King 810 [7] court controversy like Gene Simmons files patents. Whether they’re being banned from venues, arrested on weapons charges or losing members, the band are as eventful offstage as they are on it. Fortunately, these previous circumstance have not held precedence over the evening’s show, and a full band’s worth of musicians grace the stage.
Opening with Heartbeats from upcoming album Suicide King, the band launches into their aural assault. David Gunn contorts across the stage, moving with a threatening presence and monolithic intensity. His brooding stare is enough to strike fear into the hearts of every crowd member. The crowd themselves are rabid and dedicated beyond belief, screaming every word that the band have penned back at them. There is no pretence to the bare bones performance, simply four men on stage and a hell of a lot of white strobe lighting. The band have faced criticisms of their music being embellished masculine posturing, and while there is a distinct air of testosterone in the air, the world in which King 810 live is as real as their live show.
Despite the fact that the band have all four members on stage, it’s hard to believe as the sound is utterly abysmal. The guitars are near inaudible, and the bass is so loud and blown out that in the more gentle moments of his ability, David Gunn may as well be stood silently staring down the mighty Leicester crowd. This muddiness of tone leads to a lack of impact from the band’s music, with crescendos and subtle moments being completely overshadowed. The reliance on sampling over the PA is also something of a point of contention, as they could easily be replicated with live synthesisers and another microphone.
Despite this, the band smash through a crowd pleasing set, with each song going down to manic fervour. Singles like Fat Around the Heart and Alpha Omega both threaten serious structural damage to the venue, while album tracks War Outside and Heavy is the Crown receive rapturous reception befitting of the band’s hyper intensity. All of this brutality comes to a head with set closer, Killem All. Any issues of sound mixing and lack of variety are roundly beaten to a pulp as the band play at the peak of their impressive powers. The songs are not completely tight, with band members overlapping and seemingly out of key at times, but when they get it right it’s a violent, imposing, vulgar display of power.
