Music > Live Reviews

Volbeat - UEA

23/11/14

One reason for the buzz of excitement tonight at the UEA could be the announcement of Download Festival 2015's lineup. The other is the pairing of two fantastic and exhilarating bands, Connecticut metalcore band Hatebreed and tonight’s headliners Denmark’s very own Volbeat. 

The gig kicks off with Hatebreed and their heavy yet passionate style of metal which doesn’t fail to get the crowd moving and rilled up. Song after song the crowd shouts along with the band who manage to create a sense of intimacy between them and the audience despite the size of the venue and the fact people are still slowly filling into the building as they play. One highlight of mine was their extremely heavy and chaotic track, the suitably named ‘Destroy Everything’ which got the crowd head banging along ready for headliners Volbeat.

Before this evening hadn’t heard much from the band Volbeat, mostly just that they were an exciting live band and that my dad recommended we go see them after he was impressed by their set at Download 2014. I can safely say I was not disappointed but in fact very happily surprised by their amalgamation of heavy metal mixed with hints from the likes of Elvis and Johnny Cash, creating a fun but heavy atmosphere that had people dancing alongside the usual mosh.

Their catchy melodies and rockabilly style meant that I didn’t find their songs or performance getting boring or similar to one another at all, especially when they were throwing in a couple of crowd pleasers such as a short cover of ‘Ring of Fire’ or one of my highlights ‘Sad Man’s Tongue’. The band themselves seem to put 100% of their energy into their performance and similarly to Hatebreed, managed to involve the audience more than most bands nowadays, creating a sense of involvement for everyone, instead of just playing and leaving. The band’s energy was amazing as they continuously switched microphones and ran about the stage, really using the space and creating an interesting and varied show. From the heaviness and passionate aggression of Hatebreed to the exciting and varied performance of Volbeat, a band I now will put firmly on my list of ‘bands to see again’, this evening has been thoroughly enjoyable!