LIVE REVIEW: Unprocessed @ The Exchange, Bristol

While the stories of bands who’ve blown up on social media but struggled to make an impact in a live setting are all too common, prog metal sensations UNPROCESSED showed they were more than a TikTok page to idly scroll past, wowing the sold out crowd at Bristol’s legendary Exchange with mind-bending technicality and memorable songwriting. Joined by German metalcore favourites AVRALIZE who experienced a warm welcome on their first trip to the UK, the two bands provided a night of progressive tinged riffs that Bristol’s discerning metalheads won’t soon forget.

Already making a mark on the European metalcore scene with their debut album Freaks, released earlier this year, South German four-piece AVRALIZE took the stage to a packed venue, taking the opportunity to celebrate their first ever UK show. Smashing together intricate, progressive guitar riffs and melodic BRING ME THE HORIZON style vocals with a DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN attention span, the Rottweil quartet threw together genres with abandon, driven only by what decision would bring the most joy to their sound.

A highlight of the set was the track Step By Step, a ferocious mosh-inducing metalcore track which paid homage to German techno with rapid-fire electronic beats backing frontman Severin Sailer’s passionate screams. Jumpy, blast beat driven track Alive followed, waking up the crowd with unpredictable lead lines from guitarist Philipp Tenberken and Sailer’s hardcore style calls to action.

The band’s biggest single Canvas invited even the grumpiest metal fans to shake their ass with a combination of choppy beats and djent inspired, distorted riffs. AVRALIZE manage the impossible of melding the sounds of arena metalcore acts like THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA with the niche, virtuosic sounds of PLINI in a way that comes across as both unique and fun. Closing out on new single upside down, an upbeat track built around it’s earworm chorus and tight, punchy low end from bassist Valentin Noack, AVRALIZE are sure to be welcomed back to Bristol soon with open arms.

Rating: 8/10

Blending striking guitar virtuosity on par with heavy hitters like ANIMALS AS LEADERS or POLYPHIA with an ear for catchy hooks and furious metalcore breakdowns, west German quartet UNPROCESSED have already proven themselves as one of progressive metal’s acts to keep an eye on. Having already made their mark on the city as main support for TESSERACT, the band returned to Bristol greeted by a packed crowd on their first European headline tour.

While the internet has latched onto frontman Manuel Gardner Fernandes’s flashy shredding, with videos on TikTok and Instagram consistently going viral, bassist David John Levy proved himself to be the real star of the show. Creating an equally impressive low-end counterpoint to Fernandes’s eight string prog metal acrobatics on songs like opening track Hell. Frontman Fernandes proved that he could transcend his internet guitar God status, controlling the crowd and delivering forceful vocals on top of his virtuosic shedding. Tracks like Blackbone showed off his full range with throat shedding screams and gentle melodic cleans being backed by impressive guitar work.

Where similarly progressive acts fall flat for more mainstream audiences is their reliance on their instrumental chops over straightforward songwriting, UNPROCESSED manage to expertly combine both. Tracks like Rain would work perfectly even if stripped down to simple chords while parts Sacrifice Me could be toned down into a hit pop ballad without losing the UNPROCESSED magic.

While the crowd were driven to stage diving and crowdsurfing during tracks like Die On The Cross Of The Martyr the silence could’ve been interrupted by a pin dropping in more tender moments like the intro of Rain. It’s this range from ferocious distorted metalcore to intimate cleans without losing an ounce of their progressive chops that makes UNPROCESSED so endearing.

Closing out with Deadrose, their fan favourite single that encapsulates both their most technical and ferocious tendencies the band returned for an encore of I Wish I Wasn’t and Haven, ending the night with fuzzed-out extended range guitar chugging and blast beats. UNPROCESSED are sure to have left their mark on the sold out Bristol crowd and are bound to be welcomed back with an even bigger, more raucous crowd when they return to the UK.

Rating: 8/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Bristol from Tom Bruce here: 

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