aaamusic | On 10, Oct 2014

Tuesday 7th October, Norwich

When I first saw the line up for the October leg of the Download Freezes Over Tour, my thirteen-year-old self leaned forward, brushed the fringe over his eyes and went straight to Myspace. The last I heard of Escape the Fate was ‘Situations’ on repeat as I trudged to school under the weight of teenage angst, enjoying (without showing it) my emo, screamo, post-hardcore phase.

Arriving at Norwich’s favourite venue, The Waterfront, I was confronted by a crowd not dissimilar from the me of the past, long-haired kids, surrounded by a mishmash of piercings, vans and Metallica shirts. Times have definitely changed however and though black remains the prominent colour of dress; this was definitely the bearded, nautically-tattooed crowd of modern hard-core. Even as a bad fan looking for a nostalgic experience, I was a little worried by the prospect of a band stuck in the past, toting guy-liner a little too late in life. Fortunately the supporting acts laid my fears to rest; this show was going to be different.

First to launch the Download tour was New Years Day, who performed what is best described by the band as ‘Hauntedmansioncore’. They put a lot into the band image and were styled as a horrorshow of ghouls, corpses and a reincarnated Harley Quinn. The set was a bit shaky with some repetitive verse chorus, verse chorus tracks, but was saved by the newer songs, such as the unreleased single ‘Defend Me’, which had the crowd dancing and head banging in frenzied harmony. By the end of the set converted fans were queuing in droves to get pictures from the quirky band and merch by the armful.

Glamour Of The Kill were the second act and for me and a few revellers I talked to during a cold walk home, the standout band of the night. They have toured with Escape The Fate four times and were performing material from their new album Savages alongside other incredibly tight well rehearsed tracks. The music was proud and powerful, with the performance getting better song by song, as smiling frontman Davey Richmond fed off the unruly audience energy. The band had a good dynamic range and managed to create a couple of decent mosh pits, circle pits and a wall of death; an impressive feet, considering The Waterfront’s infamous pillars. If you haven’t heard Glamour Of The Kill before, they are a refreshingly proficient post-hardcore act, which sounds something like Bullet for My Valentines album Scream Aim Fire.

Escape The Fate finally emerged to the wild cheers of the crowd, a completely different band from the one I remember, with an altered line-up, style, and sound. The newest addition is lead guitarist Kevin ‘Thrasher’ Gruft who was completely at home amongst the jumping, screaming and headbanging stage theatrics. If you like guitar solos then you can’t go wrong and would be hard pushed to find a song without a ten second interlude.

Unfortunately Glamour Of The Kill did such a good job of warming the crowd up, it felt for me as a casual fan that Escape The Fate had nothing new to offer, even though they played a solid set. The band has definitely moved into heavier territory, with some tracks a blast of double bass drum and furious thrashing of guitars. Sadly for my internal thirteen year old, none of my favourites made it onto the set list. But the crowd favourite ‘Ashley’ had me forgetting why I came in the first place.

Escape The Fate and Glamour Of The Kill continue the Download Freezes Over Tour with four more tour dates, ending on the 30th at Camden’s Electric Ballroom.

Jon Horvath