There was a sense of growing anticipation in Bristol’s Fleece last Wednesday as the idea of one of the best new bands in the country, Sheffield’s While She Sleeps (in the middle of the ‘This Is The Six’ tour – which has been selling out venues all over the UK), taking to the stage in such an intimate venue began to hit home. Supported by some fantastic acts in the shape of hardcore band POLAR, Japanese electronic metallers Crossfaith and Glasgow’s Bleed From Within, this was particularly unmissable for fans of modern metal. With The Fleece packed to the rafters and a WSS t-shirt adorning the body of every 3 or 5 punters, it was clear that this was going to be one superb show, and the bands certainly didn’t disappoint those expectations.
Kicking off the night are POLAR, living up to the tag of ‘big beats, strong booze, loose morals, good times’, going straight for the throat from the off with heavy punk track after heavy punk track, the bellowing screamed vocals shaking the venue and a high percentage of the crowd losing their cool very early on. The pit gets crazy as the band deliver classic tracks from their ‘This Polar Noise’ EP (including the spectacular ‘Tonight Matthew I Am The Batman’) and new songs from the ‘Iron Lungs’ full-length release. The likes of ‘K.C.M.’ and ‘H.E.L.L.’ (plus other non-acronym titled tracks) sound great live and while some would argue that it's definitely too early in the night for a wall of death, POLAR clearly wouldn't. The band evidently want to do more than just get the crowd warmed up, they also want to leave them bruised and broken.
Next up are Japanese five-piece Crossfaith, appearing for the second time this year in Bristol after coming to the same venue on tour with Of Mice & Men and Bury Tomorrow several months ago. The band are confident and energetic in their performance, which fuses electronic elements with a progressive heavy metal style. The tracks are a joy to behold, and the crowd really invest in having a lot of fun with the band, who bounce around on stage like their lives depend upon it. Tracks from the 'Zion' EP are delivered with vigour and finesse, the band never seeming to tire with each and every breakdown. Songs such as 'Snake Code', 'Monolith' and a fantastic rendition of The Prodigy's 'Omen' really get the crowd moving, and it's an experience that Crossfaith lap up, smiles rarely leaving their faces.
Scottish metalcore act Bleed From Within have a huge task as not only are they the main support act on this bill, but with what Crossfaith just produced on the same stage merely minutes ago, they have a lot to live up to. The five-piece do it with ease, however, keeping the tempo on full with furious heavy songs that produce some of the biggest circle pits of the night. Roaring vocals threaten to split The Fleece in two, while the technicality of the riffs from some great hair-circling guitarists are out of this world. They are as tight as you'd expect, working everybody into a frenzy before leaving the stage, the scene perfectly set for the headline act.
The atmosphere in the room is bubbling away as While She Sleeps calmly arrive on stage, the band dropping swiftly into 'Until the Death' from new album 'This Is The Six', which creates a wall of sound which nearly knocks everybody in the venue to the ground. The metalcore riffs are intense, and the fiery passioned vocals from frontman Loz Taylor hit hard, every word coming from his mouth being sung loud by the majority of the crowd. WSS tear through much of their new record, with highlights including the title track, 'Our Courage, Our Cancer' and the phenomenal 'Be(lie)ve'. The group never seem overwhelmed by the constant barrage of crowd surfers arriving on stage (sometimes crashing into the band members); it just all seems like part of the fun for a band who are quite clearly in their element. Mini-album 'The North Stands For Nothing' isn't forgotten as some of the highlights from that release are revisited, and it's brilliant to see them translate to the live stage. The title track as well as set closer ‘Crows’ generates the biggest reaction from the crowd, but the show reaches what seem like unachievable heights with encore track 'Seven Hills', cementing the band as one of the best live acts in the country right now. WSS will be playing stages much, much bigger than this very soon, and it's definitely what they deserve. One of the craziest nights at The Fleece so far this year!
Here's some footage I managed to capture!
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