Impericon Never Say Die!

support Emmure + Carnifex + I Killed The Prom Queen + Betraying The Martyrs + Hundredth + Northlane + Hand Of Mercy
author BL date 08/10/13 venue Electric Ballroom, London, UK

Due to work commitments, I was sadly unable to attend to see the earlier bands on tonight's billing which included Hand Of Mercy, Northlane, Hundreth and Betraying The Martyrs. Though perhaps it was in the end fortuitous, as last year turned out to be a stern test of focus by the end of night and a combination of constant breakdowns and beers didn't help (totally professional about that last thing). By the time of arrival, I was just in time for the final three bands. The headliner to look forward to tonight were Emmure - maybe not so lucky after all.

I Killed The Prom Queen

I Killed The Prom Queen's return to the metalcore scene seems to have eluded my awareness, even to the point where I had not realised that Jona Weinhofen had quit Bring Me The Horizon to return to this Australian outfit. As it stands, I don't think many could say that he made a particularly wise choice (from the outside at least) given the almost-mainstream success his former band are now enjoying. However that said, IKTPQ's performance was solid and convincing enough to show signs that they may yet be a potent force once more in the metalcore domain. Aside from the usual picks from their now long ago album, but still robust, "Music For The Recently Deceased", two newer songs were played including "Memento Vivere", and a debut performance for never before heard "To The Wolves" which had a few crushing moments of sheer heaviness. The crowd gave a reasonably warm reception for new and old songs alike, a couple of intense mosh pits forming for the more devastating parts and breakdowns whilst staying in good voice. New vocalist Jamie Hope made the most of proceedings with his on point vocal repetoire of fierce and intense screams, which was probably the most memorable aspect of an otherwise by the book performance.

6

  • 1. Your Shirt Would Look Better With a Columbian Neck-tie
  • 2. Memento Vivere
  • 3. Say Goodbye
  • 4. To The Wolves (New Song)
  • 5. Sharks In Your Mouth

Carnifex

For many, Carnifex were the reason they were here. That of which, isn't so surprising once the band began their sonic assault of blast beats, twisted melodies, and huge breakdowns - the place suddenly became a pit of hell engulfed by the flailing of bodies. The sound itself was blisteringly sharp but also menacingly weighty and in terms of atmosphere, the band certainly projected a strong intimidating sense of doom where the excellent lighting also proved an aid in their deathly display. Front man Scott Lewis not only also looked very much the part for the surroundings, but also gave a ferocious vocal performance which sounded significantly more terrifying than on their records. For the more long time fans, Carnifex were especially generous to offer multiple songs from the first two albums including "Slit Wrist Savior" and the manic "The Diseased And The Poisoned" among others. Unfortunately the constant breakdowns became a bit too distracting and predictable in their interruptions which was a shame, as Carnifex have plenty of expertise in writing decent riffs and guitar solos to back up their credentials. That aside, Carnifex knew at least how to please a crowd hungry for the menu they had to offer.

7

  • 1. In Coalesce With Filth and Faith
  • 2. Slit Wrist Savior
  • 3. Dead But Dreaming
  • 4. Die Without Hope (New Song)
  • 5. The Diseased and the Poisoned
  • 6. Until I Feel Nothing
  • 7. Lie to My Face
  • 8. Hell Chose Me

Emmure

The offensive combination of brutal breakdown orientated chugging, profoundly abysmal lyrics, and the eerie, yet commanding presence of vocalist Frankie Palmeri makes Emmure in some ways a remarkable, and strange live experience. Make no mistake, trying to defend this band's catalogue of songs for their musical depth is a futile excercise, but in a live context they can be entertaining and the concert goers absolutely lapped it up tonight. Everything soundwise was obnoxiously loud and heavy and it was worth a chuckle or two as well as a cringe to hear "I want to watch you suck his dick" out loud again, nevermind rationalising why such a silly song like that even had to exist. Frankie, as mentioned, was the focal point for the band on stage with his cold hearted stares, and also probably because there was not much else of interest to pay attention to. His vocals were spat out with an eerie venom and certainly added colour to the fat wall of destructive rhythm guitars - of which I still struggled to understand why Emmure needed two guitarists when both played the same open string notes mixed with the occasional high pitched dissonance.

Newer songs from the last two albums were more recognisable and as such were the better part of the set list which spanned all their records, in particular tracks like "Solar Flare Homicide", "Demons With Ryu", and "MDMA". Those latter two songs respectively speaking, are actually tolerably decent in comparison to the rest of their 'colorful' discography - there's even some melody in there. "Children Of Cybertron" on the other hand, hit like a freight train carrying a load of anvils, an absurdly heavy and absurdly silly song that has no appeal other than inciting indiscriminate violence and the crowd did their best to oblige. Lasty came the encore of oldie "When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong", the hilarious yet frightening shouts of "Won't you be my bride? Another Day! Another Day! Another Day! Another Day!" repeated at the end was as disturbing to watch as it was hearing it on record. Perhaps it was for the best that Emmure's set did not feel that long in the end, as any longer and I would have probably sobered up enough to start questioning why I was there again.

Setlist:

  • 1. 4 Poisons 3 Words
  • 2. Solar Flare Homicide
  • 3. Sunday Bacon
  • 4. Protoman
  • 5. I Thought You Met Telly and Turned Me Into Casper
  • 6. Demons With Ryu
  • 7. 10 Signs You Should Leave
  • 8. Drug Dealer Friend
  • 9. Dogs Get Put Down
  • 10. R2Deepthroat
  • 11. Children of Cybertron
  • 12. MDMA

Encore:

  • 13. When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong

Photos courtesy of our own Lauren Harris.

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