a soft hatred against Key Club as a venue).
Every time the band finish a song, they get met with an immense “WOO” and it’s honestly hard to tell if the crowd are massive fans or just hyped. Probably a solid mix, to be fair. It’s hard not to have that energy, when they’re clearly having so much fun on stage. The vocalist would address the crowd, asking classic things like “how are we feeling?” The vocals are stable throughout, and I love the guitar riffs that accompany them. You can’t help frowning, as you bob your head to the beat.
I always like to see what merch people are repping at gigs to get an idea of the fans they attract. We got Sleep Token…a lot of Sleep Token, Bad Omens and Spiritbox. Think it’s safe to say, we got a room of modern metalcore fans tonight.
https://www.facebook.com/avralizemusic
Unprocessed come on to dimming lights and the vocalist leading the way. They get straight into the set with “Hell“. A heavy song that immediately kicks you with the harsh vocals. The crowd loved every second of it. The other guitarist provides some stable backing vocals. The band immediately had the crowd jumping, they themselves jumping back and forth on the small stage.
If you’re unfamiliar with the German 4-piece, all members play instruments and the band are likened to a Polyphia with lyrics. The music itself is only similar to Polyphia in the way they handle the strings of a guitar. Strumming them delicately, on the stage with their fingers and the picks in mouth between heavy riffs. Both bands are amazing with a guitar, basically (also shout out but Tim Henson of Polyphia has a feature on the new album).
The vocalist and backing vocals were bearing the weight of crowd interaction tonight. If one wasn’t addressing the crowd, then the other was. Asking the crowd to “bounce bounce bounce bounce” or “how are we doing tonight?”. There was a perimeter of the pit absolutely going for it, then the outskirts were people standing with their beers in hand, bobbing their heads. We had crowd surfers reach the stage, the band stood amused staring at them, during a breakdown. The surfers swiftly jumped back into the pit…there isn’t really anywhere else to go when you’re a surfer at key club.
Speaking of surfers- towards the end of the set, after numerous surfers were to-ing and fro-ing from the stage, the vocalist joked about how they aren’t used to this and gave credit to Leeds for it’s wildness. Pretty much every song, you had a surfer doing a run of the venue, being passed around by the crowd beneath. The band would watch with beaming smiles on their faces, as they tried to make room and not hit an audience member who’d made it to the stage.
Unprocessed have such a captivating set, I can’t imagine what it’ll be like when they tour with more budget and better venues. The band will be finishing their tour in Europe over the next few weeks, promoting their “…And Everything In Between” album. Definitely an experience to see live and a band I feel is going to gain a significant fanbase over the years.
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