Rocker (feedbot)
Platinum Member
Watching Sheffield’s Malevolence close out their European tour at Brixton’s O2 Academy is something else entirely. The atmosphere builds from the moment the doors swing open, as bodies press towards the barrier, filling the venue with that particular brand of anticipation that only comes with a tour closer. The air is thick and getting thicker. Everyone knows what tonight is – this is the last stop, and no one’s holding anything back.
Beforehand, PSYCHO-FRAME kick things off with their brand of American deathcore that’s been turning heads since ‘Salvation Laughs in the Face of a Grieving Mother’ dropped earlier this year. Vocalist Jourdan Pearce prowls the stage with manic energy, his guttural roars cutting through the room like a serrated blade. The crowd response is mixed – some arms stay crossed, others are already windmilling – but the hardcore contingent absolutely lap it up. The breakdowns hit with seismic force, each one triggering a fresh surge into the pit. It’s uncompromising stuff that sets the tone for what’s to come.
Dying Wish are next, bringing their blend of Y2K metalcore nostalgia and modern hardcore aggression to a venue that’s now properly warming up. Emma Boster commands the stage with a presence that’s equal part vulnerability and absolute fury, switching between clean melodic passages and throat-shredding screams that sound like they’re tearing something vital loose. There’s a genuine emotional weight to the performance. It cuts through the aggression to deliver moments where the entire room exhales collectively, before being dragged back into the chaos. By the time they finish, the temperature has risen several degrees.
SPEED round out the support, and the Australian hardcore crew are a different beast entirely. This is straightforward, brutal hardcore – it doesn’t mess about. Frontman Jem Siow whips the crowd into an absolute frenzy, shouting out UK bands like Pest Control and Dynamite to massive cheers. People are using the crush barriers as launching pads, hurling themselves into the crowd in waves. Their debut album ‘Only One Mode’ topped the ARIA charts earlier this year, and you can tell why – it’s primal and immediate, the kind of music that demands a physical response. By the time they’re done, security are working overtime to keep people upright.
By the time Malevolence take to the stage, the venue is absolutely rammed. Actor Alan Ford introduces them; his distinctive voice booming through the speakers before the band launch into ‘Blood To The Leech’. From here, it’s straight into ‘Trenches’, and the place erupts. The chant that accompanies “Everybody’s always looking for a handout, who the fuck are you?” is deafening – thousands of voices united in a particular brand of working-class fury that Malevolence have made their trademark. Vocalist Alex Taylor stalks the stage with the presence of someone who’s earned every inch of the ground beneath their feet, switching his delivery between guttural roars and venomous spoken passages. Behind him, Josh Baines is particularly on fire, with fingers flying across the fretboard during every solo, each more technically impressive than the last. The rhythm section provide an absolutely punishing foundation, with every hit of the kick drum feeling like it’s trying to cave your chest in.
The setlist pulls heavily from ‘Where Only The Truth Is Spoken’, but weaves in enough older material to keep everyone satisfied. ‘Self Supremacy’ receives a huge response, with Taylor calling for circle pits that open up across different sections of the floor – Brixton Academy’s layout delivers multiple whirlpools of chaos rather than one massive pit, and it’s a sight to behold. ‘On Broken Glass’ sees Taylor encourage a wave of crowd surfers into action. The aim is to get as many people airborne as is physically possible, and the crowd obliges. The instrumental ‘Jam’ gives everyone a moment to breathe before they pile back in for ‘Counterfeit’ and ‘Karma’. ‘Higher Place’ and ‘The Other Side’ provide unexpected moments of melodic respite as the crowd singalong to the cleaner vocal passages, before everything kicks back into full brutality. By the time they close the main set, the place is absolutely spent. Alan Ford’s voice comes back through the speakers to introduce the encore, and they finish with ‘Keep Your Distance’, leaving absolutely nothing on the table. Brixton is an iconic venue, and Malevolence fill it without any issue. The show proves they’ve earned their spot at this level, built on years of graft and an uncompromising approach to what they do. Missing this one would have been a serious mistake.
KATHRYN EDWARDS
Beforehand, PSYCHO-FRAME kick things off with their brand of American deathcore that’s been turning heads since ‘Salvation Laughs in the Face of a Grieving Mother’ dropped earlier this year. Vocalist Jourdan Pearce prowls the stage with manic energy, his guttural roars cutting through the room like a serrated blade. The crowd response is mixed – some arms stay crossed, others are already windmilling – but the hardcore contingent absolutely lap it up. The breakdowns hit with seismic force, each one triggering a fresh surge into the pit. It’s uncompromising stuff that sets the tone for what’s to come.
Dying Wish are next, bringing their blend of Y2K metalcore nostalgia and modern hardcore aggression to a venue that’s now properly warming up. Emma Boster commands the stage with a presence that’s equal part vulnerability and absolute fury, switching between clean melodic passages and throat-shredding screams that sound like they’re tearing something vital loose. There’s a genuine emotional weight to the performance. It cuts through the aggression to deliver moments where the entire room exhales collectively, before being dragged back into the chaos. By the time they finish, the temperature has risen several degrees.
SPEED round out the support, and the Australian hardcore crew are a different beast entirely. This is straightforward, brutal hardcore – it doesn’t mess about. Frontman Jem Siow whips the crowd into an absolute frenzy, shouting out UK bands like Pest Control and Dynamite to massive cheers. People are using the crush barriers as launching pads, hurling themselves into the crowd in waves. Their debut album ‘Only One Mode’ topped the ARIA charts earlier this year, and you can tell why – it’s primal and immediate, the kind of music that demands a physical response. By the time they’re done, security are working overtime to keep people upright.
By the time Malevolence take to the stage, the venue is absolutely rammed. Actor Alan Ford introduces them; his distinctive voice booming through the speakers before the band launch into ‘Blood To The Leech’. From here, it’s straight into ‘Trenches’, and the place erupts. The chant that accompanies “Everybody’s always looking for a handout, who the fuck are you?” is deafening – thousands of voices united in a particular brand of working-class fury that Malevolence have made their trademark. Vocalist Alex Taylor stalks the stage with the presence of someone who’s earned every inch of the ground beneath their feet, switching his delivery between guttural roars and venomous spoken passages. Behind him, Josh Baines is particularly on fire, with fingers flying across the fretboard during every solo, each more technically impressive than the last. The rhythm section provide an absolutely punishing foundation, with every hit of the kick drum feeling like it’s trying to cave your chest in.
The setlist pulls heavily from ‘Where Only The Truth Is Spoken’, but weaves in enough older material to keep everyone satisfied. ‘Self Supremacy’ receives a huge response, with Taylor calling for circle pits that open up across different sections of the floor – Brixton Academy’s layout delivers multiple whirlpools of chaos rather than one massive pit, and it’s a sight to behold. ‘On Broken Glass’ sees Taylor encourage a wave of crowd surfers into action. The aim is to get as many people airborne as is physically possible, and the crowd obliges. The instrumental ‘Jam’ gives everyone a moment to breathe before they pile back in for ‘Counterfeit’ and ‘Karma’. ‘Higher Place’ and ‘The Other Side’ provide unexpected moments of melodic respite as the crowd singalong to the cleaner vocal passages, before everything kicks back into full brutality. By the time they close the main set, the place is absolutely spent. Alan Ford’s voice comes back through the speakers to introduce the encore, and they finish with ‘Keep Your Distance’, leaving absolutely nothing on the table. Brixton is an iconic venue, and Malevolence fill it without any issue. The show proves they’ve earned their spot at this level, built on years of graft and an uncompromising approach to what they do. Missing this one would have been a serious mistake.
KATHRYN EDWARDS