LIVE REVIEW: Heart of a Coward @ The Loft, Southampton

HEART OF A COWARD are a very different band to what they were many moons ago. Last year, the band made a return after their absence following the departure of ex-SYLOSIS vocalist Jamie Graham. Kaan Tasan now fronts the metalcore veterans, with new album The Disconnect under their wings for this run of dates.

Portsmouth support comes from hardcore outfit BROTHERHOOD. They swing through a short set with a clean-cut performance. Their sound has a lot of melodic heavy-riffs that back up a more chuggy guitar line, all backed by blast drums. The band only have their one debut single All Or Nothing released online. It’s a track reminiscent of other Hampshire metalcore heavyweights OUR HOLLOW, OUR HOME or BURY TOMORROW. For a band that had their first show in April, this is a promising set packed in tight execution and rigour.

Rating: 7/10

German progressive metal band UNPROCESSED are a belter of a main support with their technically sophisticated take on djent melodic metalcore. They’ve got that awe-inducing, palm-muted, low guitar sound mixed with intricate riffs and contrasting more formulaic breakdowns. The band’s set is confident and performed with ease through their blend of clean and screamed vocals, filthy bass lines and mathcore-leaning complexities. It a treat of a variation on the lineup, and a sure pledge to expectancies of more appearances from UNPROCESSED come next year.

Rating: 9/10

HEART OF A COWARD come through with a surprisingly un-self-indulgent performance, only playing four tracks from their latest release of their 11 song set. Considering current vocalist Kaan Tasan wasn’t present for the majority of the setlist’s inception, he delivers each track with dominance and authority, commanding screams back from the crowd. The Loft is a wide venue, short in depth with a long bar running across the back of the room. It helps tonight, that when the pits open up, the room looks more energetic; half the crowd are stood crossed-armed hanging back, only really letting loose with a head bob to the older material, while a few energetic crowd members hurl themselves to the front, pointing their fingers back at Tasan as he rips through old and new material.

You have to respect the resilience of this band, and the support they have managed to maintain throughout their tumultuous career. It would be dishonest to not admit however, that there is difficulty in not acknowledging the obvious differences in the comparison between the band that take the stage tonight verses the band we saw just under a decade ago.

There has been a dip in the brutality that HEART OF A COWARD displayed since the Dead Sea or Hope and Hindrance days. That’s not to be a purist. They do sound good, they are tight in their performance and Tasan fills a big pair of shoes, with good technique in his distorted vocals and growls. There is just that tenacity missing from a band who started with unadulterated influences from hardcore and metalcore. They do still have their ardent following tonight however, with a wistful response to 2009 track Shade and a slightly unorthodox choice of encore Deadweight.

HEART OF A COWARD now sit at a time of their career that seems just as unpredictable as the last few years they have spent as a band. They are impressive in the way they embrace most of their discography, and how Tasan has stepped up to the plate knowing many original fans are watching him inquisitively. There is however, an undefinable absence of grit that is still to be solidified in their new foundations.

Rating: 7/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Southampton from Dev Place Photos here: