WHILE SHE SLEEPS, Bury Tomorrow, Feed The Rhino @ Birmingham Academy 3 13/10/11

This part of Birmingham is the place to be tonight. And the second city’s live scene appears to be in rude health.

There’s some indie nonsense next door selling out the main room, while the well informed are crammed into the Academy 3 – which is also sold out – to watch three of the hottest of the new breed of British Metal battle for supremacy.

It falls to Medway’s Feed The Rhino to get things going. The band are fast becoming something of a fixture on the British concert scene – indeed they headlined Wolverhampton last month -  and the self styled “Noise and Roll” merchants do not disappoint, with some impressive circle pit action as they run through half an hour of well honed hardcore punk.

By contrast Southampton’s Bury Tomorrow have been away for a while and seem absolutely intent on making up for lost time. They go down like heroes – but in truth selling their brand of metalcore to this crowd isn’t a tough task.

Frontman Dani Winter-Bates screams, growls and jumps and James Cameron sings the choruses. You already know the drill, but just because something is familiar doesn’t lessen its entertainment and BT might just be ones to watch in 2012.

The same can be said for While She Sleeps. After a couple of years supporting anybody and everybody the Sheffield band seem ready to take on the world. Stunning mini album “The North Stands For Nothing” is well represented here – the title track in particular delivered with aplomb.

Selling out your first headline tour of the UK is an impressive feat in anyone’s book and, with high profile touring slots on the Kerrang tour next year, you get the feeling this will be the last time they are in anywhere with the number three in its name for a while. Its not often you get to see a band that’s about to break big. But we did tonight. While She Sleeps might just be the next big British Metal act.