LIVE(STREAM) REVIEW: Black Peaks @ Live At The Brighton Centre
As the borders and barriers that Britain’s national lockdown held us prison to begin to lift and life looks to grab a slice of normality back from a post-pandemic pizza, there’s certainly a sense of hope lingering in the air for those of us who like our concerts up close and personal. Sure, there’s some way to go until we’re all standing shoulder-to-shoulder like sardines in a tin on a Thursday night in the backroom of a bar, but why not let us dream of invading the live streams that keep us holding the faith, right? Following on from the footsteps of their contemporaries such as ARCHITECTS and BIFFY CLYRO, progressive post-rockers BLACK PEAKS take to the 4,500-capacity Brighton Centre as hometown heroes for their turn in the livestream limelight.
Whilst premiered for the first time on April 7th, the set was recorded in the depths of winter in 2020, and across it’s eight track setlist, the seasonal setting perfectly suits the band’s sprawling soundscapes. One of the most compelling aspects of any live stream thus far have been the way in which bands have battled being without an audience. Whilst some have opted for the special effects a post-production edit offers with all of the gimmicks a SLIPKNOT and RAMMSTEIN co-headliner could cough up, others have been hellbent on capturing their sound in a new light, stripping back the theatrics for a set that lets the songs speak louder than anything else. It’s the latter that BLACK PEAKS breathe life into, and thank god, because it truly brings out the best in them.
The set shines a light on the eerily haunting atmosphere that ambles in the air; the camera traces the journey one may follow from the doors of the Brighton Centre to the front of the stage, passing through a venue that feels far more distant from the comfort zones we know and love without flurries of fans flaunting through it. Once at the front, the band bundle close together in a circle; if BLACK PEAKS rhythmic rituals were ever personified conceptually, this shamanic-like seance would be it. They shimmy and shift into gear as the glittering grooves of All That Divides‘ Aether glides into life, sly smiles sneaking out of their otherwise solemn-stricken faces showcasing the sheer relief at being a band making music in the same room again. The proceedings feel far more powerful when you put into context the fact they’ve not played together since even before the pandemic following vocalist Will Gardner’s struggles with sepsis.
Live At The Brighton Centre brings together a blaze of BLACK PEAKS cuts that leans heavily on 2018’s All That Divides whilst sharing a sprinkling of select songs from their debut, 2016’s Statues. There’s some surprises to be found too for the fans, including their second-only performance, and first to feature Will, of 2019 single King which is by far one of the set’s best bits; bringing together the anthemic arena-rock pomp that powers through the tracks veins with the band’s ability to light fire to all they play live to highlight the direction the band are marching their army towards.
Whilst the setlist may seem short in size, clocking in at just eight tracks and roughly forty-five minutes worth of music, the stripped-back sense of theatrics suits BLACK PEAKS as they fill a set that features absolutely no audience acknowledgment with equal amounts of impassioned adrenaline and raw emotion. Their approach presents an opportunity for them to bring out tracks they might not always play, like the blackgaze-engulfing progressive explosion of Home; which becomes a beast of its own in this live setting, as you can feel the emotion through Will’s facial expressions as drummer Liam Kearly delivers a show stopping display of musicianship.
As the spectral screams that scramble the scattering beauty beholden on Say You Will brings Live At The Brighton Centre to it’s unexpected and sudden end, there’s simply no way of escaping the fact that BLACK PEAKS are by far and large one of Britain’s brightest hopes and should be selling out shows at venues this size on any given day of the week.
Rating: 10/10
Check out our recent chat with the band whereby we learnt six things about Live At The Brighton Centre here!