The Fallen State - London Review

While in general I have been pretty lucky when it comes to gig trips I have planned actually going ahead, 2019 has been particularly bad in comparison to normal. Ozzy Osbourne, Crashdïet, Glenn Hughes, Dimmu Borgir (who cancelled their appearance at Bloodstock Open Air), and The Reasoning have all cancelled on me for a myriad of reasons this year; and last month Saxon were unfortunately added to list when they had to cancel the rest of their 2019 shows due to frontman Biff Byford needing emergency surgery. That left me with a Saturday in London with no plans but, with transport etc. already arranged to take me down to Bristol the next day for another gig, I had made the decision to still make the trip up and find something else to do. It only took me a couple of days after Saxon's cancellation to find an alternative night's entertainment however, as I noticed a London show on a tour poster I had looked at previously and sadly dismissed. The poster belonged to The Fallen State, a local Devon-based band who I have been a casual fan of for a number of years now. They are a band I will go and see if they are playing locally, but sadly their Plymouth gig clashed with the aforementioned trip to Bristol so I put their tour to the back of my mind. When I saw that the band were playing in London on the same day that Saxon were due to play however, I immediately bought a ticket. The Fallen State are not a band I would usually travel as far as London to see, but as I was going to be there anyway it seemed like a no-brainer. It seems as if I was in luck too, as I bought a ticket not long after the band were upgraded to a larger venue. The show was at the 229 in Great Portland Street - a new venue for me - but the band had initially been booked to play in the venue's smaller room. They sold this room out, and with interest still remaining they decided to move up to the larger room - which meant I could buy a ticket! Another draw for me was the fact that The Cruel Knives, another band I have been following for a while, were one of the evening's two support acts - meaning that the overall evening promised to be strong. It appears that the same thought tempted a lot of others too as, although not exactly packed out, the larger room at the 229 was pretty busy throughout the evening. I am sure there was a fair amount of space towards the back of the venue, but there was a still a good-sized crowd in attendance - and was probably the biggest headline crowd the band have ever pulled outside of their home town.

Before The Fallen State and The Cruel Knives' sets however, the growing crowd was treated to thirty minutes or so from the Nottingham-based rock band Fahran. I had seen the five-piece once previously supporting COP UK in Sheffield, but I had not followed that appearance up with a concerted effort to check out the band's material. I remember somewhat enjoying the band at the time, and that was the same case here in London - with the band's modern hard rock impressing. The band's sound is a bit of a strange mix of influences, with some songs being quite classic rock influenced with soaring guitar leads and catchy choruses; whereas others feel heavier and more modern with riffing that sounds a little like Lamb of God (although nowhere near as heavy) and strong grooves. The mix is a bit of an odd one, but it seems to hang together well in the moment and the band seemed to receive a strong reaction from the growing crowd - with a few down the front singing along to their songs. On the whole I enjoyed the band's set, in particular the strong closing number State of Mind, and I will need to make more effort this time to check out the band's albums.

After a short changeover, The Cruel Knives hit the stage with the modern riffing of Black Eye Friday and proceeded to storm through an eight-song set with ease. I have been following the four-piece since their literal inception, as I was a huge fan of Sid Glover (guitar/vocals) and Rob Ellershaw's (bass guitar/vocals) previous band Heaven's Basement, but this was the first opportunity I had had to see the band live - and the first time seeing Glover and Ellershaw since a Heaven's Basement gig in Birmingham in 2015. I have been enjoying the band's two EPs recently, but live the band really came into their own and the songs played seemed so much energetic than their studio counterparts. While in my mind The Cruel Knives are still not as good a band overall as Heaven's Basement were, they impressed throughout. A good mix of songs from both of their EPs were featured, with the heavier Kill the Messenger proving to be an early highlight, before the punky Itch saw Glover launch into one of his trademark muscular riffs. While not the flashiest of guitarists, he has always been one of my favourite newer players. His dirty blues style has always impressed, and there were plenty of riffs and off-kilter leads for him to get his teeth stuck into during the band's set. It was also a set that really improved as it went along, with the band's better songs appearing towards the end. The strong groove of Blood in the Water impressed with frontman Tom Harris effortlessly belting out the lyrics; before the dirty On a Leash whipped up some energy in the crowd. The song sounds great on the EP, but live it sounded heavier and rawer. The modern production and sound the band has forged on their EPs was largely replaced by a dirtier rock sound live, and - for me - that really helped the material to shine. On a Leash almost reached Heaven's Basement-levels of goodness, and the strutting Crawl finished things off nicely. It was a strong set from a band who are starting to come out of the shadow of their members' former band, and I am glad that I finally had a chance to see them live after W.A.S.P. cancelled their Bristol show in 2017 which the band were also due to appear at. The setlist was:

Black Eye Friday
Maybe I Should Know
Kill the Messenger
Hollow People
Itch
Blood in the Water
On a Leash
Crawl

By the time The Fallen State took to the stage at just before 9:30pm, the venue looked pretty full and the band showed that they meant business from the off. I saw the band headline in Plymouth in 2017 and again supporting Tremonti last year in Birmingham, and had enjoyed both shows, but I was not prepared for just how powerful the band's London set was going to be. I had also expected the band to play for around an hour, which seems to be the norm for smaller new bands these days, but the crowd was treated to a real tour-de-force setlist which featured sixteen of the band's songs, including much of the newly-released album A Deadset Endeavour. An older track Lost Cause opened up the show however, as the band came roaring out of the blocks, before Attitude and Sinner kept the energy going. It made for a hard-hitting start to the show, as the energy did not let up at all throughout these three tracks - with Sinner in particular hitting the spot with the crowd helping frontman Ben Stenning out during the big chorus. A personal favourite in the form of Sons of Avarice was deployed early on for a slight respite, but on the whole the set was a hard-hitting and heavy affair. Sons of Avarice impressed as always though, with Stenning pouring a lot of emotion into the chorus - before Jon Price (guitar/vocals) peeled off one of many guitar solos of the night. The Fallen State might not be the flashiest band when it comes to soloing etc., but Price made each of his moments in the spotlight count. It speaks a lot for the band's catalogue, made up of five EPs and one album, that there were no songs featured that felt like they were filling up space. Newer headbangers like Lovers & Psychos felt just at home in the set as older tracks like Four Letter Word, and the new single American Made also prompted a bit of a sing-a-long during the more low-key pre-choruses. A real highlight for me during the middle portion of the set however was the meaty For My Sorrow which really came into its own live. The band sound good on record, but they are another act that really come into their own on stage. I also think that Stenning has really improved as a vocalist over the past year or so too, as he really impressed me here. His voice seemed so much more powerful than previously, and it shows that the band are still growing and improving as time goes on - which is great to see. By the ending portion of the night, the crowd was in full-on party mood. Even Greg Butler's bass giving up during Can't Fight the Feeling could not dampen things, and the power ballad Nova was the perfect number to capitalise on this feeling - with the big chorus attracting a lot of attention. By this point the end was nigh, and a short drum solo from Rich Walker lead into then anthemic You Want It which closed the set out with power. No encore was planned, but the crowd demanded more from the band who came back out and stood around discussing what they should play. In the end they decided to dust off the oldie Hope in Revival unrehearsed which was the perfect high-energy coda to a powerful set, and I do not think anyone in the 229 went home unhappy with their night out. The setlist was:

Lost Cause
Attitude
Sinner
Sons of Avarice
Send Up the World
Lovers & Psychos
American Made
Four Letter Word
For My Sorrow
Fragments
Burn It to the Ground
Can't Fight the Feeling
Nova
Torn
Drum solo
You Want It
-
Hope in Revival

I think in the past I may been guilty of damning The Fallen State with faint praise, but I have to say that this show at the 229 turned me from a casual fan into a full-blown one. It was also great to see Dan Oke (guitar) back on stage following his nasty health issues earlier in the year. This is a band who's star is truly on the rise, and I hope that they can really capitalise on the momentum caused by releasing their debut album earlier this year and from what so far seems to be a successful UK tour.