Words by Iain Willetts, photos by Fran Dignon.
On the 16th July I moseyed on down to the Camden Barfly for a joint debut album launch show from Sal Vitro and The Survival Code.
Starting off proceedings were the only band not launching a new album, rock ‘n’ rollers Heman Sheman (6), not to be confused with Herman Sherman or Herman Ze German. The quartet from Manchester produced a solid performance but weren’t able to wow a relatively quiet room at such an early stage in the night.
The show stepped up a gear as Sal Vitro (8) got going with a set full of perfectly balanced rhythm and blues with a smidge of funk added to provide a fine broth of tasty tunes. Very assured on stage it was immediately noticeable how many fans had flocked along to see them. They provided a quality performance throughout with top notch vocals in particular worth a call out. Although the fans were left wanting more it was definitely a night apt to showcase the launch of their debut album – Cirque Du Sleaze.
The Survival Code (8) closed the show with a set full of energy and emotion. The London based three piece have obviously been busy over the last few weeks preparing for this as well as the album (MMXV) and you could tell how pleased they were to be getting in front of a crowd and release some of that energy in celebration of the launch.
They grew in confidence throughout the set where they smashed through a number of songs from the new album. Mixing their melodic Coheed and Cambria like vocals with harder hitting riffs, which made for a toe tapping, sing-along mix of rock that grows on you quick. The party atmosphere amplified with the addition of Wembley Stadium like effects – the band showering the crowd with glow in the dark balloons and confetti.
It was a fun and upbeat performance with the band appearing to thoroughly enjoy themselves. Definitely a fitting way to launch the album, setting them up well for the next stage in their careers, let’s see what they can do.
You can also check out Rock Sins’ review of The Survival Code’s MMXV right here. You can pick up the new albums from both The Survival Code and Sal Vitro from Amazon on the links below:
The Survival Code – MMXV – https://www.amazon.co.uk/MMXV-The-Survival-Code/dp/B00V4UP0QE.
Sal Vitro – Cirque du Sleaze – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cirque-Du-Sleaze-Sal-Vitro/dp/B00V4UP910/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1438197018&sr=1-1&keywords=sal+vitro
Please also check out our exclusive gallery of photos from the night’s action right here:
