[avatar user=”James” size=”50″ align=”left” /]This gig actually caught me by surprise as I only found out about it when I got email saying that they were playing from Metal Blade. Being a fan of Between the Buried and Me, I naturally decided that I should go and see them play. I was left feeling slightly indifferent as you’ll find out later in the article.
Up first on stage, were London based prog metallers Haken. Having never heard of them prior to week a before the concert, I was intrigued as to what they would sound like. Opening with an instrumental track before launching into their main set, they immediately showed everyone what they were about and the crowd responded with gusto. Superb vocal harmonies, intricate guitar melodies and solos, superb keyboard solos and even Keytar; they were all present in their songs. I can safely say that they are one of the best bands I’ve seen live in terms of musicality. I’m sure they have won some fans as they’ve certainly gained one with me! (9/10)
After a rather quick changeover, the headliners of the night took to the stage. Opening with “Selkies: The Endless Obsession”, the crowd went suitably insane for them and had the entire venue either singing or shouting along. Playing songs mainly from thier last two albums, the band delivered a first class performance. Having spoken to Dan (Bass) before the show, he mentioned that they would be playing for an hour and a half. However, after 55 minutes they went off stage not to be seen again. No official explanation has yet been given as to why they didn’t come back on. My guess is that the promoters had to pull them off due to it being a club night and freshers week. It still would have been nice to have someone aside from security say that they weren’t going back on. From looking at various social media pages, it seems as though a lot of fans of the band are quite angry that no reason was given. A shame really. (7.5/10)
As a result of the headliners set being cut short, I was left feeling a little sad but at the same time happy that I got to see them play. This resulted in me feeling indifferent about the concert. If they were to come back and do a headlining set again, then maybe have them play somewhere with a later curfew. I would go and see them again, but I would need to make sure it would be totally worth it.
All photographs courtesy of Carly Campbell.
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