LIVE REVIEW: Heriot @ Bear Cave, Bournemouth

Heriot have been trailblazing the heavy music scene since their inception in 2020, showcasing their industrial metal sound to much critical acclaim and scene hype. Tonight’s show in Bournemouth is part of a headline tour with the majority of shows sold out. Bournemouth’s Bear Cave is a venue that lives up to its name: intimate, dark with a low ceiling and tucked away beneath a busy strip of restaurants and pubs.

Local support comes from new hardcore punk band YAMAMARA. The band somewhat sheepishly begin their set, and dive into a quick opener slot that feels very intimate, as though we’re watching a practice among friends. Perhaps it was just that, as the band announce towards the end of their set that this was the first time they had played together, having only had one practice with the current line-up. The band are unassuming, with a slacker vibe proclaiming a distaste for the UK before starting Tory Britain. Their sound is discordant and monotonous with a drum-filled backbone. What starts as a bit of flat spritz of punk, flips its head quite quickly after the crowd are encouraged to take a look at self-made merch because it “ruined my mum’s rug so I’ve got to get her a new one”. It seems silly, but it does win some affection and giggles from the audience, who seem more onside now that a bit of humanity has been displayed. The crowd livens up a bit for Antisocial, a fuzzy riff-based sludge punk track.

Rating: 6/10

The speed is picked up a little by main support, London thrash-metallers INHUMAN NATURE. As Church Road Records label mates, they come with the frustrated discordant sound you’d expect, even more so considering they feature former HANG THE BASTARD members. They storm through their set with staunch resilience, with vocalist Christopher Barling rocking back and forth on the very edge of the stage. He screams with cranium rattling rage, and jolts in-between vocal takes. The band are tight but lawless, with a crossover of trad and thrash metal with punk that takes it back to no nonsense days. Guttural riffs, chugging rhythms, blistering drums and a tenacious vocal delivery that equal just the recipe for a famished metal appetite, ready to satisfy for the headliners.

Rating: 8/10

With over a year having passed since the release of Profound Morality on Church Road Records, it’s time for HERIOT to embark on their UK headline tour. From the moment they approach the stage, they set the tone straight away; walking on to atmospheric feedback and howling tones, guitarist Debbie Gough Kubrick-staring her onlookers directly in the eyes before the band plummet into their well-known chaos. Throughout the set, guitarist Erhan aggressively screams at the crowd, punching the air and stomping the ground, as if to rile them up for a war. The instrumentation matches that nature in its heaviest moments, with swirling riffs accompanied by devastating wails and growls from both bassist Jake Packer. Even drummer Julian Gage cannot contain himself to his drum stool, rising up to address the audience on multiple occasions, challenging them to pay their full attention.

HERIOT have been appraised for their ability to play with the dark and the light, and how to dance in-between them. This is most notable during Coalescence, as the first 30 seconds thrashes in banshee-like barks, then effortlessly descending into ethereal siren song of melodic moans. It’s these moments that make the frenzied metallic elements even more gut wrenching, just as they are on record. The way HERIOT can direct their songs into twin flames of paradoxes; the menacing and the beautiful; is almost biblical. After these soft moments of breath, their grip on their crowd turns into a chokehold, as though they are rulers of their own nation, and there’s n choice but to be caught in the deafening hymn.

The attention of the room never once strayed from HERIOT’s gaze. Their ambient, haunting impending take on metal is one that’s hard not to appreciate. It’s difficult to make your mark in a scene that has oftentimes been left uninspired or monotonous. But HERIOT? They’re unignorable.

Rating: 9/10

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

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