Millencolin
Cancer Bats, Cerebral Ballzy, March Of The Raptors
KERRANG! Stage at Relentless Energy Drink NASS 2011
9th July 2011
How do we make Metal… even more METAL!!!??? Well, what about listening to it in a huge box made of, you guessed it, metal? This is exactly the solution that Relentless Energy Drink NASS Festival would appear to have come up with for the KERRANG! Stage venue. It takes the form of a massive cattle shed with corrugated walls and a corrugated ceiling to match. Consequently, the sound for “March of The Raptors”, Saturday’s opening band, is indeed metallic. Quite harsh in fact and it takes all the skill of the sound engineer to keep things under control. There’s a lot of sound coming from March of The Raptors to keep under control too. Brutal chopping riffs, and precision soloing from the twin guitars, bass and drums effortlessly combining to form locked in breakneck beats, gang vocal shouts and a brilliant performance from vocalist Jamie Searle who didn’t seem to stop jumping and bouncing his way around the stage for a second. Their mix of traditional Metal and contemporary Hardcore combines the best from both styles with enough melodic power to give them an anthemic edge whilst retaining that important raw energy and streetwise mindset to keep things real. March of The Raptors have had their fair share of praise this last year or two. Here’s some more.
After a leisurely half hour changeover “Cerebral Ballzy” made their way nonchalantly onto the stage. The Brooklyn, NY, Hardcore Punkers then piled into a frenzied attack on the senses, their short, sharp, sub 2 minute stabs of snotty attitude and abrasive, face-ripping old-school punk being casually rammed elbow deep down the throats of all in attendance. With eyes rolling into the back of his head and scant regard for personal safety, front-man Honor Titus decided to climb the rigging at the rear of the stage. While musical chaos and mayhem ensued below he shouted his lyrics laying prone alongside one of the stage lights, an arm and a leg dangling over the edge of the KERRANG! backdrop. If he had fallen I doubt he would have been injured… Cerebral Ballzy looked invincible tonight.
By now the cattle shed had taken on all the atmosphere of an illegal disused warehouse party, the exposed walls and corrugated ceiling helping the eager buzz of the crowd to fill the cavernous space. “Cancer Bats” were here to seriously rock this place ahead of their appearance at Sonisphere the next day and their less frenetic hardcore but much heavier groove was the perfect tool for lifting the lid off. If there were still a few bolts holding the roof in place these were shot blasted away by their stunning version of The Beastie Boys classic “Sabotage”. Brilliant inventive guitar work from Scott Middleton throughout gave the sound a constantly fluid dynamic edge and a clear punch – something that bands with two guitarists often lack, the tendency being to sound a bit ‘mushy’ if they’re not absolutely locked together. The prowling Liam Cormier looked iconic tonight too impressing further by retaining the ability to mix it as one of the fans. He covered all parts of the stage and engaged his audience enthusiastically. No one was going to leave this show without feeling that they were an integral part of it. One of the future ‘greats’ perhaps? Spending time thanking fans personally from the crowd barrier after their set certainly helped this cause.
After Cancer Bats’ headline quality performance the main band tonight had a lot to live up to. “Millencolin” took control right from the first note, their loyal fans starting an immediate mosh to match the pacey Skater Punk tunage coming from the stage. As it was singer and bass player Nikola Sarcevic’s birthday today a party atmosphere was soon generated and what with their career long musical links to the world of Skateboarding and BMX it’s hard to think of another band better suited to closing an evening at a festival such as NASS. This appearance was the only UK date in a long time for Millencolin and so there was an urgency in the dedicated sections of the audience to really make the most of it. They grabbed all possible opportunities to sing their hearts out to every one of these classic slices of timeless melodic punk rock. ‘No cigar’ was a particular favourite of the night but nothing really beats hearing a large crowd sing ‘The Ballad’ – a wonderful song that actually puts a lump in the throat such is the depth of sentiment in those lyrics. The fact that so many people know those lyrics gives hope that great music really can make people think differently, give solace in dark times and have a dramatic positive effect on people’s lives. Millencolin were clever enough to not allow those poignant moments to last long enough to affect the party atmosphere though, and they returned back to their speedy upbeat style for the rest of the set bringing the night to a rapturous close. Festivals have always had the ability to create lasting memories and Millencolin will surely have a place in the ones created by those that took in the KERRANG! Stage tonight.
Review by Greig Clifford
