Killswitch Engage & Trivium - O2 Academy Brixton, London - February 2 2014 (Live Review)

As a legion of Killswitch Engage and Trivium fans mill around outside Brixton Academy, ignoring the cries of touts, it’s hard not to smile at the enormity of the situation. Two of the most important, viscerally exciting metal bands to emerge this side of the millennium. A sold-out, iconic venue. Yes. It’s all very...yes.

Michigan melo-death bruisers Battlecross prove to be worthy openers and with song titles like Beast and Flesh & Bone, it really is a case of what you see is what you get. Drummer Adam Pierce completely steals the show, his effortless fills and relentless battering of the skins inducing a mass session of audience dribbling and eye-goggling.

Miss May I have a tough time following up, starting their set by having beer hurled at them and with a dodgy microphone.

But, as the set rolls on, momentum picks up, as do some circle pits, and frontman Levi Benton wins the Academy over. Inevitably, the crowd goes wild for Hey Mister, but, sandwiched in the middle of such a monumental bill, Miss May I are cut adrift a little.

Trivium are back at the Academy and they're packing a good, old fashioned stage show. With giant steel statues of their logo and icy polar caps resembling the Terminator cheesiness of the cover art of their most recent album, 'Vengeance Falls', it seems that they're ready to take things up a notch.

Opening with new tune Brave This Storm, and airing three others from the latest record, it's obvious that Trivium are immensely proud of 'Vengeance Falls'. While the material doesn't hold a candle to their classics on tape, it's given a completely new life on stage.

Despite the sound being tinnier than a uni student's food cupboard, Trivium own it. Matt Heafy stalks around the stage with the confidence of a festival headliner, singing from various microphones scattered across the stage Metallica style.

While the obvious singalongs of In Waves, Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr and Like Light To The Flies turn the Academy into a soggy mess, it's Shogun that dominates Trivium's set. A sprawling, 10 minute epic accompanied by artificial snow, it’s representative of what sets this band apart from the rest. This is a more clinical, rehearsed showing than usual, but it's still Trivium. And it's still bloody great.

After the cancellation of Hevy Fest last year left Killswitch Engage performing to a sweat soaked Garage, it's now time for the metalcore giants to dominate Brixton with original vocalist Jesse Leach. And dominate they do.

Since his return to the fold, Leach has transformed into one of the most captivating frontmen in the game. His harrowing screams on tracks like In Due Time are sharp enough to flay skin, yet his performance at the melodic end of the spectrum is equally impressive. He nails Howard Jones-era tunes, including The End Of Heartache and A Bid Farewell, while his banter is honest and grateful.

This band is such a tight unit, yet they happily bound around the stage like heavy metal bunnies. Ending with a stupendous rendition of My Curse, Leach's heartfelt delivery leaves Killswitch out in front, with Trivium ever so slightly behind.

Killswitch Engage UK & Ireland Tour Dates are as follows

Mon February 03 2014 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE O2 Academy Newcastle
Tue February 04 2014 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
Thu February 06 2014 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Fri February 07 2014 - SOUTHAMPTON O2 Guildhall

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