Before Crypta's set, though, the growing crowd were treated to sets from two support bands - both of whom were from the South West. Up first were the technical death metal four-piece Unburier from Yeovil - and the band impressed during their half an hour or so on stage with a machine-drilled performance and songs which featured some of the evening's most complex arrangements. The band were not as knotty as some technical death metal bands, but there was certainly a strong progressive flavour to their songwriting - with each track taking plenty of twists and turns via many, many different riffs. The band never really stayed in one place for too long, which kept things interesting, and there was also a lot of time turned over to guitar soloing - with Blake Hibberd (vocals/guitar) dominating on that front, although Ben Champion (vocals/guitar) also chipped in some with excellent shredded passages. Champion dominated vocally instead, and his harsh vocals were on point throughout the set, although Hibberd also took the lead occasionally with some deeper growls - and the two also teamed up for some powerful dual vocal moments. Much of the band's set seem to be taken up by a full run-through of this year's EP Nebulous with a couple of older tracks coming later in the set - and I have to say that Unburier's set really flew by. I found all of the songs to be captivating whilst the band were on stage and the guitar playing of both Champion and Hibberd really held my interest. There was a particularly memorable moment during one of the songs which saw the two start playing a solo together before Hibberd launched into a crazy shredded run of notes whilst Champion played a more melodic and controlled lead line underneath. This combination worked so well and it was clear that the band certainly have plenty of chops - and seemingly the songwriting to back it up. Unburier are a band I need to check out a bit more I think based on their showing yesterday - and they got the evening off to a strong start.
Plymouth's own War Shepherd were up next. I had heard of them previously but had not ever really listened to their music. I have to say that I did not find their set as enjoyable as Unburier's, but they still had plenty of character and a bit of a different sound which merged pretty folky guitar leads alongside a pretty fast-paced and punky death metal sound. The band were more of a melodic death metal band, then, but they lacked the anthemic qualities of many of the best melodic death metal bands. The omni-present deeper growls and screams of frontwoman Jamie Burton and the straight-ahead arrangements reminded me somewhat of The Black Dahlia Murder - albeit with much more of a focus on guitar leads than riffs, with the aforementioned folky melodies a big part of the band's sound. War Shepherd are one of those bands which have a lot of good ingredients but I am not sure that everything quite comes together - at least in a way which gels with me. I think the reason why melodic death metal works as a genre is that the best bands that create such music tend to be very hooky - both in the guitar and vocal departments. I thought that Burton had a great voice, but the vocal melodies were not all that hooky - and the songs could have done with some shout-along choruses given the folky side and the fact that such tends to be a genre trope. I have not managed to gel with the aforementioned The Black Dahlia Murder for the same reasons - and I also found much of the guitar playing to be lead-based with the rhythm guitar parts often not pushing things riff-wise. I liked a lot about the band's make-up - but the final product just was not really for me. Despite this, though, I did not find the band's set to drag. Like Unburier, they only had around half an hour to play with and the band ripped through their set in pretty furious fashion - whilst eliciting a pretty strong reaction from the crowd (who had also warmed to Unburier quite a bit, too).
The main event was certainly the Plymouth debut of the four ladies from Brazil, though, and when 9:30pm rolled around the band took to the stage with The Aftermath (Intro) playing over the PA before launching into The Other Side of Anger. Given that the band are currently promoting Shades of Sorrow, every song from the album was played over the next hour or so, with even the intro, outro, and interlude getting an airing. Three songs from Echoes of the Soul also made the cut, but the setlist was very much a forward-looking one - with the more involved and longer newer songs winning out over the band's punchier earlier material. Despite a slightly muddy sound at times, which was strange considering that both of the support acts had sounded very clear, meaning that Fernanda Lira (vocals/bass guitar) was sometimes buried in the mix vocally, the band sounded powerful and whipped up a great atmosphere from the word go. The crowd did not take much persuading to get on side - and there was plenty of moshing from the off, with the pit action down near the front only getting more intense as the night went on. Lira sounded great vocally when she was not buried in the mix, but for me the real standout performers were the guitar duo of Jéssica di Falchi and Tainá Bergamaschi. The two traded riffs and solos all night, with each song a real feast of guitar firepower. Some of the best guitar moments for me came outside of the main solos, with lots of tapping licks thrown in throughout the night - although both soloed with real venom, too. The two had a great chemistry and the powerful drumming of Luana Dametto really held everything together - her footwork fast and precise. Early highlights for me were the raspy Lift the Blindfold and the somewhat more atypical Lullaby for the Forsaken - the latter of which starts slowly before morphing into something much longer and progressive which felt like the centrepiece of the set's first half. Another strong moment of this early part of the night was the doomier Stronghold, which showcased the band's slower, more old-school death metal side - which differs from their more usual thrashier approach. The first half featured some longer pieces, then, but the latter half felt a bit more direct. The handful of older cuts were included here, such as the more anthemic Under the Black Wings, whilst the thrashy Dark Clouds proved that the latest album could still go for the throat in a more direct manner - leaving behind some of the more progressive flourishes from earlier. Perhaps the best couple of numbers were left for the end, though, with two anthemic pieces left to bring the band's ferocious set to a close. First the newer Lord of Ruins saw plenty of singing from the crowd, particularly those in the pit, before the older From the Ashes felt like the band's real anthem - with Lira really belting out the lyrics, aided by the crowd, whilst the guitar duo of di Falchi and Bergamaschi soloed one last time. It was a great end to a heavy evening - and the ladies took their bows to huge cheers from a crowd which seemed more invested than many bigger audiences I have been a part of. The setlist was:
The Aftermath (Intro)
The Other Side of Anger
Poisonous Apathy
Lift the Blindfold
The Outsider
Lullaby for the Forsaken
Stronghold
The Limbo (Interlude)
Trial of Traitors
Under the Black Wings
Dark Clouds
Shadow Within
Agents of Chaos
Lord of Ruins
From the Ashes
The Closure (Outro)
Due to a great performance from Crypta and the crowd whipping up a strong atmosphere, last night's show at The Junction was an excellent one. Crypta's set really flew by and it is clear why they are considered such rising stars in the death metal world. I really hope that they can climb the ranks going forward and achieve even more success - and they seem to be going about it the right way thanks to Napalm Records' pushing of the band and their busy touring schedule. I hope I get to catch the band live again in the future and I imagine that next time it will be in somewhere bigger than The Junction.
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