Turn It Up! Media has certainly been busy recently! This West Lothian-based promotions and media company played host alongside Opium – Alternative Club & Bar last Friday night to put on a splendid show consisting of The Austerity, Set Us Apart, Hearts Aside, Solitude and Kaoss Theory! There was a fitting turn out for the gig as the venue was neither too crowded nor empty. There was a harmonious atmosphere throughout the whole event.
First to play were local metalcore newcomers The Austerity –whose sound is somewhat reminiscent of The Amity Affliction’s early days. They kicked things off with a trance intro and then broke into a typical metalcore-sounding song called ‘How We Remain’. Their set’s acoustics were overall impressive. Despite being unable to hear Connor Barrett’s clean vocals, frontman Callum Gosden’s uncleans were very much audible and Barrett’s bass playing was the most prominent instrument throughout their set. The band’s sound carried a low tone during their performance. Due to Friday night being the lads’ first show, they were fairly reserved on stage which lead to a reserved audience. They finished with the melody-driven ‘Take It Back’ which was an excellent choice of song to end with. Taking everything about their set into account, The Austerity certainly performed well for their first ever show.
The Dunbar lads from Set Us Apart were next to perform. Their set consisted of nothing but cover songs as the band themselves claimed to be “unprepared” for the gig. Their covers included songs from Of Mice & Men, A Day to Remember, Emmure and Parkway Drive. They opened with their Of Mice & Men cover of ‘The Depths’ which was not as successful as it should have been since frontman Kalem Lees’ microphone was playing up, meaning his vocals were inaudible for the majority of song. After ‘The Depths’ Lees’ microphone managed to start working but it kept giving way during most of their set. However, the crowd did not let it stop them from enjoying themselves as everyone was singing along, moshing and even jumping up onto the stage to show their support and approval. Their most popular song that night was undoubtedly their cover of ‘Dark Days’ by Australian metalcore heroes Parkway Drive –the song even included last-minute guest vocals from a fan in the audience. Set Us Apart had everyone in the venue screaming every lyric along with them. They had evidently ended their set on an extremely favourable note.
North Lanarkshire metalcore act Hearts Aside was next to play despite lacking a bassist: their last bass player, Callum Pilling left the band two weeks ago. They started their set with ‘Say My Name’ which their frontman Robbie Spratt claimed was inspired by the hit TV series Breaking Bad. Their set also included a cover of While She Sleep’s ‘Seven Hills’ which was loved by almost everyone in the crowd. After their cover the band started to perform ‘Hollow Promises’ but Spratt shouted 30 seconds in, “we fucked up!” and they then began to play it again from the top. ‘Hollow Promises’ was a popular song among the crowd; it even got some people moshing! The entire band was very energetic but specifically Spratt who almost appeared to be in pain by putting so much effort into his performance –unfortunately for him though, he lost his high screams at the end of the set and it was difficult to hear his clean singing. Their last song was another cover. This time though, it was a bizarre cover of Katy Perry’s Last Friday Night. It was a surreal moment hearing Katy Perry’s sophisticated singing swapped for shivering shrieks but somehow, it worked. Everyone was singing to the catchy chorus and the song ended with a blood-boiling breakdown which got a pit going again. They had definitely given a great first impression to the Edinburgh metal scene.
Local metalcore quartet Solitude were next to take to play. They started off with a sample of a deep voiced man mumbling and then they began to perform their humorously titled ‘King Tuts’ which included a slow, sludgy breakdown that was lapped up by the whole crowd. In fact, their breakdowns were Solitude’s specialty that night. They all seemed to stick out during their set and they were a hit with the crowd. The band is also very riff-orientated and Josh de Melo’s leads also stood out which meant he was able to showcase what he is capable of achieving. This included him playing the opening riff of A Day to Remember’s ‘The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle’ yet not actually going through with playing the entire song which teased the audience. On the other hand; drummer Andy Sterrick’s cymbals were sometimes were overpowering at times and Calum Beveridge’s vocals were not always clear –especially his highs. It even meant for a quick mic change during their last song ‘What We Once Had’ as his vocals were impossible to hear. The band is capable of playing a credible performance, but the sound quality of their performance had let them down on Friday night through no fault of their own.
Last to take to the stage were the Metalcore Fifers Kaoss Theory! A great number of people had left the show after Solitude performed but it wasn’t Kaoss Theory! who missed out. They began with ‘Hollow’ which immediately got the remains of the crowd out of their shell who were either headbanging or pitting. It wasn’t only the crowd who were enthusiastic either, the band was also lively and they were constantly on their feet –they did not stay at the same place at any time. Even drummer Marc James managed to break one of his drums after their second song ‘Atonement’! Vocalist Liam Nisbet had an easy-going, down to earth vibe about him also. Despite brilliant stage presence from the band, the sound quality of their set was disappointing as Dani Heggie and Jordan Street’s guitars were overbearing and were not easy on the ears. One song that received a great reaction from the crowd was ‘Machines’. The song started with catchy riffs that hooked everyone in. Nisbet shouted “time is running out!” and then the crowd began to headbang again. Their last song was ‘Desolation’ in which Nisbet invited the crowd to go up onto the stage and headbang with him –and a few of the people in the crowd did!
In spite of mediocre sound quality, it is evident that all the bands on the line up succeeded in impressing everyone who attended the show. Edinburgh will be looking forward to more of all of the bands soon!
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