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You guys want something heavy?”, before crashing into ‘No Knock’, you can tell that he needs this. He asks, “Okay if we do an old one?” and as ‘Not Alone’ kicks in, so does the circle pit. It continues with each song and steadily builds as the thrashy ‘Chiron’ is unleashed. Labonte pauses mid-set to talk about his fallen brother, talking about it being a “significant loss” and “weird without Oli”. He introduces Jason Richardson on the guitar, and thanks him for “stepping up”. He pays tribute to Oli by saying that he “loved metal, loved touring… and we had to keep it going”, the band then dive into newer tracks such as ‘Wasteland’, one of the last tracks Oli played on. ‘Fuck Love’ should be renamed ‘Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck Loooooooooooooooooooooove’ as Labonte stretches each syllable out to get his point across. He introduces power-ballad-of-sorts ‘What If I Was Nothing?’ by pointing out that the band like to mix it up and play different stuff, but it’s the metalcore of ‘This Calling’ that brings the destruction to an end. All That Remains leave the stage emotionally and physically spent. A very emotional hour or so, and one that lingers on for quite a while. Sevendust have only been on stage for a few minutes and a pint is flying through the darkness towards vocalist Lajon Witherspoon. Thankfully, he deflects it away and continues with ‘Pieces’. Now, it might have only been plastic, but who the hell chucks something at the band? Yeah, we’ve waited seven years for Sevendust to appear, so let’s chuck something at them? Really? Plus, Sevendust are big guys, I wouldn’t like to take a hit from either guitarist, Clint Lowery or John Connolly, so why do it? Anyway, incident over with, Sevendust simply batter the crowd, musically of course. Witherspoon is one cool cat, the owner of one of the most powerful, soulful voices in modern metal today. He’s also one of the humblest, constantly making eye contact with everyone, mouthing “thank you” as he bows with his hands pressed together. “Are you happy to see us?”, he asks. He commands that the circle pit becomes a walking circle, telling them to speed up as the band slam in. Local hero, The Pit Troll is on duty at the barrier, and it’s a sight to behold as he scoops up each surfer as they come over, then gently places them down. Each surfer is met with either a fist bump, handshake, or high five from Witherspoon, if they are female they get blown a kiss. “We’re taking you all back to the US”, he tells the crowd, turns to The Pit Troll he tells him “and you’re coming too!”. The setlist is made up Sevendust classics from through the years. Current album ‘All I See Is War’ is a belter of an album, but perhaps the band felt that, performing new material on their first UK shows in seven years, wasn’t going to work. With a sixty minute set, it’s hard to drop songs that fans haven’t had the chance to hear in years, but hopefully that means Sevendust won’t take as long to come back again. ‘Praise’ and ‘Waffle’ are always killer tracks to crank up and live, the intensity increases tenfold. The pits are getting more frequent, and the band are loving it. Bassist Vinnie Hornsby is a ladies man for sure! He notices them all in the crowd, flicking them picks, flashing them a grin, posing for their cameras… he is lapping it up! The guitar pairing of Lowery and Connolly are towering, constantly swapping sides, always on the front foot. Then there is the ringmaster general, drummer Morgan Rose. Perched up high on his riser, he is mesmerising to watch. Simply stunning. Witherspoon mentions that they usually play ‘Angel’s Son’, but tonight they are changing it up, and so introduces ‘Shine’, dedicating it to Oli Herbert and the guys in All That Remains. A classy tribute from a classy band. Ending on a pummelling version of ‘Face To Face’, Sevendust prove, yet again, why they are one of the most underrated bands around. Hopefully, it won’t be such a long time before they return to these shores. When they do, your attendance is mandatory. Review: Dave]]>
