“I’ve noticed flowers always bloom in decay.”
Islington’s The Grace is a long and tight attic venue, decorated with disco balls. It’s the small capacity sibling of The Garage meaning it’s well situated for anyone in London, or those visiting from the north. To say the space was being used efficiently would be an understatement: sell out shows here will be elbow-to-elbow affairs, or in this night’s case, hardcore at its most cosy. Cauldron stopped here in their short early-year run (also visiting Manchester and Cardiff) with Killing Me Softly as main support, and xapothecaryx added as the local support. At first I thought I’d ended up at a Splitknuckle show with all their fresh merch being worn. Even though it started late, we also love a show that ends at the tidy hour of 10pm – hardcore is the best.
Words by Dobbin T, photography by Angelina Emmanuel.
xapothecaryx
Firstly, I have to own up – I took a free xapothecaryx sticker from their Reality Unfolds merch table a month ago, even though I missed their set. Tonight I got to make things right with the full experience. xapothecaryx had understated and casual stage presence, a trait shared by all of tonight’s bands, letting the music speak for itself. Their music uses all the modern hardcore tactics to get you grooving at key points, and they otherwise enjoy a lot of freedom within their songwriting, involving influences from extreme metal. The venue horse-shoed itself immediately as their gnarly tones sent the usual suspects spinning into action. “Toler(h)ate” was a highlight with its double breakdown and suspenseful panic chords. They also played “Indignant”, their contribution to the A Homeland Denied compilation. A sick band with an important message; you shouldn’t be disappointed to see them on any lineup.
Killing Me Softly
Killing Me Softly have earned an eyebrow-raising spot at Outbreak, a most coveted opportunity for UK bands. It was time to find out why, beyond the obvious strength of their studio material. There’s a powerviolence streak to their debut record Autumn Lost in Silence that was emphasised tonight by the room’s claustrophobic energy and the flexing from their drummer. I was most bowled-over by Jono Roberts’ world-class gutturals and screams. These sounds were completed by the visage of a man with a pissed-as-hell expression, who agitated the pit himself, like a chef stirring boiling soup with his bare hands. Besides the technical and heavy moments, they also paused with clean breaks, draping their performance with a haze of bittersweet sadness.
Cauldron
Cauldron make for an excellent live act now that their material is fully released on Suicide in the City. For the massive “Lonely Useless Orbit”, Jono Roberts’ stepped up to cover Jess Nyx (World Of Pleasure) parts to great effect. The band were visibly stunned at how well the chorus went down (“If I can’t be your Monroe, let me be your Black Dahlia / You’re worth dying for”) – another small watershed moment indicating future success. “Off Script” also inspired a similar response. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing an alternate ending to “Rejection Pact”, indulging those melodic guitars for just a bit longer (the set opened with the spoken word part from the song’s ending, thus the whole spirit of the song was preserved). Playing just seven songs, it was quite short for a headline set, but all the more tight, ready for their support slot with Dying Wish in the coming months.
