LIVE REVIEW: Bury Tomorrow @ The Roundhouse, London

We’re now in the thick of winter. Darkness descends earlier and the weather is dismal at best. Yet that wasn’t about to stop BURY TOMORROW rolling through to The Roundhouse with their four band bill in tow.

The task of opening proceedings falls to AS EVERYTHING UNFOLDS who are greeted with an already well packed room. With vocalist Charlie Rolfe leading the charge, the High Wycombe brood wastes little time treating the early comers to an intense and emotional set. Ultraviolet’s heady melody carries the weight of their tribute to drummer Jamie Gowers who passed away in August. The heaviness of Twilight packs a larger punch than usual, ushering tears from many patrons. On The Inside became incendiary with the fruition of a bittersweet full circle moment for AS EVERYTHING UNFOLDS. Opening a four band bill may be an intimidating task for most, but AS EVERYTHING UNFOLDS take it well within their stride and deliver an excellent, and evocative, opening set.

Rating: 8/10

With The Roundhouse quickly filling, the 20 minute wait between bands flies by. In what feels like no time at all, THORNHILL stride on stage and launch into a viscous rendition of The Hellfire Club. Donning a hoodie, vocalist Jacob Charlton takes charge, ripping through Arkangel and Raw as if the rent’s due. THORNHILL are a well oiled machine at this point, brilliant at extracting what they want from an audience. They feed on the energy of smaller circle pits and pockets of bobbing heads. Ethan McCann’s riff work is simply sublime. THORNHILL work with a precision which demands attention and commands it in convincing fashion. While they run the risk of being sandwiched in the middle of this stacked bill, this was certainly a set that was not to be missed.

Rating: 8/10

Metal fans across the world are aflame with chatter of MAKE THEM SUFFER. That is for good reason. The Perth brood takes to the stage for a crowd on tenterhooks as to just how will this year’s self-titled effort will sound in the live arena. They don’t have to wait long as Ghost Of Me is savage, partnering perfectly with Bones to pry open walls of death. This is modern metalcore at its finest with Sean Harmanis and Alex Reade effortlessly batting vocal duties back and forth while Nick McLernon’s guitar goes straight for the jugular. To the point BURY TOMORROW faces being upstaged before they’ve played a single note. Soul Decay reverberates between the pillars marking the pit zone. Temperatures rise and fans thirst for more, screaming through Erase Me as if going off to battle with MAKE THEM SUFFER as their generals. With a set like this, there may be several doors about to be kicked off their hinges.

Rating: 9/10

Room is scarce within the main space of The Roundhouse. The crowd jostles for their prime position in the pit, many already laden with sweat and discarded beer. The tension is palpable and the electricity in the air could power Camden Town for several days. Large screens flicker with The Matrix style coding, a virus fast approaching. Notes swell and peak. The crowd now at fever pitch. And this pays off with a levelling performance of Abandon Us. Vocalist Dani Winter-Bates commands the crowd from the very first note. His vocals improving further still from the release of last year’s The Seventh Sun.

If people believed they had seen BURY TOMORROW at their very best in the past, that was blown out of the water tonight. Blazing through More Than Mortal and Earthbound, this band have successfully revived themselves and have completed their rise from the ashes. The phoenix complete with the addition of guitarist Ed Hartwell and keyboardist Tom Prendergast, older material such as previously mentioned Earthbound and later Black Flame is otherworldly. This seamlessly blends into latest single What If I Burn, planting the seed of anticipation for next year’s Will You Haunt Me, With That Same Patience.

There has to be special mention of Boltcutter, a song which levelled The Roundhouse in just under five minutes. Winter-Bates’ presence is militant as he barks the chorus. Adam Jackson’s drums pound on the eardrums. The latter half of the tandem with Recovery? Ensures there isn’t a single person not feeling the affects of adrenaline spiking. That adrenaline is brought down with beautiful renditions of Majesty, in which the only jarring thing is Prendergast never coming down from his designated platform, and Last Light. Between the two dedications to those living with mental health issues, there isn’t a dry eye in the house. Nor is there a person still carrying the weight of them.

Strong advocates for mental wellness, BURY TOMORROW have curated a set which is both cathartic and empowering. The sweat-soaked audience beaming as the night draws to a close is testament of that. There is only one thing we take away from tonight aside from emotional devastation and that is a curiosity about where this evolution will take BURY TOMORROW next.

Rating: 10/10

Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in London from Serena Hill Photography here: 

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