LIVE REVIEW: Feed The Rhino @ The Owl Sanctuary, Norwich

This tour of homegrown bands has the potential to be one of the best UK tours this year, and as always seems to be the case with FEED THE RHINO it’s aggravatingly under the radar. Where’s the press that was raving about them a few years ago? A tour of exciting and fresh bands supporting one of the country’s best live acts who are fresh off releasing a brilliant new album in The Silence? You’d be mad to miss it.

It’s fitting that COVER kick things off this show. They’re fresh-faced, hungry, British metalcore and they make one hell of an impact. Laying down riffs that will delight fans of WHILE SHE SLEEPS and ARCHITECTS, occasionally adding some nu metal and emotional hardcore influences. COVE‘s set is a short burst of young and exciting energy.

Rating: 7/10 

HAGGARD CAT have more riffs than you can shake an actual haggard cat at. Whilst you may think you know what you’re in for based on their former band HECK (fka BABY GODZILLA), be assured that HAGGARD CAT are a different kind of intense. If HECK were the unstoppable force then HAGGARD CAT are the immovable object, they stand defiant, just Matt Reynolds on guitar and vocals and Tom Marsh pounding the living daylight out of his drums, and create a fifty foot mammoth of punk-meets-blues riffs. Reynolds busts out all the motifs of classic blues, yelping lyrics of the devil and his soul and busting out a bottleneck to lay down some sliding licks. Marsh genuinely seems like a drumming terminator, precise and machine-like but also pounding with the strength of Arnie himself.

Rating: 8/10

BAD SIGN are next and bassist/singer Joe Appleford and guitarist Jonathan Harris instantly wander around the crowd with an intense look in their eyes; imposing, and preparing the crowd for their equally intense alt rock. Unfortunately, the sound does take a dip and some of the riffs don’t hit as hard as they should. Their tunes have a distinctly bleak tinge to them despite their friendly demeanour when chatting with the crowd. They play passionately and efficiently but some of the small intricacies that they have on record don’t translate live, and whilst they’re good it doesn’t feel like we’re getting BAD SIGN at their full potential tonight.

Rating: 6/10

They say you only miss something once it’s gone, but in this case we only realised exactly how much we missed FEED THE RHINO once they hit the stage (or in frontman Lee Tobin’s case, the bar as he starts the set towering above a surprised bartender). The fact that they’re back only sinks in when the crowd are pumping themselves up, and right from the intro of Featherweight a big ol’ pit forms as if the whole The Owl Sanctuary just remembered who’s about to come on. Let’s not beat around the bush, that ‘who’ is one of the best live bands in the country.

Even if their splendid blend of metalcore isn’t for you, even if you exclusively listen to Tolkien themed black metal, you’ll probably still have fun at a FEED THE RHINO show. They’re five lads who just want everyone to get rowdy and have a good time, and their pulse raising riffs will infect you and force you to headbang; either that or Tobin will come straight to you and stare into your soul until you move. Despite the familiar cuts like Burning Sons crushing like they normally do, tracks off the new album The Silence are the highlights of the night, and the stomping riffs of Heedless and Timewave Zero absolutely rattle the place.

After Tobin gives a great couple of words on why they were away for a while (to paraphrase, because they were in a scene surrounded by stale and generic crap, and they wanted to break away) they launch into Losing Ground, the most risky and different song FEED THE RHINO have released, and it’s a joy to see Norwich react with such passion to it. The crowd make up for Tobin’s mic troubles by belting the chorus, and it’s brilliant to see that such a different song has gone down so well in the fanbase. After that it’s time to launch into one of the most bouncy and anthemic songs in their arsenal, Deny And Offend and, much like this tour, it’s FEED THE RHINO back to doing what they do best. This tour was a statement. Every other band on the UK live circuit need to step up their game. Mediocre won’t cut it anymore because FEED THE RINO, the band who set the bar for live shows, are back. 

Rating: 9/10 

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Norwich from Jackingy here: