Bury Tomorrow have gone from strength to strength over the past ten years and many believe their latest album, Black Flame, to be their best. It comes as no surprise then that tonight The Garage has sold out. For whatever people may say about the band’s recorded output, the quality of their live show has always been undeniable.
There is much to digest before then though. It all starts with Crystal Lake. All the way from Japan, they kick-start the night with slabs of metalcore savagery, rapid-fire drumming and an energy you have to be impressed by given the early start time, and subsequently half empty venue.
Then come the so-called “nu-metal revivalists” Cane Hill. A pocket of fans at the front seem impressed by what they have to offer but a lack of real stage presence and some questionable patter between songs leaves many uninterested.
The same cannot be said about tonight’s main support, 36 Crazyfists. Many will feel that the best days are now behind the mid-noughties metalcore sensation. Perhaps they’re right. But the fact is bands like Bury Tomorrow probably wouldn’t exist without them. They confidently blast their way through a setlist that spans almost their entire career, finishing up with the anthemic fans favourite, Slit Wrist Theory. They receive a huge response before finally passing the torch over to the headliners.
Bury Tomorrow have always been fantastic live but what is now apparent is they have an arsenal of songs in their back catalogue that justifies selling out venues around the country. Dan Winter-Bates leads the charge on vocal duty, delivering some of the most ferocious screams you’ll find anywhere in metal right now. That, coupled with the soaring choruses courtesy of rhythm guitarist Jason Cameron, drive home the fact that this is a band in the form of their lives. They tear their way through a setlist heavily populated by their most recent material, ending on the title track. However, there’s still room for a couple of older songs from their sophomore release, The Union of Crowns.
All the insanity that you expect from the crowd at a Bury Tomorrow show is very much there, but there’s an excited anticipation now as well of what this band could achieve if they continue along their upwards trajectory.