Malevolence - Bristol Review

I have traditionally not been a big fan of music that can be described as '-core', with the exception of bands like Trivium and Killswitch Engage who helped to pioneer what being '-core' meant in the mid-2000s. This, however, may be changing somewhat. I recently saw Bleed from Within opening for Trivium, a band who I had seen live twice previously and had not enjoyed either set, and found myself generally enjoying their powerful sound - and I have also been getting into the Sheffield-based band Malevolence over the past couple of years. I first started hearing about them when they played at the 2021 iteration of the Bloodstock Open Air. They featured heavily in many of the reviews which I read and they clearly went down so well that they were booked to return in 2022 - this time as one of the Second Stage headliners. I picked up 2022's Malicious Intent just before Bloodstock last year to see what all the fuss was about - and I found myself enjoying it. I intended to watch them at the festival, but ended up not doing so as the tent was rammed and I was still on a bit of a high after Mercyful Fate's excellent set. I knew that I would be seeing them in January, too, so I decided to get some sleep instead. January rolled around, and I finally saw the band live when they opened up for Trivium at the O2 Academy in Birmingham. They only had a short set, but they pretty much owned the place from the word go - so much so that the veterans Heaven Shall Burn felt flat in comparison. I may still not be fully on board with everything that Malevolence are about, but I have to say that I was blown away by their performance. They treated the show as if it was their own, and I came away from that January show with a huge amount of respect for them. So much so that when they announced their own headline tour a few months later I decided to get a ticket to the Bristol show. It helped that it fell on a Friday, so it meant that work was less of a problem, but nevertheless I wanted to see what the band could do with more time. The other big draw for me was the addition of Sylosis to the four-band bill. Sylosis have been one of my favourite modern British metal bands for a number of years, but sadly they have not been all that active of late. The band have promised that they are going to be more active than ever going forward, with this lengthy European trek as Malevolence's special guests just the start. In truth I may not have gone to the show if Sylosis had not been on the bill - they tipped my interest from being somewhat casual to being intent, as they are one of those bands whom I will take every opportunity to see that I can. The venue was the SWX in the city centre - which I had not been to since before the COVID-19 pandemic. It was closed for quite a while due to a fire, but inside it did not look all that much different. It is not my favourite of Bristol's venues. It always feels too full and it is one of those venues with areas that includes poor views - which means that everyone tries to fit on about 60% of the available floorspace. All of Malevolence's UK shows on this tour sold out, so the place was absolutely rammed - and with a 10pm curfew looming it opened at 5:30pm with the first band going on at 6pm.

The first two bands had half an hour each to play with, and up first was the Australian deathcore band Justice for the Damned. They seemed to be a guitarist down and, for me, they were easily the weakest band of the night. Whilst I have started to get into some of the more modern metalcore bands to an extent, deathcore still does absolutely nothing for me. It is one of my least favourite metal subgenres, and Justice for the Damned did absolutely nothing to change that. I just find deathcore to be pummelling with no light and shade at all - and that is exactly what Justice for the Damned's set felt like. There were no dynamics at all, very little melody, and even the riffing was very samey. After a couple of numbers I felt like I had heard everything that the band had to offer - and I was pretty much right. There seemed to be a few having fun in the pit, but quite a few of those who turned up early were hanging back near the bar and the sound desk. I think that it is fair to say that the other bands on the bill received stronger receptions, but there were clearly a few Justice for the Damned fans in - and those down at the front made some noise. I was pretty glad when the band's set came to an end, though, but thankfully things improved from this point onward.

The second opening act was the Manchester-based hardcore act Guilt Trip. My understanding is that they are on Malevolence's label, and the night's headliners have somewhat been helping the younger band out. I am sure that this tour will do just that, and I think that they have also played at Bloodstock previously, too. Hardcore is not really my thing, but I thought that Guilt Trip put on a strong showing - and they seem to be a confident band that plenty in the crowd enjoyed. By this point more people had ventured down to the front, and the five-piece received a strong reception as they stepped onto the stage. Most of the band's songs are pretty short, so they smashed through a decent amount of them in their 30 minutes - and their tight sound filled the venue with a mix of spat-out lyrics and angular guitar riffs. What the band do is not really for me, but it was clear that Guilt Trip are a band that are good at what they do. Their riffing and approach to melody was certainly much more interesting than that of Justice for the Damned, and they had a great stage presence, too. I have not seen a lot of genuine hardcore bands live, so it was good to see Guilt Trip - especially as they are a band that I have heard about quite a few times. They may not be for me, but they seem to be a band that could well be going places - and if they do make something of a dent in the hardcore scene then they will have deserved doing so.

Sylosis were up next, they were afforded more time - so felt more like special guests than openers. They had 45 minutes to play with - and they made the most of their time with a largely forward-looking set that also dipped back into the past. Along with this tour, Sylosis have further stayed true to their word by releasing a new album this year - with A Sign of Things to Come dropping back in September. The set's first two songs came from this album, and it was clear that the band really wanted to push their more anthemic side. Josh Middleton (vocals/guitar) sounded great vocally throughout, and his guitar solos were as incendiary as always. Poison for the Lost and the fists-in-the-air metal of Pariahs got the set off to a great start - with the more groove-laden I Sever hitting the crowd next. With long-time guitarist Alex Bailey at home with his family helping to take care of his new born, bassist Conor Marshall was playing the guitar instead - with Venom Prison's Ben Thomas filling in on bass. Marshall impressed on the guitar, especially as he handled most of the lead guitar parts with the exception of the guitar solos. I had noticed Bailey doing this at Bloodstock last year, and this approach likely allows Middleton to focus more on his vocals - and he has certainly improved as both a vocalist and a frontman over the years. He even gave up his guitar entirely for one song, the old favourite The Blackest Skyline, as the band were joined by YouTuber Jamie Slays - who played the rhythm guitar parts. Middleton briefly prowled the stage - and the crowd loved hearing the old favourite with its massive chorus. Marshall did a pretty good job with the solo, too, but Middleton was back in his usual spot, guitar in hand, for the more progressive Sands of Time - another oldie which I had not seen the band play live for about 10 years. It was great hearing a couple of older songs, but in truth the newer material really came alive on stage. The new album in particular seems made to be played live, and the title track had lots of the crowd singing along. It has one of the best choruses in the band's canon in my opinion, and it was great seeing such a large crowd so into what Sylosis were doing - even chanting the band's name at times. The stand-alone single Worship Decay also went down well, but by this point the set was coming to an end - and it was left to Deadwood to close things out. It is another highlight from the new album in my opinion, and it was a great way to bring Sylosis' 45 minutes to an end - with another big chorus that filled the room. The setlist was:

Poison for the Lost

Pariahs

I Sever

Cycle of Suffering

The Blackest Skyline [w/ Jamie Slays]

Sands of Time

A Sign of Things to Come

Worship Decay

Deadwood

Sylosis were the band of the evening for me, but that is only because I have been a fan for over a decade at this point. That should take nothing away from Malevolence, though, who put on a great performance from the word go - and they had no problems getting the capacity crowd moving. Despite feeling like the room was too full, the atmosphere throughout the night was excellent - and it was great to see a young band like Malevolence packing out a venue the size of the SWX. Like Sylosis, much of Malevolence's set was pretty forward looking. The first five songs of the set were all newer cuts - with the short Malicious Intent title track kicking things off, before Life Sentence took over. It was clear from these two numbers that the night was going to be a good one, as the riffing from both Josh Baines (guitar/vocals) and Konan Hall (vocals/guitar) sounded pretty razor-sharp from the off - and frontman Alex Taylor's powerful harsh vocals easily cut through the mix. The slightly more muscular Waste of Myself saw plenty of action in the mosh pit but for me the early highlights were the groovy riffing of Still Waters Run Deep, with its Alice in Chain's influence obvious and a huge chorus, and the title track from 2017's Self Supremacy. The former is a good example of why Malevolence do it for me when many of their peers do not. They certainly have a strong hardcore and metalcore side, but they are also a groove metal band - and are not afraid to really go for it from a guitar perspective. Their riffing is always excellent and Baines is an excellent lead guitarist. They do a lot more with their guitars than many of their peers and that makes them stand out in my opinion. There are also plenty of Lamb of God-esque moments, which is never a bad thing, and the latter channelled a bit of that whilst also sounding like a hardcore anthem. The band also know that taking things down a notch or two sometimes is important, and the epic ballad Higher Place showcased Hall as a vocalist perfectly - and also allowed Baines to include a much more lyrical solo than is typical. Everyone was singing along, too, and it was another highlight moment overall for me. A couple of older songs followed, with the knotty Serpents Chokehold standing out, before a medley of some other older songs allowed bits of the slower Turn to Stone and the angry Wasted Breath to be wheeled out. The rest of the set focused on newer material, though, with the punchy Karma again getting everyone singing along. This led into a busy drum solo from Charlie Thorpe which gave the rest of the band a short break - but they soon came back out for the final two songs of the set. Rather than going off and coming back again, the band used the drum solo to act as a bit of an encore break in spirit, and hit the crowd with the anthemic Keep Your Distance and their current signature piece On Broken Glass - which was likely the biggest sing-a-long of the night. It brought the band's set to a powerful close and the whole place was really rocking by the end. The setlist was:

Malicious Intent

Life Sentence

Waste of Myself

Still Waters Run Deep

Above All Else

Self Supremacy

Higher Place

Serpents Chokehold
Condemned to Misery

Remain Unbeaten

Turn to Stone/Wasted Breath

Karma

Drum solo

Keep Your Distance

On Broken Glass

Despite two of the bands on the bill not really being my thing, I still had a great night in Bristol with Malevolence and Sylosis. The headliners are likely to only grow in stature from here, and they deserve all of their attention they are getting. Their mix of sounds helps them to stand out and they sound fresh and exciting as a result. I will certainly be following the band and keeping up with their releases as I am sure that their next album, whenever it comes, will be excellent. For me, though, Sylosis stole the show. They are a great band and the fact that they are now properly back from their hiatus is exciting news. Their new album this year was great and I hope that this tour gives them the springboard they need to launch the next stage of their career - which will hopefully lead to some UK shows of their own in the near future.