“I appeared in your arms as if I had been born there.”
Counterparts voyages to the EU and UK are beginning to feel like an annual ritual of sorts. With each album comes songs begging to be heard live, along with the expected classics such as “Stranger“, “Compass“, and closing out on “The Disconnect“. This year’s headliner comes in the wake of Counterparts dropping off The Amity Affliction‘s headliner, due to it being moved to the start of 2023. Arguably, this is for the better, and has resulted in a much more appealing tour, with the crossover of Amity Affliction fans and Counterparts probably being quite minor, and saving punters from the prospect of having to see Counterparts at a barrier show in an O2 venue. Instead, they return to the Underworld for the first time since their 2015 Tragedy Will Find Us headliner.
Along with them for the UK run of shows was Birmingham unit Cauldron and Australia’s Justice for the Damned. Following on from the likes of Static Dress, Employed to Serve and Chamber, there can never be any complaints about the quality of support acts on a Counterparts headliner. With Cauldron opening, they certainly showed they know how to put on a rampant affair. With recent bangers “Crossing the Threshold” and “Futile” included on the setlist, with the latter of the two closing out their set, their dirty breakdowns drew the crowd again and began to set the atmosphere for what was going to be an intense night. There will be plenty more Cauldron fans after this show given their impressive performance, except for those who decided the expensive Underworld bar was a better choice than checking out the supporting acts.
Returning since their last appearance supporting Knocked Loose come Justice For The Damned. It can be easy to forget that the Aussie band have been together for seven plus years, with 2017’s Dragged Through the Dirt catapulting them to scene notoriety. With its title track, alongside “Please Don’t Leave” making an appearance on the setlist, leaving the remainder to 2020’s corker of a record, Pain Is Power, their set was nothing short of electrifying. Tracks such as “The House You Built Is Burning” and “Pain Is Power” have an intensity in a live setting that are incredible to witness in front of a hot crowd. As the bridge into the breakdown yells “I am the storm from which you cower, pain is power” and its epic outro verse of closing with “This hurt will last forever” is ushered in, the rage and fury of the track takes over the body and the mind. With hopefully new material on the horizon, maybe 2023 will bless us with a Justice For The Damned headliner.
It was evident from the outset that Counterparts were the band everyone was itching to see, with the venue awash with various bits and pieces of Counterparts merch. It felt very much like home turf for Counterparts, despite being across from the Atlantic, with the prospect of anyone dipping after seeing the supports being incredibly slim. The setlist comprised of a “best hits” blended in with their newer material from recent record, A Eulogy For Those Still Here. “Whispers of Your Death” and “Bound to the Burn” kicked off was what soon to turn into an incredibly warm set, with “make your cancer mine” shouted back by the crowd with a sincere passion. Crowd favourites “Monument“, “Stranger” and “Compass” made appearances too, with for those who have seen Counterparts before, the lyrics will be ingrained in the memory. There’s still something deeply cathartic about shouting back lyrics such as “You are the difference between hell and home” even after seeing it live many times and the song nearly releasing a decade ago.
Heavier moments were performed with “Thieves” and “Your Own Knife“, which did provide the visual humour of folk trying navigate the pillars Underworld have that are placed directly in the middle of the pit. The simple solution to this, which has been seen at other gigs, is to have the pit a bit further back rather than directly at the front, but clearly the crowd did not get the memo. As is the expected status quo with Counterparts gigs, limbs were being flung off stages and crowdsurfers carried at almost all moments. With the issue again of drinks being propped upon the stage and knocked over, it did make the stage appear to be a slippy affair – at least this time it wasn’t dark fruits. The usual issue of people deciding to spend too long on the stage did crop up again, especially during one interlude. This isn’t to besmirch what was an incredibly receptive crowd, who gave as good as they’ve got, proving to be one of the most engaged crowds I’d yet seen since shows returned. There have been moments this year where crowds seem to have diluted slightly, however there seems to be something about Brendan Murphy‘s commanding stage presence that gets people moving and truly sets the crowd off, as was evident with the END headliner earlier this year.
As the set closed out with “Mass Grave Of Saints” before encore “The Disconnect“, chants of ” I watch the coffins close, wishing one were mine” filled the room. This recent headliner, alongside their performance at Outbreak, firmly cements Counterparts as one of the best live bands in the game. At this point it would be fair to consider them a bucket list band, with their usual excellent choice of venues and support acts. Alongside a discography and stage presence that creates an electric crowd, it’s a cocktail for a show that won’t be easy to forget. With their next headliner teased for Q2 next year at the end of the show, with arguably the strongest support acts to date, it seems there’s no better time than now to finally see, or potentially revisit Counterparts in a live setting.