Put the words Suicide Silence and The Borderline together in a sentence and the first thought that should come to mind is “absolute carnage”. Rock Sins sent James and Sam along to Suicide Silence’s first headline London show with new vocalist Eddie Hermida to find out what a Suicide Silence v2 gig is all about.
Leading the charge, Black Tongue (8) grind through a monstrously heavy set. There may be a lot of backward snapbacks and wife-beaters in attendance but this really does a disservice to the complexity of Black Tongues music. The riffs are disgustingly sludgey and primeval heavy while the reverb-drenched leads both expand the all-encompassing darkness but also adds extra seasoning to this most potent of brews.
Unfortunately James got his nose smashed in during the first song of Heart of a Coward (which probably tells you enough about their set already) but nonetheless it’s over to Sam…
Heart Of A Coward (8.5) opening with Deadweight was clearly a bit too much for some members of team Rocksins as they had to swiftly retreat from the pit after suffering from a blow to the nose. Regardless, Heart of a Coward do not let up for their entire set and Jamie Graham constantly asks for more from the crowd. Whether it’s moshing, jumping or synchronised headbanging when Jamie asks for it the crowd responds immediately. Combine this with the catalogue of tunes Heart Of A Coward now have and it’s the kind of dominant performance that on any other night would have stolen the show. It seems like nothing is gonna stop Heart Of A Coward right now.
Opening with a domineering ‘Unanswered’ Suicide Silence (10) are unremittingly stunning. Tight, heavy, and with the sold-out audience screaming back every last singalong moment this is close to, if not the metal show of the year. Eddie Hermida doesn’t disappoint either, demonstrating an utter dominance of vocal range that cements his location in the upper echelons of metal frontmen. One minute, joking “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” and the next screaming for the pit to open up bigger for traditional wall of death during ‘disengage’ Hermida has the crowd eating from the palm of his hand from the word of the go. Chants of “Eddie” a single song in sealing the deal.
Tonight’s setlist is also arranged in an interesting manner, and one that is so simplistic it’s a wonder more bands don’t do it. Playing ‘the hits’ off each album in chronological order is a inventive way of constructing the setlist and leads to no let up as well as the opportunity for some lesser played live cuts like ‘Girl In Glass’ and ‘Lifted.’
Suicide Silence are a band clearly looking to make up for lost time and have resumed in a very impressive fashion. Their new album You Can’t Stop Me is out next week on the 14th of July through Nuclear Blast Records. Suicide Silence will return to the UK for a full headline tour at the end of 2014 with Thy Art Is Murder and Fit For An Autopsy. Tickets can be obtained through Seetickets on the link here – https://www.seetickets.com/search?q=suicide+silence.