Tonight, at the Anvil in Bournemouth, we were treated to a selection of very talented musicians. When hope fails, Sleepwalker, Shields and the headline act Secrets, this by far is one of the best line ups in November, so if you haven’t heard of some of the bands you need to get cracking and add them to your playlist.
Warming up the crowd was the ever friendly, When All Hope Fails from Southampton. These guys put on a good show, playing songs such as Wake, Atlas, The Void, Flatline, Erase You and finishing on Take a Hold. They sound similar to such bands as Devil Wears Parada mixed with Memphis May Fire.
Sharing the floor with the crowd the front man gave audience members the mic creating that close bond between crowd and band. Leaving a smile on my face because it’s nice to see bands who are only there for the music and their fans. When hope fails made the performance as fun as possible, even when it meant ballroom dancing with a fan on the floor as the rest of the band kept rocking. These boys have a good set so check them out if they play live in a venue near you.
Next dominating the stage and completely knocking me back in awe were Sleepwalker, here from Portsmouth. These boys pulled out all the stops. They had such a tight set, playing songs such as Forsakers, The Truth, Bow Da Bow, Keeper, The Lie and My Demon. Sounding similar to Heart Of A Coward, Parkway Drive with the Vocalist sounding similar to Cj from Thy art is murder.
Half of the band in the crowd and half left on stage due to The Anvil being such an intimate venue, they totally made a presence. With front man Sam Salkeld pulling people from the back of the room into the pit with such a mixture of passion and aggression, which mirrored their style of tracks made this unique to watch. Breakdowns and bass drops and low gutturals mixing with melodic riffs and low tuning made me admire these lads a whole lot more than what I would have done just listening to them on Spotify. Seriously check these boys out live, they made tonight an edgy Metalcore Monday by far!
Following on were the ever-brilliant Shields who really made my night. These boys get better and better every time I see them and are so friendly when you chat at merch. All the way from London, Shields gave 110 percent for the last night of their tour supporting Secrets. Playing songs such as Intramuscular, Intimacy, Its Killing Me, Guilt, I’ve Dealt With Worse, But This Feels Worse, my all-time favourite Jordan and ending on I Just feel Hate. With a tight set and expected engaging and entertaining performance through out, they definitely delivered.
Sounding like bands such as Devil Wears Parada mixed with Bless The Fall and recently played with Our Hollow, Our Home in Southampton, these boys always know how to put on a great set. Big up to front man Joe who crowd surfed the Anvil, as the second front man I have witnessed to rise to the challenge of the basements low ceilings this year. Doing it in true Shields style screaming down the mic as he’s held up by fans underneath like it was second nature to him.
Finally Headline Act, Secrets entered the stage all the way from San Diego, USA and signed with Made in the Shade Records. Gave so much power and energy to their set, as the bass drops the crowd turn into a huge mosh pit. The Post-Hardcore band played songs such as, Incredible, Dance of the Dead, The Oath, Live Together, Die Alone, Waste Away, How We Survive, Five Years, Rise Up, Sleep Well, Darling and ending on a cover of Shape of You. These boys sounding similar to bands such as A Day To Remember, Alexisonfire and Atreyu. With a heavy and fierce frontman they gave us a super tight performance.
The whole line up definitely compliments Secrets giving you a taster of what was yet to come. This band’s catchy lyrics were sung back to them from the crowd which was a sight to see. The continuous breakdowns accompanied by bass drops and raging riffs made these very entertaining to watch and listen to. Bringing the American talent home to our shores Secrets showed so much enthusiasm, energy and passion.
Still on their UK tour supported by Our Hollow, Our Home definitely catch these boys play live now, before they fly back home. You will not be disappointed. On the day we joined Michael who answered a few burning questions we had, check it out below.
Overall a superb evening full of up and coming UK Metalcore bands worth your time! And Secrets rounded off the evening with a great set with a mix of harmonious vocals and heavy screams, making them any ADTR fan boys wet dream.