Starting the night off with a bang were Glasgow locals Mercy. From previous gigs, Mercy have always been very consistent in their performances and tonight was no different. What makes Mercy different to your standard hardcore band is that they have various sections in their music that is reminiscent of 90s rock/ grunge. You can hear an amalgam of inspirations from bands like NIN and Type O Negative.
When played live it is mesmerizing and takes you on your own psychedelic trip before transitioning into crushingly heavy riffs that make you want to fight the barrier in Ivory Blacks. Very solid performance from a very solid band. I look forward to seeing them again. (7/10)
Twitching Tongues
Twitching Tongues wasted no time at all to get the crowd moving. Instead of opening with a new track (from their incredible album Disharmony) like the majority of other bands do, they instead decided to smash out an old fan favourite (“Eyes Adjust”) which immediately set the tone for how the crowd would react to the rest of their set. Like Mercy, they also aren’t just a run-of-the-mill hardcore/metal band. It’s extreme music with a twist; ridiculously heavy metallic hardcore riffs with gruff melodies shrouded with an eerie overtone.
The new material sounded great and was well received by the fans as they were singing alone note for note. At the tail end of their set they then performed “Preacher Man” which in a weird way is like a ballad. On the album, the song has multiple harmonies which creates an epic atmosphere however when performed live there was none of that. It would be nice to see them bring the vocal harmonies to the stage the next time they play as it really adds another dimension to their music.
They then closed their set with “World War V” and for those who haven’t heard, it’s mosh city. It was a great song to finish on, what a band. (7.5/10)
Wisdom In Chains
As I was interviewing Twitching Tongues at the time, I never got to see the whole set from Wisdom In Chains therefore will not be scoring them. I can tell you that this band are extremely good fun to experience live. They are classic hardcore/punk with easy/simple chorus’ that allow everyone in the venue to join in (which they did!).
I think the MVP of the night was their lead vocalist. He was so energetic and grabbed the crowd’s attention. It’s always great to see confident front men and they can really make a set so much better if the energy is there. Good vibes all round however at times the songs became a little predictable. All in all it was good fun and I would probably see them again.
Terror
After hearing so much about the Terror live experience, I was fairly excited to say the least. When the band hit the first note the venue was turned upside down. It was fast, aggressive and unrelenting. The whole floor was bouncing from start to finish and lead vocalist Scott Vogel was responsible. This man knows how to get a crowd going, it was second nature and it was clear that he wanted nothing but the best from what Glasgow had to offer that night.
At one point he even conducted a circle pit around one of the pillars in the middle of the floor. The band were exceptionally tight – it’s been a while since I’ve seen a band play with such ferocity and not miss a beat. There wasn’t anything bad about their set. These guys are not hardcore legends for nothing. If anything, it was a shame that there was a barrier… (8/10)