Misery Signals [Live]

Aberdeen shaken by a flawless night of metal.


When a band like Misery Signals come up this far north, with Aberdeen having a good metal scene, it's always going to be received very well. Tonight’s line up is a special one for many reasons, and the first of those is the almost prodigal return of two bands loved in this city, being Misery Signals and Your Demise. What makes this bill even more fantastic is the addition of The Number 12 Looks Like you, playing here for the first time.

Firstly though, to start off an utterly brilliant evening of live music, local lads My Minds Weapon are here to play to a crowd that should be bigger. Most people in the room including the reviewer have seen this band a load of times, but tonight is vocalist Ben's last show with the quintet and only special circumstances can create such a special set. The band tear through some songs from their debut album 'The Carrion Sky' to a rabid crowd, finishing up with 'Lucky Like Kokura' and setting Ben off with a gig that a lot of witnesses will remember for quite some time. Utterly brilliant. 5/5

The Number 12 Looks Like You fall upon confused ears at first, with most the crowd not knowing exactly how to react, but this soon changes as frontman Jase demands all attention with his feral vocals, and absolute dominant stage presence. This band have a lot of experience on stage and it really bleeds into the performance as they tear into songs from their new album with flawless precision. The technical prowess of both the bassist and guitarist is just phenomenal, and this all makes for an utterly breathtaking set. The band needs money to get home a few days from the show, and with this performance they should have sold enough merch to fly home and back again. Let’s hope they do just that. 5/5

After such a stunning opening to the night, Your Demise have a lot of work to do to keep the momentum sky high. Unfortunately it doesn't quite work out, and it’s for a number of reasons. The first reason is the band having quite a shaky start to the set. Secondly, the dance floor is dead thanks to Aberdeen's "hardcore" crew throwing karate kicks and swinging their arms about like idiots. Taking into account the fact two of these twats are built like mountains and would crush you, it is a real shame that the rest of the audience couldn't enjoy the moment. This is why Your Demise were a disappointment tonight. The connection between crowd and band was not there, and despite picking up their game half way through the show, it’s not enough. 3/5

Misery Signals are absolutely adored here in Aberdeen, and when they hurl themselves full force into a pounding set, the crowd are more than happy to show the band that adulation. Ripping through songs from recent album 'Controller' and older songs throughout the back catalogue, the Floridian band really tear the place a new one. Before the gig started, bassist Kyle told me in an interview that the vocalist Karl visibly enjoyed the experience of fronting the band. This is all too obvious throughout the set as the man towers over his crowd and plays every song with an appreciative grin on his face. Ending with a great encore, Misery Signals really wrapped this stellar gig off in bruising fashion. This, quite simply, was a great line up of bands that delivered by the bucket load. 5/5