Live Review: Bury Tomorrow, We Came As Romans and Kingdom of Giants | The Marble Factory, Bristol | 20/01/24
Bury Tomorrow had one of their most blisteringly successful years to date in 2023, garnering fans both new and old with their latest album ‘The Seventh Sun’. This evening is an extension of this, a celebration of accomplishment given all three bands on this bill have over a decade in existence and have had to fight and traverse the music scene for every inch of their careers to date.
Kingdom of Giants
Northern Californian metalcore unit Kingdom of Giants open proceedings, setting the tone of the night from the outset. It doesn’t take long for the first mosh pit to surface either given the band’s heavy nature and breakdown-laden catalogue of raging metal. Kingdom of Giants’ take on the genre is one delivered with proficiency and this shows in a live setting. Big hitters “Wasted Space” and “Bleach” deliver sublime slices of metalcore that feature a beautiful blend of clean and screamed vocals, often overlapping one another and bringing balance where required. The band make the stage their own and whilst their set moves at breakneck speed, there are moments of dissonance and space in their instrumentation and breakdowns that make for a welcomed reprieve, albeit brief. There is great chemistry between both vocalists Dana Willax and Stephen Rezza with harmonies and infectious comradery. Their call and response style of choruses also serve them well. Closing with “Wayfinder”, the band use every last moment and this anthemic final outburst is a brilliant segue considering the next band on.
Photo Credit: John Gyllhamn
We Came As Romans
We Came As Romans take to the stage and hold an air of seasoned confidence for a band that have had to face adversity, heartbreak and re-evaluation in their own careers. It doesn’t show on their faces and it would seem there is a big portion of the crowd that are ready and waiting in expectation. “Darkbloom” opens and the crowd waste no time in continuing where Kingdom of Giants left off. Moderate sound issues aside, the band still manage to push through into “Wasted Age” and then “Plagued”. These sound issues seem to hold little to no bearing on the large portion of the crowd continuing to extend the chaotic mosh pit that remains a feature for the majority of their set. By “Lost In The Moment” this has been rectified, and vocalist David Stephens uses the short space prior to give a subtle and beautiful dedication to Kyle Pavone, the subsequent soaring chorus hitting that little bit harder with the shared emotion between band and fans being synonymous. This then leaves the tail end of the set for We Came As Romans to drop some fan-favourites, “Hope” followed by “Black Hole” and “Daggers” to finish. For a band so far into their careers as a band you wouldn’t blame them for going through the motions, however We Came As Romans left everything on the stage in an impassioned and emotional set.
Photo Credit: John Gyllhamn
Bury Tomorrow
Bury Tomorrow are fresh off the back of their performance at Alexandra Palace, a show that felt, in part, as much theirs as it did headliners, While She Sleeps. The following tour announcement exceeded expectations, selling out in its entirety. It’s no wonder, then, that they’re playing some of the biggest rooms they’ve ever played. If there are any nerves though, you wouldn’t be able to tell. As the band walk triumphantly onstage there is no doubt that the sea of people filling the venue are riddled with pent up excitement and anticipation. “The Seventh Sun” kicks in followed swiftly by “Abandon Us” which has fast become a popular headbanging, pit inciter and it absolutely hits today. Not afraid to take a step back in time and revisit some songs for old time fans, “Man On Fire” follows and “An Honourable Reign” makes an appearance too, getting a solid reception. There is very little let up as the energetic and responsive crowd continue to exert passion with an on-going mosh pit, crowd surfers and lung screamed to breaking point. Dani Winter-Bates delivers a menacing and focused performance, commanding the stage, oozing passion and fury. In between the band’s ferocious bangers, a call to fans old and new from Winter-Bates, reciting the time the band played Bristol’s Fleece to an extremely small crowd and showing his humility in the process. Inclusivity and focus on mental health crop up too, staples in the band’s ethos and important and connecting factors to their music.
Hits like “Black Flame” remind you of the band’s ability to craft and recreate complex music with its crushing solo and technical lead patterns, a further reminder that all members and components of this band play key roles. Lead guitarist Kristan Dawson tears through his additional layering on the likes of “Knife Of Gold” and “Boltcutter” whilst bassist Davyd Winter-Bates, drummer Adam Jackson and second guitarist Ed Hartwell deliver blunt force trauma to skulls with with a wall of sound. It cannot be understated how much keyboardist and vocalist Tom Prendergast enhances and compliments these songs too, adding his croon over the top, interweaving his vocals with Winter-Bates and dominating his section of the stage. “You keep turning up to shows and listening to records and we’ll do this until we die,” declares Winter-Bates in the latter part of the show and there’s no doubting his intention. Some brief package/lighting rig issues halt proceedings only for a beckoning chant to break out over the crowd before Bury Tomorrow cycle through “Cannibal”, “Choke” and then, saying a welcome “piss off” to encores, “DEATH (Ever Colder)” all of which hit harder than the last.
This tour was and continues to be one of Bury Tomorrow’s crowning moments, as they stand in unity with a devoted community of fans that bigger than ever and all united under the same thoughts and feelings. Long may Bury Tomorrow’s successful reign in British metalcore continue.