Corporation is a venue that’s seen bands such as Bring me the Horizon, Architects and Lacuna Coil take to their stages. It’s exciting seeing all the names of the bands they have coming up on their billboard. Some you know, some you don’t. But one thing for sure is that this venue has a knack at giving emerging talent a stage to be seen on. To say Sheffield was wet and humid on this day would be an understatement. As soon as you stepped foot into the venue, you forgot all about the rain outside however as the heat made it feel like we were already deep into a concert. The regret of wearing a jumper hit hard.
Calligram are a London band formed in 2011. This current tour promotes their newest album Position | Momentum released under Prosthetic records. On this date of the tour, Calligram is supported by three other bands.
Beyst (pronounced Beast but spelt in Yorkshire) gave a great opening for the night. They blasted through their first song, making sure to make banter and maintain interaction with the crowd. Once the first song was done, the band gave a special shout out to Mastiff. They had seen the band perform at Bloodstock a year earlier and knew they wanted to one day share a stage – and that day had come. Their set continued with clear and harsh vocals that the crowd, who were bobbing their heads along, were evidently enjoying. It would have been great to see more interaction between the band members at the front of the stage, the banter between band members is always a joy to see live.
Beyst were nearing the end of their set and already the venue was sweaty and hot. At one point the vocalist lifted up his shirt to wipe off sweat. At what point do bands bring their own towels to shows? Regardless of the humid atmosphere, the vocalist had great expressions throughout the set and really brought the crowd into their world. The band currently have two new singles available on Spotify.
Balgurra are a Barnsley band that are fairly new to the scene, only having their debut gig a year ago. They didn’t have the smoothest of entries as they were having sound issues for a good amount of time as they took to the stage. Once those issues were resolved, the band got into their first song of the set. The band held themselves together pretty well despite the issues they had but it was clear that they may not be the most confident band yet when it comes to live performing. The stage banter was lacking in some respects, though not every band interacts with a crowd, it really needs to be decided what type of frontman the vocalist will be. Will they interact with the crowd? Or will they avoid eye contact and only speak scripted lines? The issue with this not being clear with the vibe of a band is that when the frontman does try to have stage banter, it falls flat. One such moment was the singer telling people to “enjoy the music and take it in” to which someone in the crowd heckled and the frontman didn’t know how to respond and went into the next song.
The guitarists of the band were unapologetically moshing and feeling the vibe to their songs, which is always a great sight to see if there isn’t enough room to move around on stage. The vocalist moved around the stage with good energy and stiff contortions. The feedback issues seemed to continue to the end of the set, however the band continued as they were and it was hard for the audience to tell there was anything wrong at all. A good thing about this band being so new to performing live still is that it means they have the room to grow and find themselves, versus a band that were already stuck in their ways. It will be an interesting development to see how this band change over the next year.
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Mastiff are “A miserable band from a miserable city.” Which could be anywhere in the UK, so I guess that makes the band relatable? Hull, by the way…that’s where they’re from. Luckily the sound issues that plagued the previous band didn’t seem to be a hindrance for Mastiff. The band had a great energy that could be felt from the first moment they took the stage. The stage banter of the band was some fresh air and the awkwardness between the stage and crowd was broken down. The crowd got back into the gig and it was clear there were fans from all around the UK and further that had come to see the band perform tonight, the vocalist giving a special shout out to them.
Mastiff took the stage with clear vocals and a great confidence that was only propelled by the great expressions from the band members and the stage banter from the singer. The vocals moved clearly between tones, showing the range of the vocalist which had perfect backing vocals from the guitarist. The band were able to crack jokes whilst tuning their instruments, leading the crowd to believe they were about to break into a country song. The members clearly had fun on the stage, which transferred into the audience below.
As always there is an intermission as the bands switch over. The crowd seemed to have grown twice as big as the headliners prepared their set. It was interesting to observe the crowd; There were men with Ghost merch and young girls with rugrats jackets. It goes to show there isn’t a definitive audience for metal music.
The moment the audience had been waiting for had arrived. Calligram took to the stage and wasted no time in getting into their sound. The synth elements of the backing tracks mixed with the black metal instrumentals is always something I find interesting to witness live. The vocalist sang with clean and stable harsh vocals that had the crowd in a chokehold. It was great to see the entire band vibe with the music and watch their expressions as they filled the atmosphere of the room.
Looking around the crowd and it wasn’t hard to see the fans who had waited too long for this moment. Singing the lyrics to their heart’s content (the only reason I couldn’t hear them being that the band were so heavy they drowned out any other noise). The vocalist was able to go between low and high pitched screams with ease, showing casing his comfortability with his range.
It would have been great to see more interaction with the crowd, getting them pumped and encouraging them to get active. It seems this vocalist is one who doesn’t speak, but that didn’t hold back the band as the bassist promoted their new album and encouraged people to buy some merch… unless they couldn’t afford to then that’s also fine, he was clear to clarify.
At one point, I look up from my phone after taking notes to find the vocalist had disappeared from the stage. Was there an issue? Had he come down to the crowd? Oh… wait, no… no he was just laying on the floor of the stage. One thing to note was I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve seen a vocalist of a black metal band use a mic stand. At some points the mic was hanging off the stand and the singer used it that way. At other points the mic stand was uncomfortably close to the bassist hanging low and the vocalist just went with it. Though he didn’t speak to the crowd much, the vocalist clearly had fun, at one point grabbing the bass and causing a momentary panic in the bassist.
Calligram held the audience in the palms of their hands and didn’t release that grip until the end of their set. It’s always a fun night when we get to see bands who just want to have fun with a crowd and aren’t stuck within a script. Many of the crowd stuck behind after the show to meet the bands and gander at the merch on the go – some also probably stayed behind to enjoy the club afterwards (the perks of a club being a venue). Mastiff have a busy year ahead with many festivals lined up this year and Calligram will be finishing their tour in the UK in July and then head to Europe for their Italian debut at frantic fest.
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Pics by JSM Slater Films
