Every Time I Die

support Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster
author PP date 18/12/09 venue Loppen, Copenhagen, DEN

Last time I saw Every Time I Die was in Brixton Academy, London, when they were supporting My Chemical Romance. At a big show like this, sound's always going to be near-perfect, and with plenty of room available on stage, frontman Keith Buckley's antics, dressed up in a suit no less, made a solid impression on me even though I was never really a fan of their records. Until their newest record "New Junk Aesthetic" landed on my desk, of course, the first disc in which Every Time I Die fully realize the potential they've always had. But despite the growing buzz about the band's record, the presales before their Danish show were disappointing to say the least, but luckily a whole bunch of people showed up to buy tickets at the door instead to make a Loppen at least two-thirds full tonight. And knowing how people crowd around the stage at this venue, that's more than enough to make the show look full, something which would prove to ignite Every Time I Die....but more on that soon, lets first deal with the support.

Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster

Judging by the pre-show hype on Facebook, at least as many people were coming here to watch Maylene as for the headliners Every Time I Die. I, too, was curious to check out the band, given how solid their first two albums were even though the third one still hasn't sunk into me as well as I would've hoped. A lengthy southern-styled intro surrounded the venue as the band slowly entered the stage, and dove straight into "The Day Hell Broke Loose At Sicard Hollow". The sound was extremely bass-heavy to start out with, but it was quickly corrected (at least to some extent), and the band could only focus on their energetic, all-over-the-place stage performance. The band gained some cheap laughs straight away when one of the guitarists lifted the guitar above his head so the back was showing, where a "CLAP!!" sticker was found. Quite an effective and innovative way to involve the crowd, I must admit. As the band tore through "Memories Of The Grove", a distinct rock'n'roll atmosphere took over Loppen, with a sea of headbangers at the front of the venue making sure the band felt appreciated. Standing a little more towards the back, however, the sound still felt a little hollow, focused at the front precisely in the same way as it was for the No Use For A Name show, reducing some of the intensity of the show unless you were standing right at the front. But that's a minor flaw, and a more major one can be found in how different the band felt and looked like between the groovy metal tracks of the older material and the softer rock stuff from their newest record. During the former, the band were so much more alive, convincing and energetic, with the crowd reaction being equally responsive, whereas the new songs mostly looked like another day at the office. Additionally, the band did look sort of tired of touring and being away from home (as confirmed by the band in the interview, soon to be online), so some energy was surely lost as a result. "Step Up (I'm On It)" rescued the set though as the final set, once again inducing the entire crowd into a rock'n'roll headbanging session. At the end of the day, however, Maylene's set left a little more to be desired, but perhaps they're better when they haven't been on tour for 2+ months....maybe "Dry The River" would've given the band an extra half a grade or so?

7

Setlist:

1. The Day Hell Broke Loose At Sicard Hollow

2. Memories Of The Grove

3. Gusty Like The Wind

4. Wylie

5. Waiting On My Deathbed

6. Listen Close

7. Caution: Dangerous Curves Ahead

8. Darkest Of Kin

9. Step Up (I'm On It)

Every Time I Die

Every Time I Die begin their set with the two opening tracks from their new record, "Roman Holiday" and "The Marvelous Slut", both explosive songs that make sure the venue security have their hands full from the first seconds of the set until the very last note has been laid to rest. Within moments to "Roman Holiday", chaos ensues everywhere amidst the crowd, while the band's stage presence is sickeningly energetic and dominating, much like a hardcore band that draws all its intensity from the crowd response. And response is fucking intense tonight. We're talking people hanging from the ceiling during "For The Record" and other tracks. We're talking about the band exploding everywhere while the stage is being overcrowded by fans who are either being encouraged to hop on or are just falling on because they can't withstand the chaotic environment behind them. As a result of more than a couple of beers, I had to quickly dash to the toilet in the middle of the band's set (strategically chose one of the songs I don't know so well, mind you!), and noticed some dude bleeding pretty heavily, which really tells you how dangerous it was to involved yourself anywhere in the vicinity of the mosh pit for this show. "We used to play hockey arenas during taste of chaos, but this... this is how it's supposed to be", roars vocalist Keith Buckley into the mic before launching into yet another Southern-fueled hardcore piece, further fortifying the basement hardcore punk show feeling that's omnipresent tonight. Yeah, the sound sucks and you can barely make out the songs even as an avid fan - they begin sounding like full on hardcore punk tracks instead of the southern-tinged metalcore that they are in reality - but at a show like this it doesn't matter if you know the songs or not. It's all about the intensity and in-your-face aggression, not about the clothes you wear or cheesy clean vocal choruses. "This stage is fucking beer soaked, but I love it", proclaims Keith at one point, visibly happy about that as it means people have been falling all over the stage with their beers in hand, before ending the set drenched in sweat, looking like a band that put their everything into the set and then some. Every Time I Die may be a band who's sold over 100k records, but tonight they look like a local hardcore punk band with a cult following willing to damage every part of their body to show their loyalty to the band. Few bands I've seen are able to craft such an atmosphere other than Converge (at this same venue as well), so huge kudos to Every Time I Die, whose set would've only benefited from songs like "Organ Grinder" and "Host Disorder".

Setlist:

1. Roman Holiday

2. The Marvelous Slut

3. Ebolarama

4. No Son Of Mine

5. Bored Stiff

6. Wanderlust

7. For The Record

8. Apocalypse Now And Then

9. I've Been Gone A Long Time

10. Cities And Years

11. Floater

12. The New Black

13. Werewolf

--Encore--

14. Kill The Music

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