Your Demise - Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff - 13th February 2013 (Live Review)
Monday, 18 February 2013
Written by Owen Sheppard
Days after the release of their four track EP 'Cold Chillin' things are indeed running smoothly for a band who have gone through four front men since starting ten year ago. But now on their third release with Ed Mcrae on the mic, Your Demise seem more stable and more focused than ever.
With every new frontman, the band has somewhat reinvented themselves, earning hype from Kerrang! and Rock Sound, which explains their surprisingly younger fans despite the band’s age. Ed has undoubtedly brought a hip hop friendly image to their otherwise wholesomely barbaric take on metal edged hardcore. His guttural vocals sometimes have the flow of a rapper and they adorn themselves liberally with basketball caps and Air Jordan sneakers as much as t-shirts of bands like Terror and Sepultura.
Half the crowd look like they’ll be sent straight to bed for school the next day after this. The other half are already inked from necks to ankles. Two young’uns near me bear hoodies with “Boston straight edge” printed on them (you wonder how long that will last). But to all three support bands, the few hundred crammed in here are welcoming.
From Japan, Fact spark the night off with songs that blend pop punk pogoing with metallic guitars. They seem incredibly grateful and have every right to be infinitely proud of the fact that they’ve made it to the other side of the globe, playing to kids who seem genuinely interested to witness their performance.
The quintet Counterparts add a Canadian flavor to this internationally eclectic tour and are received with wide open arms as well. Incessantly brutal but their tempo shifts and drum fills hit home. ‘Jumping Ship’ is echoed word for word by several of the front rows to a taken a back front man- Brendan Murphey. His face struggles to disguise his glee as he drops the stern hardcore angry man act.
Penultimate band of the night from Garden City, North of London we have Heights who lately, have weathered turbulent times. Old bassist turned lead vocalist Alex Monty now leads the charge after their old front man was kicked out, something Heights’ “fans” still heavily scrutinize them for via cowardly You Tube comments. They come out fighting and deliver a monstrous barrage. Monty demands stage dives pandemonium and even jumps in the pit to show us how it’s done. His voice sounds raw with hysterical fury and it’s a hair-raising spectacle. Point made!
But come 10pm it’s finally Your Demise’s turn. They lean heavily on the newer material. Fresh from the new EP, ‘Karma’ kicks things off and limbs are flying on all directions. ‘Push Me Under’ leads in to the skate punk tinged ‘These Lights’. Ed’s vocals are bit hoarse and the gang chorus vocals fall a tad flat but it’s only an awkward blip.
“I’m going to be completely dead after this kids, cause we’re about to play one of the longest sets of our lives” Ed informs us. It’s true Your Demise haven’t had many of their own headline tours and this must feel like they’ve reached a career pinnacle.
Meanwhile ‘Born A Snake’ and ‘Scared Of The Light’ are not just savage in nature but jovially bouncy too. More than anything for both the band and the fans, this is incredible fun and with the security stood aside, no one’s holding back. As if tonight wasn’t already a sweat drenched affair already, things are only getting all the more haywire.
The only track to be dug out form the archives is ‘Burnt Tongues’ and as soon as it finishes, there’s a surprising move from a few dozen kids out of the door, whether for a fag break, to catch a last train home or if they’re strangely unimpressed is hard to tell, but not many of them come back. It leaves a more intimate feeling on the finishing touches of the show though. ‘Miles Away’ and ‘Forget’ are met with more crowd surfing and the air conditioning is turned on to tackle the beads of sweat reigning from the ceiling.
‘The Kids We Used To Be’ is the last offering, met by a completely spontaneous stage invasion with half the crowd ending up shouting in to the mics while an ambushed Your Demise revel in the action, still powering throw the last few bars. Love them or hate them, there’s no doubt Your Demise are having more fun now than they ever have done before and they evidently couldn’t have fewer fucks to give.
Your Demise continue their current 'Sink Your Teeth' UK tour tomorrow, Tuesday 19th February, in Manchester.
Tue February 19th 2013 - Moho, Manchester
Wed February 20th 2013 - Academy 2, Newcastle
Thu February 21st 2013 - Waterfront, Norwich
Fri February 22nd 2013 - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
Sat February 23rd 2013 - The Garage, London
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With every new frontman, the band has somewhat reinvented themselves, earning hype from Kerrang! and Rock Sound, which explains their surprisingly younger fans despite the band’s age. Ed has undoubtedly brought a hip hop friendly image to their otherwise wholesomely barbaric take on metal edged hardcore. His guttural vocals sometimes have the flow of a rapper and they adorn themselves liberally with basketball caps and Air Jordan sneakers as much as t-shirts of bands like Terror and Sepultura.
