LIVE REVIEW: RedHook @ The Lower Third, London

There’s not much bigger votes of confidence than your debut headline tour selling out shows when you’re from the other side of the planet. That’s the position REDHOOK have found themselves in tonight, with the queue already snaking round the block before doors in anticipation of the Aussies’ first headliner here. 

Openers EVILLE draw on the likes of THE PRODIGY and modern metalcore as part of their thumping, danceable alt metal. Through scuzzy bass lines, crunchy breakdowns and vocals swapping between vitriolic rap and sung, they craft a thoroughly modern take on metal. They’re on the right bill for it too, given REDHOOK’s own fluid approach to genre. It means the crowd are into it from the off, heads bobbing and a few people bouncing toward the very front. Fuck The System has a particularly vitriolic breakdown before the drum n bass indebted No Pictures Please sets the dance floor off with a tried-but-true “jump the fuck up” moment. 

Rating: 7/10

DEFENCES take the night in a heavier direction, bruising metalcore riffs and guttural roars backdropping haunting melodies. The vocal interplay is a highlight, as is their clear glee at being onstage in front of the capacity crowd as they dole out thunderous riffs. Where EVILLE got the crowd dancing and pitting, the former is absent but the latter stay just as energetic with bodies whirling round the pit. The biggest reception is saved for tracks from latest album Shadowlight, which the band emphatically call “our favourite thing we’ve ever done”. Their performance reflects it, as they try making the most of the limited stage space. They’ve got a magnetic vocalist in Cherry Duesbury, as she implores the crowd to maintain hope in the face of loss as well as delivering a powerful performance throughout their set. 

Rating: 8/10

REDHOOK seemingly can’t catch a break as vocalist Emmy Mack is ill again, just as she was for their stint supporting DREAM STATE last year. Not that they’re letting it deter them as they open with a scorching Bomb.com, Mack hitting every word in its rapid fire verses before the chorus detonates. The vibes are immaculate as they launch into Dr. Frankenstein even if the bass isn’t quite audible sometimes, while Hot Tub’s tongue in cheek, filthy-but-not ode to an actual hot tub is delightful, cheeky fun. The crowd are having at least as much fun, as hands are held high and feet leave the floor to jump near constantly. There’s even someone blowing bubbles somewhere, further underscoring that there’s really no wrong way to have a REDHOOK party.

HEXXX sees them joined by EVILLE singer Eva Sheldrake in place of VANA and sheinjects some punk snarl to it. The set is interspersed with samples, from what sounds like an X-Men quote opening the set to Arcane’s Jinx yelling “I start fires” before Pyromaniac. Delving back into their debut album for a few songs, they bathe the crowd in red light for Off With Your Head and DEFENCES’ Cherry pops up for Imposter. “I don’t even know what to say… we announced this tour and didn’t even know if anyone would turn up,” Emmy admits before being sidetracked by a sax solo and chants of “saxophone” (“are you fucking done, London?”) into Soju where she invites someone from the crowd onstage for its second verse – though stage fright scuppers it and the crowd take over.

You couldn’t ask for more for a first time headlining the capital, a setlist chock full of hits and a crowd whose energy levels simply refuse to drop for an hour. 

Rating: 10/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from C Wilkinson here: 

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