As Everything Unfolds were one of the breakout stories of the UK metal scene of 2021. In spite of things being disrupted by COVID, they made a huge splash, and Within Each Lies The Other was one of the releases of the year. So the prospect of seeing them at a Camden Assembly that sold out within 48 hours of the show being announced was far too good to pass up.
Upon arrival Crashface are already well into their set, so it’s difficult to get a full reading on them, but there’s a lot of energy to their set. Main support Heriot (7) are current favourites of UK metal Twitter, and while they are perhaps not quite as well known by tonight’s audience, it is very easy to see why. With a mix of material from their upcoming EP Profound Morality and already released singles, the experimental metal quartet are considerably impressive live. While a lot is made of Debbie Gough’s shredding and vocals (and rightly so, she is fantastic throughout), the other members are equally noteworthy. Be it drummer Julian Gage pummelling away behind the kit, frontman / bassist Jack Packer or guitarist Erhan Alman, at times its hard to know where to put your eyes as every band member is equally engaging in their live performance. Judging by what is on offer in this performance, Profound Morality is going to be one of THE heavier metal releases of 2022.
As impressive as Heriot were (and are), tonight is all about As Everything Unfolds (10). It is a celebration of their breakthrough smash hit debut album Within Each Lies The Other, almost a year on from the release and all the places the album has taken them since. The stage of the Camden Assembly wasn’t really designed for bands with six members, but they make it work, each member a burst of energy after Charlie Rolfe’s haunting solo beginning to the set opening Take Me There.
True to their word, AEU spend their hour long set running through Within Each Lies The Other in full – if not in order. For those who have followed the bands’ progress (most of those here judging by the huge response to every song), it’s a real treat to hear songs like One Last Time (where Charlie sounds phenomenal) and Let Me Go. There’s considerable promise for what’s coming next too with the first ever play of a new song (“Slow Down”), aired straight from the studio. It sounds impressive, particularly the last 30 seconds or so where the whole band, especially drummer Jamie Gowers, cut loose in furious style.
There are a couple of moments at this show that don’t happen very often; Where band and fans feel completely united together and it’s something truly special to watch. Grayscale sounded bigger than ever, presented against a backdrop of limited gray (what else) lighting. Guitarist Owen Hill turned round to a bunch of those in attendance and mouths “What the fuck is going on?!?!” at the reaction to Wallow. Owen then followed this by half somersaulting into the crowd during the brilliant as usual Hiding From Myself, only those at the front didn’t get the memo about catching him and parted like the red sea, leaving him a bit bruised but still very happy.
Closing with the smash hit On The Inside, it felt like the floor of the Camden Assembly itself was bouncing up and down as the place went suitably batshit. This was a very special evening with a very special band and those who were here should feel very privileged to have witnessed it. Every single member of AEU was on top form and in Charlie Rolfe they have one of the UK’s finest heavy music vocalists. It is very unlikely As Everything Unfolds will be playing venues of this size for much longer. A new album, festival slots and much bigger shows await.
There’s also a full photo gallery from this show to come, so stay tuned for that.
