Live Review: Bury Tomorrow & August Burns Red at The Electric Ballroom, London (02/11/22)

Long delayed because of pandemic-related restrictions and with a complete change to the bands (out are Thornhill and Miss May I, in are Novelists). The ‘core’ heaviness of August Burns Red and Bury Tomorrow finally arrived in the capital city of England. Playing two dates in the ‘far too small for these bands’ Electric Ballroom in Camden. The first of these shows may not be officially sold out but it’s packed enough inside to believe only a handful of tickets are left on sale.

August Burns Red announce their arrival on stage with System of a Down’s iconic, but overplayed, Chop Suey. The first half of the track coming from the speakers, the second half covered by the band as they arrive on stage. It’s an unusual start, beginning a show with a cover song, but the way the majority of people are bouncing and singing along, it seems to have paid off.

Once that’s out of the way, it’s time to open up the pit and bloody hell, do August Burns Red cause some carnage here. Pulling from their impressive back catalogue with many tracks coming from 2007’s Messengers, 2009’s Constellations and 2020’s Guardians. Even the 2021 stand-alone single, Vengeance gets an airing here. It’s chunky and meaty deathcore/metalcore and August Burns Red control the rabid masses with ease. 50 minutes of noise ing by in a blur of furious head-banging and circle-pitting.

It is heartening to see Bury Tomorrow still standing after their tribulations over the past few years and still beloved by all. As the lights dim to announce their arrival, the roar from the crowd is deafening. Kicking off with two tracks from their most recent album, Cannibal (Choke and The Grey (VIXI), it’s a strong and energetic start from Bury Tomorrow. However, it’s when Black Flame gets dropped that things really seem to take off. A banger track that still sounds immense live.

In fact, that’s an aspect of Bury Tomorrow that is often forgotten. That live, they are such a more interesting prospect than on record. Songs that can be a little bland on record, such as LIFE (Paradise Denied) and Earthbound, sound bigger and better in the live environment.

There is a little bit of a lull in the second half of the set though but not because of the music. Instead that comes from a little too much talking from the stage, cliché statements and a repeating crowd-interaction thing involving phones waved in the air that August Burns Red did an hour before. Odd but more than forgivable because Bury Tomorrow are such a strong live band.

We might have waited years for this show to finally come around and a lot has changed since, but it didn’t disappoint.