All That Remains

support Misery Signals + Textures + Eternal Lord
author PP date 09/04/07 venue Islington Academy, London, UK

Seeing as how All That Remains' latest full length album "The Fall Of Ideals" has been rated as one of the best metalcore albums written to date, it was surprising to find Islington Academy only three quarters full especially since it only houses around five hundred people at maximum capacity. Regardless, it was geared to be a great show with several scene-hyped acts on the bill from Misery Signals and Textures to Eternal Lord. As our interview with Misery Signals continued slightly later than we had expected, myself and DY had to go grab a bite before returning to the venue for the show, causing us effectively missing Eternal Lord entirely. But judging merely from their name, I'm sure we didn't miss much anyway.

Textures

So the first guys to get up on stage were the Dutch metallers Textures, who last year released their latest album "Drawing Circles" to critical acclaim. The band hasn't caught onto such a fan following yet in the UK however, and therefore are still taking advantage of the second support slots to increase their fanbase. But based on their performance tonight, not many new heads were turned their way at least judging from the crowd reaction. There were only a couple of heads nodding to their rhythmic pulsations and their vocalist's growl outbursts, but to me, not having heard more than a song or two from their albums, their liveshow didn't offer much on top of the music, and the perception in my mind was just a bunch of metal dudes playing songs on stage, neither boring nor entertaining.

6

Misery Signals

Misery Signals, on the other hand, started off much more strongly and got the crowd going straight away. It wouldn't have been odd to mistake them as the headlining act at times, but especially during the fan-favorite "The Failsafe" mosh pits opened up and fists flew up in air followed by screams of "IT WAS AN ACT OF DESPERATION!!". The melodically layered guitars resonated perfectly in Islington Academy, and together with the finishing song "Mirrors", the band surely turned a few more heads into the legacy of Misery Signals. Vocalist Karl stormed across the stage in his usual behemoth-like appearance, screaming from side to side, and even taking a go at the crowd across the barrier a few times. But for some reason, the band opted to play for almost 45 minutes (nearly equal to the headliners), and towards the end of the set the general feeling was "come on lets get All That Remains on stage". After about half an hour to their set, their songs started to blend into each other, and the bombastic effect songs like "An Offering" and the contrasting softness of "Migrate" was lost in the long run. Nevertheless, not bad at all, just wished it would be shorter given it was just a support slot.

7

All That Remains

Soon after All That Remains took the stage, it became apparent that none of the bands could stand a chance against their technical take on metalcore, it's catchiness and their overall stageshow. "Six" was monumental, with everyone nearby crowding agains the barrier to see Oli Herbert's ultra-technical guitar work close-by. "This Calling" with its opening "YEAHHHHHHH" scream was another one that opened up a lethal mosh pit in the small-sized venue. Shortly thereafter vocalist Philip Labone threw away his shirt as if to mean he meant business, and after that was all over the place. Whether it was right by the crowd or jumping across the stage, he delivered his metalcore screams spot on without deviating even in the most miniscule manner from the album. "The Air That I Breathe" and "Not Alone" were the other two crowd favorites besides the aforementioned, and even though the crowd never really got going on the older songs as well as the newer ones, the show never saw a moment where one could've said to have been bored. There was more than enough to see in the Herbert - Martin guitar combination and in the cuteness of the band's female bassist Jeanne Sagan for anyone to ever feel out of place at the gig. For All That Remains, tonight was very much another day in the office, nothing especially astounding, but nevertheless not bad at all either.

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