Devil's Gate Music
Related Articles
A pleasantly sunny Manchester evening, queuing outside Sound Control in Manchester before descending in to the basement for the evening’s musical entertainment.
For a Thursday evening, in a relatively small venue in Manchester, there was a good turn out. Wovenwar clearly have loyal fan base here, with many of the
local characters giving me the run-down on the band, and how I was in for a treat.
Opening this evening were a fresh-faced Manchester and, Heritage. The band have quite a few steps to take before they can be considered a “touring band”
with a mixture of ill-rehearsed timings, and lacklustre vocals. I personally felt the vocalist needed to spend less time jumping about and pulling faces, and go back to basics, and concentrate on his sound and projection. There were some good basic principles in place for them to build upon, and I was especially impressed with the rhythm section.
Next up was As Lions. Despite it only being their 3rd gig, they threw themselves into the performance from the very first lively riff, with a mix of large, powerful, rocking melodies, with strong, consistent drumming, and a groovy bass. Austin Dickinson is the man up front, and yes, he is Bruce’s son. I found him very unassuming even with that DNA running through his veins. He has inherited the fantastic stage presence, and possesses outstanding vocal ability. They are clearly a band who work hard, practice harder, and love their time on stage. I instantly felt part of the performance. These guys are a must see, and I am very much looking forward to the first EP, due out later this year.
Then, finally, it was time for WOVENWAR.
The room shuffled forward, as more people seemed to appear from nowhere. I especially remember a lady with red and black hair…. how her neck survived this next performance, I am not sure. Hats off to you metal lady!
Shane Blay walked on stage engaging the crowd and erupting into some wondrous vocals and grunt. Such a fantastic range! During the performance I think the consistency of the sound grew. There seemed to be something lacking during the first couple of songs, most likely some technical issues.
In general, I think the band does indeed sound like a heavy As I Lay Dying; big riffs, huge choruses and solid drumming, as you would expect from the previous adventures of the band with singer Tim Lambesis. It does feel that the band have a lot more grunt with the new venture, and new vocalist, and clearly are enjoying what they are doing.
Favourite songs of the evening? I would definitely recommend checking out ‘Matter of Time’, ‘Dead To Rights’ and epic set-ender, ‘All Rise’ that left that warm humming in my ears all the way home!
If you are an “As I Lay Dying” fan, you need to check Wovenwar out…. a more mature breed of metalcore to shake your tail feathers to!
Review and Photography: Amy Sterriker
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”16″ gal_title=”Wovenwar”]]]>