It’s a two hour drive from my humble lodgings to Nightrain, Bradford, the location of tonight’s debut gig of High Parasite, the Goth Rock band fronted by My Dying Bride vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe. Opening events are Devon based Kill All The Gentlemen (6) whose blend of Black/Death and Metalcore style riffs has me thinking of Trivium at times, the four piece have the dubious pleasure of playing to an almost empty room, which gradually fills as their set, consisting of tracks from their most recent album Black Canvas, progresses, Kill All The Gentlemen blister through and ultimately leave a mark upon this neon lit Rock bar.
My Dying Bride may not be playing tonight but their presence is felt within the second support act, Hollow Earth (5) whose Doom laden, Sabbath esque, Prog driven epics are reminiscent of the MDB passion for writing lengthy tracks; where this is a staple of the Doom genre however it doesn’t allow for much audience participation or interaction, there’s a heavy emphasis on instrumental music rather than chorus lines that an audience can participate in, culminating in a rather disinterested crowd whose primary focus ought to have been the band but became the bar or each other, there seemed to have been more heads facing away from the stage than there were towards it.
I last saw Aaron fronting My Dying Bride on their tour with Paradise Lost as Nick Holmes and crew celebrated 30 years of Icon, tonight however Aaron is heading a different breed of band in the form of High Parasite (10) one of my colleagues has recently reviewed Forever We Burn and tonight is the live debut of the quintet and their album; by the time the band hit the stage the audience has grown in numbers, an eager crowd waiting at the stage as Aaron, Tombs and co stride on stage to a score taken from Beetlejuice. The band blast through tracks taken from the album, a point not lost on Stainthorpe as he jokingly comments on how quickly the songs are over with in comparison to his lengthier songs with My Dying Bride, we are treated to two tracks that have not appeared on the album, so I’m expecting a limited edition on the horizon.
It’s a long drive back so we make our way into the streets of Bradford and back to the car. I’ve got tickets to see High Parasite support Cradle Of Filth in October and after tonight’s performance I’m sure it’ll be just as good.
PS. As I scroll through Facebook this morning looking at pics and videos taken by other fans last night, it seems that both Nick Holmes and Gregor Macintosh of Paradise Lost were out to support Aaron and High Parasite on this new venture.
My Dying Bride may not be playing tonight but their presence is felt within the second support act, Hollow Earth (5) whose Doom laden, Sabbath esque, Prog driven epics are reminiscent of the MDB passion for writing lengthy tracks; where this is a staple of the Doom genre however it doesn’t allow for much audience participation or interaction, there’s a heavy emphasis on instrumental music rather than chorus lines that an audience can participate in, culminating in a rather disinterested crowd whose primary focus ought to have been the band but became the bar or each other, there seemed to have been more heads facing away from the stage than there were towards it.
I last saw Aaron fronting My Dying Bride on their tour with Paradise Lost as Nick Holmes and crew celebrated 30 years of Icon, tonight however Aaron is heading a different breed of band in the form of High Parasite (10) one of my colleagues has recently reviewed Forever We Burn and tonight is the live debut of the quintet and their album; by the time the band hit the stage the audience has grown in numbers, an eager crowd waiting at the stage as Aaron, Tombs and co stride on stage to a score taken from Beetlejuice. The band blast through tracks taken from the album, a point not lost on Stainthorpe as he jokingly comments on how quickly the songs are over with in comparison to his lengthier songs with My Dying Bride, we are treated to two tracks that have not appeared on the album, so I’m expecting a limited edition on the horizon.
For a first live performance, the band looked and felt seasoned, admittedly there were a few technical issues as things progressed but nothing that halted or hindered proceedings in anyway, they looked comfortable and seen to be enjoying themselves, the audience too played their part well, we’ve only had 24 hours to listen to the album in full and tracks which had been released as singles are understandably getting more attention and participation. With only ten songs to play through, plus the two “new” tracks, the obligatory encore was short and to the point and as the band bow out to the last refrains, Aaron says his goodbyes and thank yous, promising to mill amongst the crowd, so come say hello and buy a fucking t shirt.
It’s a long drive back so we make our way into the streets of Bradford and back to the car. I’ve got tickets to see High Parasite support Cradle Of Filth in October and after tonight’s performance I’m sure it’ll be just as good.
PS. As I scroll through Facebook this morning looking at pics and videos taken by other fans last night, it seems that both Nick Holmes and Gregor Macintosh of Paradise Lost were out to support Aaron and High Parasite on this new venture.
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