Live & Dangerous 11: Sylosis, Malefice, Anterior, Chapters

Sylosis, Malefice, Anteior, Chapters (CF10 Cardiff University)

Chapters

Having arrived for the end of Chapters set I only saw a few songs but from what I saw they were a generic four-piece death/thrash band. They seemed accomplished and ready for bigger things but really they were nothing that special. 6/10

Anterior

Despite having a bias towards Anterior because of my nationality, they are also a great band that plays melodic death metal that is filled with face melting solos. When the supported Sylosis earlier in the year they wiped the floor with them. This time they were equally as anthemic and entertaining but due to the other bands that were coming they seemed a little undersold. Still they played a relatively short set that had the home town crowd moving and air guitaring along. 8/10

Malefice

A band that always inspires pits due to their heavy crushing riffs and furious breakdowns Malefice were quite rightly second to the headliners. They opened with their chugging groove riffage that continued throughout their set. The playing was heavy and fierce and Dale Butler's screams were guttural, the breakdowns were neck snapping and the faster passages and solos on the newer songs got whipped the crowd into a frenzy. The band finished with the title track of their latest album Awaken The Tides which ended the set on a high and made the crowd ready for the headliners. 8/10

Sylosis

When I first saw Sylosis they seemed to be a band finding their feet with their new line up. After the loss of their singer lead guitarist Josh Middleton stepped up to plate and on the newest album did a fantastic job. Only now has this translated into the live arena, his vocals and lead playing are brilliant, as are the rest of the band. Their new thrash mixed with metalcore and death metal works very well, the band are still a little static on stage but due to the technical nature of the riffage that can be overlooked. Sylosis got the crowd really moving continuing the pits that Malefice started and even ending on a Wall Of Death. The final tracks of Conclusion Of An Age and Empyreal ended what was a very good set from a superb band. 9/10

Final thoughts: This gig shows what talent there really is in Britain, all of the bands were from the UK and all hopefully will become much bigger than they are now. This was a fantastic gig and a triumph of British metal.