By Jase Walker
Today’s not off to the easiest start with me waking up and nursing a pretty nasty hangover but that’s just how these things go!
Anyway I’m alive and I’ve gotten myself along to catch House Of Protection who’ve made a pretty big splash in a very short space of time. Kicking off with ‘Pulling Teeth’ there’s little wonder why they’ve hit it off so well, both of these are active as hell on stage and that includes the drummer too, it’s hard to believe it but this guy is jumping around a lot whenever he gets the chance. The guitarist at one point jumps into the middle of the crowd, dumps his mic stand and directs a huge circle pit directly around him.
This is absolute balls to the wall showmanship in every conceivable way! ‘Afterlife’, one of their more recent songs has clearly been a hit considering the response to it and it’s almost Deftones vibe, House Of Protection are relentless! At one point their drummer jumps off the kit and someone else steps in to let him have a bit of freedom which he gladly abuses to sprint around the stage and jump off the kit while it’s being played. Even more climbing shenanigans this weekend as their guitarist scales one of the pillars of the tent almost all the way to the roof! As he climbs down, two people get sent across the crowd to ride back to the middle with large ‘block heads’ with images of the band stamped on them. I really cannot overstate how much of a nuts show this has been, truly phenomenal.
Next up today for me is getting one of my final scoops of Stray From The Path who have decided to call it a day this year. I don’t doubt for a moment that this crowd is going to be fierce. Walking on to the famous dialogue from Full Metal Jacket and launching into ‘Kubrick Stare’, these guys mean business and there’s no room for doubt.
This is chaos from the moment they start, it’s absolutely everything I wanted to get from this show prior to their final headline run later this year, a quick taster for what’ll be a reckoning that will hit Tilburg’s 013 with the force of a thousand suns. Around the pillars of the tent, they demand circle pits around them and people gladly oblige to this, there’s probably not gonna be a band in a long time that gets such obedience.
These guys demand crowd surfers for ‘Clockwork’ and suddenly the front of the audience is awash with people coming over the top and security has their work cut out for them! A bit of a short but sweet taster for a fantastic band that keeps up insane energy start to finish and clearly pulls people in, real shame they’re finishing up on such a high note.
Next up today for me is proggy outfit, Nothing More. It’s struck me quite hard that the turnout for them in the main stage is quite low which is a bit disappointing. The slick sound of Nothing More is something I truly treasure though, they’re a ton of fun and never stray far from writing songs that have immensely catchy hooks while still maintaining the heaviness. I’m a bit bummed at the response from Jera though, I get the feeling that for the crowd here that Nothing More aren’t quite what people are here for which is a massive shame because of how hard Nothing More go in their live shows. For what it’s worth though, the people that have turned up are fully down for going wild, waving arms, plenty of movement and a dull roar of voices to sing along to them.
‘Let Em Burn’ triggers my need to throw down with incredible might and I might burn my voice out but not before they smash me with ‘Lets Go To War’. I’m quite happy to dance around like a complete idiot because I’ve got the space and the energy to throw myself about screaming. Nothing More goes with a set that spans their career, no specific focus on any particular album, just a stomp through their biggest bangers. Every time I see these it just makes me love them that bit more.
Another big one for me this weekend is Guilt Trip, one of Manchester’s finest bands that I’ve seen grow at an incredible rate. Seeing them with such a prominent slot later in the day Jera fills my heart with pride in ways I find hard to put into words. This lot have been progressively climbing up the ladder over the years and Jera’s slot is rewarded with a tent that is fucking rammed all the way to the outside.
This is a real hardcore show, people are up on stage and diving back into the throngs of equally buzzed people with no concern for their own safety. Every twist and turn is filled with people vaulting the barriers, two-stepping across the stage and getting their pound of flesh from everyone else. There’s no possibility of safety here if you’re down the front, you either get stuck in or pushed the fuck out. Guilt Trip themselves are monstrous, walking the well beaten path of the hardcore giants before them but demonstrating that they’re not keen on copying the others.
Immensely aggressive yet not straying away from a catchy hook, Guilt Trip have created a formidable persona that catches the attention of the old guard of hardcore but being accessible enough to draw in people who just enjoy a good riff. Guilt Trip are a band that is going to keep climbing higher over time because there’s no way they’ve been satisfied yet. You only need to witness the sort of performance they put across today at Jera On Air to see they’re going for the big time.
And finally for today, Pendulum. A hallmark of my musical taste for two decades now, whether it’s banging big EDM energy or their newest more metal oriented. They’re not scared of deep cuts with going for ‘Propane Nightmares’ so early in the set. Along with the big music they’re going all in with the backing production that started with a desert windmill to suit the spaghetti western into before going fully all in with their signature sound. Every time I’ve seen Pendulum it’s stunning how immense their live show is. The perfect fusion of electronic music and metal that has been refined over so many years. What started as a straight drum and bass act with a focus on big choruses, eventually became a fully comprehensive band that leant into the ever growing metal community that was drawn to it.
Not going to pass off a chance to have a throw back with ‘Bloodsugar’ either, even if it does leave me out of breath with my aged bones. Leading it into their remix of Prodigy’s ‘Voodoo People’ though? Perfection. ‘The Island Pt. 1’ is a hugely welcome part of the set too, hopefully leading into Part 2 as well! I absolutely picked up on that random ‘Zombie Nation’ reference toward the end too, nice touch.
The newer stuff from these guys equally goes down a storm, ‘Halo’ featuring Matt Tuck from Bullet From My Valentine goes incredibly hard and sees a huge pit kick off in the middle. Starting with a chiptune intro for ‘Self Vs Self’, it’s time to possibly give myself whiplash from headbanging so hard! Finishing off with their massive singalong of ‘Watercolor’, I don’t think they could have done a better set to wrap up their Jera On Air show. Well, so I thought. We’ve got a bit more I suppose with ‘Tarantula’ adding a final surprise to the setlist.
What an incredible finish and I suppose it’s time to get myself off to the silent disco. Well, it’s Friday after all!
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