Oxford Academy
05.04.08
It’s been a heck of long time since the Buffalo hardcore rock ‘n’ rollers in Every Time I Die last hit these shores (the sweaty summer of ’05, to be exact). In those long three years they have written, recorded and released one of the most exciting releases of last year in the form of ‘The Big Dirty’, a colossal slab of intense riffery that has taken more nods to southern rock and less nods to manic hardcore (which used to be their forte). And in a wait that hasn’t just seemed far too long (it has been far too long) the band are now bestowed upon us in the sweaty confines of the Oxford Academy.
Before this though, the Oxford faithful have to be subjected to a bill containing a support act that just doesn’t suit and a support act that is just plain terrible. The former, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, aren’t half bad, it’s just that their keyboard-infused pop metal would never sit well with an Every Time I Die crowd (as is apparent from the lukewarm reception that greets the end of every song).
Drop Dead Gorgeous do probably suit this bill a bit more but that doesn’t mean to say that they are any good. Watching a band and being convinced that they are never going to end isn’t a good sign, but then again this is no surprise as every song of in-coherent and indecisive beatdown-screamo increases many heart rates to speeds that would indicate signs of a heart attack caused by furious and unrelenting anguish and boredom (breathe…)
This would be enough to probably send punters home from any gig, but then not many gigs have a headliner that bring the party as much as Every Time I Die do. Mixing tracks off of ‘The Big Dirty’ such as We’rewolf, No Son Of Mine and the quite glorious Rendez-Voodoo alongside older material from ‘Gutter Phenomenon‘ and ‘Hot Damn‘ means the fans who have waited so long to see their bearded heroes in the flesh get the chance to sample the delights of a vast range of the bands back catalogue.
A bit of a dead crowd doesn’t stop Every Time I Die from being an absolute blast tonight. Ridiculously pro, insanely tight and with a sound as massive as this, you would be a fool not to catch them on this UK jaunt.
www.myspace.com/everytimeidie
www.everytimeidie.com
Nick Calafato