By Jase Walker
I pray that I’ll soon be done with this cursed month of train travel that has absolutely fucked me over the entire past month but through gritted teeth and pure spite I’ve still made it to Eindhoven. I mean I’d be totally insane to miss a stacked as fuck tour package like this with Aviana at the helm with The Gloom In The Corner, Diamond Construct and Atena in tow, madness.
Anyway I can forget about the godawful trip back for at least the next three and a half hours while I get my face melted off by some tasty riffs and big grooves. With four bands on the lineup it’s a hope they’ll manage to pull off keeping to tight deadlines for switchovers because I won’t be able to stick around for the whole set from Aviana sadly!
It’s time to finally kick the show off and as is tradition, the room darkens and the intro track blasts from the speakers. No real big walk on or anything though, it’s just kicking things off and let’s get it going!
Atena‘s sound admittedly is a bit weird from the outside, the vocals seem super loud and yet really muffled which drowns out and overshadows the rest of the band a bunch. Other than that though, I’m quite enjoying the ridiculously heavy and groovy guitar work as well as them throwing in techno elements here and there and seems to be every bit as fierce as it is tongue in cheek.
I enjoy the subtle bit of humour in their sound as well as the riffy bits that reminds me at times of a lot of bands like Monuments or Periphery. Overall I’m genuinely enjoying these despite the vocal sound, it’s doing their singers voice a massive disservice because he’s pretty damn good! An opener with a pretty clear bundle of potential in them and a knack for making solid punchy metalcore with a nice technical flair and a streak of humour; shame about the microphones but hasn’t put me off seeing them again!
A speedy changeover indeed, it’s time for me to finally catch a band I’ve been wanting to see for years because, well, they’re from Australia… Diamond Construct!
The moment they kick things off and the wild, glitchy, noisy guitar work hits are matched by the disgustingly fuzzy and meaty bass and I’ve got a grin that’s fully spanning ear to ear. They make a quick comment about this being their first ever show in Europe so hell yeah I’m properly pleased to be here for it!
This is one band that keeps my attention firmly on the guitarist as I’ve always been fascinated about how on earth this sort of stuff gets done live and he’s not disappointing. The man’s got a playing hand that is easily on par with John Browne of Monuments for sheer accuracy while his fretting hand is constantly using his pinkie to tap on just enough to get a stream of harmonic squeals out.
Almost every time he does another mental sounding bunch of noisy riffage I can hear people stood around me in unison going “what the fuck?“, all sharing in awe of the ridiculous sounds coming out of this band. They’re a real unique sounding band as a direct result of this, they’re in line with a lot of brash Aussie metalcore but stand out due to their particular sound.
So have these left me satisfied after waiting seven years to see them do it live? Absofuckinglutely. Do I want so much more? Unquestionably.
In a similar vein to the others tonight, there’s no grand entrance or statement made, they’re just up on stage and it’s time to let rip. The Gloom In The Corner are up next and similarly I’ve been waiting a damn long time to finally get to see these live as well because Australia is literally the other side of the world.
These lean a lot more to metalcore supported by symphonic elements, similar to the likes of Imminence or possibly Ice Nine Kills, but still enjoy a heavy, facemelting groove. It’s great to get two Aussie bands I’ve been waiting ages to see live ticked off at the same show and just like their countrymen before them, they’re not pulling any punches and are immediately going for the throat from the start. I also appreciate how the singer honestly looks like he could be in ‘Peaky Blinders’: the striped shirt and arm straps really seals the look.
The airhorns as a signal to wake the fuck up and go wild in the pit is a damn funny touch to the show too, can’t be serious all the time and I find that’s something Aussies fully understand. One blistering song after another, Gloom In The Corner blast through a spectacular set that left barely a moment of time for anyone in the pit time for a breather.
These guys provoked the right vibe at the start of the show and kept it running right through to the end, a fantastic demonstration of how to get started, do your piece, leave a trail of destruction in your wake and quietly fuck off stage proud that you blew the tits off the audience.
And lastly, the headliner, Sweden’s own Aviana! It’s great seeing them graduate to a proper full headlining act in their own right after seeing them do a number of support slots over the years.
I’ve had to position myself a bit closer to the door sadly, ready to quickly duck out and march off to the train station but I’m still going to get as much out of this show as I can! Huge diamond shaped lightning rigs sit either side of the drum kit and I won’t lie, they’re absolutely blinding to look at and even quick glances are leaving shadows in my vision.
Anyway, it’s time for Aviana to get things going, I actually forgot about their aesthetic where all the members barring the singer are draped in cloaks and masks. They sound absolutely fucking huge too, way more than just a step up from the last time I saw them, a full on massive leap as they’re clearly not letting this opportunity to establish themselves across Europe get away from them. Also I’m still not sure where this ‘singer wearing combat gear’ trend came from, it puzzles me every time.
At one point I spot one of the guitarists stumble backwards and nearly fall into one of the lighting rigs but it seems he’s having some issues with his guitar but calmly takes the time to get it fixed in the middle of a song. The show marches on though and the crowd are steadily remembering where their feet are and finally the pit gets moving. Every single chug and hit of the drums is felt through the floor and into my legs, the lights dance around leaving me dazzled all the while their singer sounds like he wants to scream the skin off your face.
This is now a band that has taken the years of experience hopping around Europe and doing the larger home land shows and is putting it fully into practice with this show. I think this is probably going to be a solid start for this tour though, nevermind the odd stage gremlins that pop up unexpectedly but with a solid turnout and a crowd that’s properly engaged in the show. They’ve got quite a few dates after this coming up so I’m hoping that tonight sets a solid bar for the rest of the tour.
Aviana looks fully natural doing a headliner show, a truly immense sound with a band that, despite not being able to see their faces, moves like they truly believe in how good the music they’re playing is. They’ve fully hit a stride where they can guarantee that those turning up to their shows are here specifically for them and can command the engagement they need to drive a show like this.
Sadly, as I mentioned earlier, I have to cut my experience short which is pretty gutting but seeing how they’ve grown so much since the last time I saw them opening up a show at Rebellion in Manchester years ago, they’re on the right path and I don’t doubt it’ll be long before I get another shot. Have a great fucking tour lads, this lineup and the level you’re at is something that’s going to blow people’s minds.
