Steel Mage/Final Words/Skin Of The Snake/Cast in Tephra - Corporation, Sheffield, Saturday 16th July 2022
Setlist: Intro/The Lazarus Phenomenon/Fallacy Of Mine/Interlude Track/Descent To The Monolith Pt1/Descent To The Monolith Pt2/Deity (The Corruption)/A Speck Amongst The Sand.
Back at the Corp's small stage it was great to see some bands I hadn't seen before. Up first was Cast in Tephra. Hailing from Newcastle.
They rocked the Steel City and started a mosh pit within the first couple songs. The crowd loved them, as did I. They played amazingly. The lead singers vibe shook me to my core. They really didn't hold back and the waves of sound hit the crowd one after another.
The twin songs, 'Descent To The Monolith Pt1 & Pt2 are genius, I have never heard anything like it.
By and large, they played excellently and set the expectation for the night.
10/10
Setlist: Greed/The End/Gatekeeper/New World/Judgement Day/Disgraced/The Snake Never Dies.
Up next, Skin Of The Snake: a hardcore band, I was unsure what to expect. Well, I was happily met with extreme, chuggy riffs that made me bang my head and mosh.
This effect was felt on all the crowd. The vocals were like the grunting of a demon. The bass guitar was like a hammer drill with the way it shook the building, and the guitarist was playing his connection between him and everyone in the crowd.
'Gatekeeper' was the best song, causing a few people in the audience to go mental and swing their limbs around. Overall, a really good band that had some meaningful messages said in-between tracks, as well as their lyrical content.
9/10
Setlist: The New Shit/Betrayal Of The Brotherhood/Show The Respect/Muzzle Up/My Baby AK/ Choke/Ignorance/Topped With A Glock.
Again, a genre I don't have much experience of Beatdown, I was struggling as to what I would expect, and again, I was met with extreme music I loved.
The term 'Beatdown' is apt. The vocals mix with the guitar and bass perfectly and the drums really add that beatdown feel to the music. 'Betrayal Of The Brotherhood' was my favourite song. Its lyrical content and music was awesome.
Overall, a really talented and different band.
9/10
Setlist: Intro/Betrayed/Unspoken Words,/Jealousy/A Beautiful Confession/Petrified/Disfigured/ Lost In Ambivalence/Warrior/Mandatory Detention/Bitter Truth.
They came out and within a minute my expectations were exceeded. They were awesome. One of the best live bands I have ever watched. The energy and passion on stage was insane. It caused the music to transcend into something more powerful.
Jack Haigh's drumming was an assault attack, Oliver Parke's and Chloe Cartwright's guitar playing was some of the best I have seen live. Thomas O’Malley's bass playing was loud and heavy. Finally, Joshua Watson's vocals: on point. He can sing and scream and shout simultaneously.
'Lost In Ambivalence' was my favourite song of the night, Its energy was intoxicating and the vibe of the room was really awesome.
I loved Steel Mage and I cant wait to see them again.
10/10
By Alex 'Reaper' Holmes