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support TheCityIsOurs
author PP date 01/10/23 venue Stengade, Copenhagen, DEN

Sunday night shows in Copenhagen are one of the toughest gigs you can get as a band. You're virtually guaranteed a sleepy crowd, a much lower attendance than usual, and consequently, an uphill struggle to create a dynamic anywhere like the one on Thursdays, Fridays, or Saturdays, regardless of venue. That is also the case tonight, where the 230-capacity Stengade is barely a third full despite UK djent/metalcore royalty on visit in the form of Heart Of A Coward.

TheCityIsOurs

On tonight's supporting duties we have TheCityIsOurs, a relatively new but already hyped UK band that morphs together multiple --core genres from metalcore to post-hardcore and more. They're renowned for their high-energy live shows and do not disappoint on that front tonight either. There are karate kicks and swirls throughout as the band is in constant movement, jumping and bouncing across the stage, drawing loud cheers from the small audience for their great stage energy. Their guitarist makes multiple rounds into the crowd, often spinning around chaotically within his self-created pit.

Still, it's their infectiously catchy songs that capture our attention. "So Sad", for instance, combines easycore, pop punk, and metalcore in the vein of A Day To Remember for an irresistible chorus. "Low" has an instantly catchy "'cause I'm dying inside" bit within its chorus, while the thick, charismatic screams and growls add great contrast in the process.

Sure, there's lots of backing track throughout, but then again, they're supposed to be a five-piece but there are only four people on stage tonight. Either way, their high-energy onslaught combined with fantastic choruses deserves a much bigger and more engaged audience than what was on offer at Stengade tonight.

Heart Of A Coward

Now I've seen Heart Of A Coward once before. It was more than a decade ago when they played at Hevy Music Festival 2011, and what I remember from that show is a decent, aggressive form of djent/metalcore but without much fanfare. That's very much the vibe I'm still getting from their set twelve years later. The stage is bathing in alternating red light and dark blue light, making it very difficult to see the instrumental intricacies that take place on the fretboards on stage.

At the same time, the band is recognizing the Sunday vibes and doing their very best to make a show out of it: "If we came all the way here despite this Brexit bullshit, you better come up here and stand right up front", vocalist Kaan Tasan shouts before opening their set with a duo from their new album. The title track and "Collapse" take us into Architects-style melodic, atmospheric metalcore world, while "Shade" from "Hope And Hindrance" takes us into their older, brutality-inducing djent world.

The band is displaying decent energy on stage, ranging from synchronous headbangs to the occasional jumps, but loses in this category quite clearly to TheCityIsOurs whose set is basically a non-stop bouncing one throughout. "Passenger" is brutal and aggressive, while "Hollow" draws a small sing-along during its chorus for the first time tonight. "I just need you to bang your heads, is all", Tasan reminds us, having earlier told us he's not expecting us to kick our mates in the face given it's a Sunday and all. The small crowd is happy to oblige, especially as the band goes through their heavier material like "Monstro" and the breakdown madness of "Deadweight" to finish off the set.

Still, my impression is largely unchanged from a decade ago. They've got solid songs and display decent energy live, but without the wow factor that would make their shows stand out from a mass of similar-sounding bands out there.

Setlist:

• 1. This Place Only Brings Death
• 2. Collapse
• 3. Devour Me
• 4. Shade
• 5. Passenger
• 6. Drown In Ruin
• 7. Mouth of Madness
• 8. Hollow
• 9. Decay
• 10. Monstro
• 11. Deadweight