The Biffy Clyro live show is an awesome affair and I have had the privilege of witnessing on numerous occasions, from smaller stages such as the Bristol Academy to their recent headline set at Sonisphere Festival. This double live release, a CD recording and DVD of the Scottish trio’s huge Wembley show, presents the band at a stage of their career where enormously epic is the scale at which they perform.
They’re a big time band now, and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch of guys. The DVD is a fast-cut jolting experience, showing off the huge screens, bright lights and pyrotechnics. The visuals are a stunning accompaniment to the music, and that’s the main thing I want to talk about here. The CD is the set in full, which is 21 tracks (including an intro, interlude and outro) of some of the best Biffy tracks from their back catalogue, performed spectacularly by a band in their prime. Sure, much of the set features tracks from the latest albums, ‘Only Revolutions’ and ‘Puzzle’ but there is still room for some old favourites amongst the arguably more commercially accessible material from recent years.#
‘Revolutions / Live At Wembley’ is a good purchase for Biffy fans of new and old, capturing Simon Neil, James Johnson and Ben Johnson at their best, tearing through opening track ‘The Captain’ with venom, throwing back the years with singalong classic ‘57’ and delivering the complicated time signatures in ‘Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies’ in impeccable fashion. They are amazing performers, combining their awesome song writing with a stage presence that is second to none, This shines through in the audio of the show, which although does sound slightly auto-tuned to near perfection, doesn’t take away from what makes Biffy Clyro one of the most important bands on the UK music scene right now.
Most of the tracks sound massive, which is what makes this album a success. After seeing Biffy rock a headline set at Sonisphere it’s hard to imagine the band being anywhere other than right at the top. Tracks like ‘Glitter & Trauma’ and ‘That Golden Rule’ are thrilling from the offset and the quieter songs like ‘Machines’ and ‘Many of Horror’ are beautiful, especially when combined with the voices of the thousands of people in the Wembley crowd.
Biffy Clyro are already one of my favourite modern bands, but releases like this really cement them as UK heavyweights. I expect a continued rise to the stars on a journey that will only get better. Wembley is just the beginning.
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