It’s a Thursday night, which means it’s midweek gig night, and tonight is the awesome Vended at the dome in Tufnell Park. I’ve wanted to cover these guys since I saw them on the Ronnie James Dio stage at Bloodstock last year; they were probably my favourite band of that weekend, and I remember looking on stage and seeing Mosh watching them from the side of the stage (lucky bugger!).
The aggressively awesome Graphic Nature, who have supported Vended on previous tours, with an amazing mix of both hardcore and tech are first up. I instantly fell in love with their sound, and have since been on my regular rotation of music, playing bangers from their latest album, A Mind Waiting to Die. You could really see that the audience were enjoying it, with everyone crowding around singer Harvey Freeman as he jumps into the crowd for the final song, and sticking around after for selfies and a chat with the crowd.
Lake Malice were the main support band. I saw them support Bloodywood a few months ago, and I was really impressed then, and even more impressed now. Singer Alice Guala has an incredible amount of energy, and truly knows how to get that crowd going with an incredible mix of both cleans and harsh growls, you could really tell the audience was loving it. From circle pits to an emotional heart-to-heart with the audience about keeping each other safe, with a big fuck you to the real creeps out there; this felt like a safe gig. Guitarist Blake Cornwall matches Guala’s energy on stage with high kicks, running and bouncing; it’s safe to say he’s the Spider-Man of alt metal. Lake Malice have unquestionably become one of my favourite bands I’ve seen in a long time.
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The main event has arrived, Vended from Des Moines, Iowa, featuring Cole Espelande, Jeremiah Pugh (who was missing on the night due to injury), Simon Crahan, and of course Griffin Taylor. Their set opened up with both smoke and blue light, with the classic “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell playing in the background, opening up with the adrenaline-filled “Ded to Me”, the crowd instantly knew they were in for a hell of a night, playing a mixture of both older (they’re still a new band) and brand new music.
The crowd was insane, pitting constantly throughout the relatively short set, with the added bonus of a wall of death, which as a photographer was not fun to be stuck in the middle of, despite the fact that it was a lot of fun! All of the men on stage are extremely talented; Griffin’s ability to alternate between harsh growls and cleans was flawless, Cole was bursting with energy, giving it his all and interacting with the audience admirably, and Simon is undoubtedly one of the best young drummers around.
Although there are obvious Slipknot influences, it’s time to stop tarring Vended with the “Slipknot kids” brush because these guys have worked way too hard and deserve all the credit they get for truly making the sound their own. Vended is truly giving nu-metal a new lease of life, and I couldn’t be happier.
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Photos by Bracken Hake
