RISE TO REMAIN, Adept, Malefice, Cytota @ Birmingham Academy 2 8/3/2012

It’s a sign you are getting old when support bands at gigs are so young they probably weren’t born when you left school, and this is definitely the case with Cytota.

Impossibly fresh faced, the foursome have been creating a buzz recently and its easy to see why. First of all they are actually a pretty good metalcore act, with the tracks “Absorption” and “The Prosecutor” showing they have the potential to rise above the slew of bands ploughing this furrow. Second because drummer Harry Jennings dad, Craig, manages Bullet For My Valentine, Bring Me The Horizon and Rise to Remain amongst others, which is hardly a hindrance. Expect to see a lot more of Cytota in the coming years.

Reading’s Malefice have been gigging incessantly over the last couple of years and in 2011’s “Awaken The Tides” they landed one of the best modern thrash records of the year. The last time they were in these parts they supported Sylosis and saw their set cut short and oddly, tonight the same fate befalls them. This is a tremendous shame because in opener “Delirium” they posses the best song played tonight. The best, you feel, is yet to come for the group.

Sweden’s Adept are the main support for this early part of the tour – with German thrash mob Heaven Shall Burn not joining until later -  and it’s a role they fill with confidence and relish. The likes of “Shark! “Shark! Shark!” from debut album “Another Year of Disaster” and “The Ivory Tower” from last years leap forward that was “Death Dealers” sit comfortably side by side and the moshpit loves them. “We’ve never played Birmingham before, so thank you,” says singer Robert Ljung, it’s a safe bet that considering their reception tonight, they will be here again.

In contrast Rise To Remain have been here before. In fact it was only September when they last played in the second city. That gig was next door at the smaller Academy 3. Not for nothing is this trek named the “Progression” Tour.

It has been interesting to chart the, ahem, rise of rise of Rise To Remain. When they first came onto the scene it was too easy for the cynics to snipe that they were only getting anywhere because their singer Austin Dickinson was the son of Bruce. It was against this backdrop that RTM clapped eyes on them in the Bohemia tent at Sonisphere in 2010- and their performance was astonishing.

That seems to be the way, as they have criss-crossed the country supporting anyone and everyone. Any cynicism is washed away by their talent and just in case there were any lingering doubts their debut full length record “City of Vultures” is damn good too.

Not that it has been totally plain sailing for the group and tonight marks the debut of new rhythm section Josh Hammond and Adam Lewin, who are the replacement bassist and drummer respectively as the last two quit on the eve of a major US tour with Machine Head which had to be cancelled.

The duo slot in seamlessly, with “The Serpent” sounding as crushing as ever, carried along on the back of Ben Tovey’s intricate lead playing. New single “Talking In Whispers” gets its first live airing and “Nothing Left” is as good now as it was two years ago.

Indeed the only worrying moment comes during the encore of “Bridges Will Burn.” Such is the excitement at the front there are too many crowd surfers for the security to cope with.  One lad comes straight over the front and crashes into the barriers. The band immediately stops the song to check on the welfare of the fan and with his health confirmed they resume normal service.

Crowd surfing near disaster apart it is yet another triumphant evening in the recent history of Rise to Remain. Indeed, you might say the rise continues unabated.

TRIVIUM, In Flames, Ghost, Rise To Remain, Insense @Wolves Civic Hall 2/12/11

Five bands. Twenty quid. Metal Hammer putting their name to it. It’s going to be packed out tonight in the Civic for Defenders of the Faith 2011 isn’t it?

Actually no. It’s about two thirds full even at its peak; the balcony isn’t even fully open. Indeed when openers Insense hit the stage the attendance is best described as sparse. In fairness the ridiculously early start time of 6-15 makes it impossible for many to check them out (RTM itself is stuck by the fact work is 20 odd miles from Wolverhampton and we don’t finish until 5) And it’s a shame, because the two songs we do hear make this band definitely worth checking out. Packing a decent punch and a nice line in Lamb of God type sound, they are definitely one to investigate.

Rise to Remain are comparative veterans despite only just releasing their debut album a matter of months ago. Simply put if you haven’t seen this band supporting the great and the good of metal you don’t go to many gigs. As such, despite their tender years, they are a tight live act. Austin Dickinson has borrowed his Dads stage mannerisms if not the Maiden sound and the likes of album title track “City of Vultures” and the always crushing “Nothing Left” make them already one of the best metalcore bands around.

So what do you call six blokes, five dressed as monks and one dressed as a cross between the Archbishop of Canterbury and Arthur Brown? These men also sing songs about Satan and rock like Black bloody Sabbath? You call them Ghost, that’s what - and they are unbelievable.

Ghost don’t need such trivial things as names so “Ghoul one” sings songs like “Ritual” and “Death Knell” and leaves about half the crowd bemused. They are apparently massive black metal stars in disguise. To be honest, who cares? They are the band of the night by miles and miles.

Perennial second on the bill boys In Flames are up next. Whenever these packages come round you can bet they’ll be there, just behind the headliners. They are more what the crowd wants than the mighty band they preceded, and there’s an impressive moshpit from the kick off of new track “Sounds of Playground Fading.”

There’s nothing actually wrong with In Flames, and although they do a get a bit samey, no one does Industrial Thrash better than the Swedes though and “Take This Life” is a fabulous song, as is “Only for the Weak” and they have the best beards of the night!

Which leaves just Trivium. Things have gone slightly awry in recent years for Matt Heafy and the boys. They were supposed to be the face of metal for the 21^st Century, but they have rather been left behind in the arena-filling stakes, and there is appreciably less people here tonight than there was the last time they played this venue a couple of years ago.

That doesn’t however stop the Florida band putting on a fine show. Opening with the title track of new album “In Waves,” they seem more relaxed and at ease than ever before. The career spanning set it an unexpected joy, the largely unheralded “Ignition” in particular sounding surprisingly good. The faithful go seven kinds of mental all night and this time round there is a palpable increase in bond between band and fans. Of course “Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr” remains their trump card but the set is much stronger than RTM recalled their back catalogue being.

The maturing band could yet enjoy some sort of Machine Head type renaissance if they can come up with their version of “The Blackening.”

A fine night all round but everything else looks a trifle weak compared to Ghost.