LIVE REVIEW: Bleed From Within @ St Luke’s, Glasgow
Friday 27th of April, 2018, was a special day for the Glasgow metal scene. Enthused from the release of their outstanding comeback album Era, released back in April, and a pair of sold out shows in Manchester and London, Glasgow’s BLEED FROM WITHIN played, arguably, the most significant gig of their career – their largest headline show, their first hometown show in four years, and their first sold-out headline show in their career. Bringing Horsham death metal three-piece DYSCARNATE and Edinburgh metalcore up-and-comers PERPETUA along for the ride, BLEED FROM WITHIN descended upon St Luke’s – a church, converted into a music venue/function hall, bar and restaurant.
PERPETUA have been making a name for themselves in the UK metal scene over the last couple of years, offering a brand of metalcore that is true to its roots, sounding more akin to KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and UNEARTH than ASKING ALEXANDRIA. Despite a cramped stage, short set time and the rarely-seen Glasgow sun beating through the venue doors taking a bit from the dark atmosphere metal generally thrives, PERPETUA’s set was a blistering introduction to the night. Delivering super-tight grooves, infectious riffs, chest-pounding, anthemic vocal lines, and the occasional burst of unrelenting, thrashy speed, the quintet left St Luke’s barely standing with fan-favourites The Age of Collapse and Corrupt. PERPETUA have cemented their place as one of the most promising bands in the UK metal scene.
Rating: 8/10
As a three piece, DYSCARNATE are very much at the mercy of a venue’s acoustics, and the quality of the sound-engineer. On record, the death-metal three piece are excellent – the sound is full-bodied, giving all three musicians a chance to shine in the mix. A live environment is something entirely different, however, and a night with below-average sound can easily ruin a perfectly tight set. Tonight was no such night.
DYSCARNATE’s brand of death metal is hugely energetic, while maintaining an almost singular focus on groove. With the near-perfect sound of the night as a whole, the Horsham three-piece delivered excellence. Supremely tight, DYSCARNATE summoned their fair share of pits, and a sea of banging heads for the entirety of their set. Particular highlights include Iron Strengthens Iron, This Is Fire! and the phenomenal Traitors In The Palace from their stunning third album, With All Their Might, and their hit single The Promethean from And So It Came To Pass.
Rating: 9/10
BLEED FROM WITHIN were regarded as one of the best modern metal bands the UK had to offer before their hiatus for a reason – and their absence from the scene has only strengthened their resolve to prove that statement true. With their stunning fourth full-length crammed with some of the best songs the band have ever written, and their “comeback” shows in England being sold out, the Glasgow date was set to be a very special show indeed.
Era was incredibly well received by fans and critics alike, and it came as no surprise to see the album building up the bulk of BLEED FROM WITHIN‘s setlist for the night. Eager to finally shake off the deathcore influence of their earlier works, only one track from Empire was played, The Last of Our Kind, and nothing from Humanity. A few choice cuts from Uprising were present, including It Lives In Me and I Am Oblivion, but this was very much a celebration of the future of BLEED FROM WITHIN. With an unrivalled tightness in the musicianship, the quintet blasted their way through a set that seemed to come to a close all too quickly, excellently showcasing the new material. The singles released from Era sounded absolutely devastating in a live environment, with Crown of Misery bringing the speed and sheer heaviness early on, Afterlife delivering a chest-pounding, anthemic sound and Alive ending BLEED FROM WITHIN‘s set in a spectacular fashion. However, the rest of the album, though perhaps not known quite as well by the crowd as the singles, sounded equally massive; Ruina and Alone In The Sun sounded particularly spectacular.
When addressing the crowd, there was an honest emotion in frontman Scott Kennedy’s voice. Despite their status as one of the biggest bands to come from Scotland, he seemed genuinely surprised that St Luke’s had sold out, and completely humbled by the fanatical response of the crowd. Before their hiatus, BLEED FROM WITHIN were hotly regarded as a band on the cusp of becoming the next big thing from the UK, and for anyone else, a three year break would kill that momentum. For BLEED FROM WITHIN, it is apparent they are back with a vengeance, and, with a bit of luck on their side, there is no doubt they will have the metal world on its knees by the time album five comes around.
Rating: 10/10
Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in Glasgow from Elly White here:
