All That Remains
Electric Ballroom, London
30 November 2010

First up on the bill tonight are Neaera from Germany. Playing quite straight forward death metal , there’s double bass drum aplenty and mixed squeal/growl vocals. Neaera are not really an easy listening experience. They are harsh and grating but very happy to be playing this evening! They set the scene for the rest of the evening perfectly!

Following closely on the heels of Neaera are Bleed from Within from Glasgow whose performance is also tight and accomplished. Vocalist Scott Kennedy spends more time in the audience than on the stage, part of the much appreciative crowd and a decent mosh pit. Bleed from Within have a bright future ahead of them if they can focus on solid song writing, there’s certainly no shortage of musicianship.

Following in the same vein and raising the bar a little bit further are Caliban from Germany. In existence for over 10 years, this is a band with a good pedigree and a multitude of albums to pick from. Coming on to a bucketload of dry ice and some nicely crafted intro music, from start to finish this is a class show. Andreas Dörner complains of a bad stomach but you wouldn’t have guessed from the performance. Highlights are the songs from “Say Hello to Tragedy” – “No One is Safe” and closer “24 Years”. The even manage to squeeze in a cover of Rammsteins “Sonne”.

Then the scene is set for Soilwork, a strange change of pace and direction from all of the previous bands. There’s a melody here missing up til now and goes a fair way to set Soilwork apart without losing any of the ferocity or weight. With a set mainly composed of songs from the 2010 album “The Panic Broadcast” such as “The Crestfallen”, “Two Lives Worth of Reckoning”, “Let This River Flow” and “Late for the Kill, Early for the Slaughter” see the whole of the Electric Ballroom moving. Closer “Stabbing the Drama” (from the 2005 album of the same name) leaves a big grin on most peoples faces!

And to finish this evening we have All That Remains and another slight change in direction. ATR have always appealed to me with good, solid songwriting and excellent playing. Live performances are always injected with energy and I’ve never been disappointed. Tonight is no exception. Despite the fact that vocalist Philip Labonte seems to have forgotten the setlist order and which songs came from which album ATR play some crackers – “The Air That I Breathe” , “Six” , “Become the Catalyst” as well as a handful from the latest album “For We Are Many” – “Aggressive Opposition” , “Some of the People, All of the Time” & “For We Are Many” . As for Soilwork, the pretty large crowd is moving well with a massive pit opening up.

No complaints then, from this evening, all 5 bands shining in their own ways and bringing more than a little heat to a very cold night in London.

Review by Graham Hilling