While She Sleeps @ SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow (27th February 2019)
with Stray From The Path, Trash Boat and LANDMVRKS
I was always going to go to this gig as I've been a fan of While She Sleeps for years, but the addition of New York's Stray From The Path made this an essential gig for anyone into politically charged metallic hardcore. It seemed like this lineup would be a perfect antidote to divisive and confusing times like these. Accompanying this stacked four band bill was Trash Boat and LANDMVRKS, who seemed a lot less politically minded, but I was still keen to check them out regardless.
Annoyingly, I managed to miss both the first band, and a good chunk of the second band's set. Partially my fault for leaving the house too late and therefore getting stuck in traffic, but also the SWG3 had the first band play 10 minutes after the tickets' stated opening time... Not cool... Being the second time I've missed the first band due to early start times, I'd strongly urge people getting to this venue for opening time or earlier if you want to see all the bands. I'll be doing this in future when I'm here again. In terms of LANDMVRKS, I was told from a gig buddy (who arrived on time) that they were a decent metalcore band, but nothing else. That wasn't all too surprising considering that was my impression of their sound from listening to them briefly before the gig.
Likewise with Trash Boat, I'd listened to them a little beforehand and I feel like I've seen this band support someone before (perhaps The Wonder Years?). As I only caught a few songs at the end, I didn't get a particularly insightful impression of them but from what I could see from where I was standing towards the back of the room, they did seem to be a little out of place in the bill. Whereas the other bands were more on the heavier side of things, Trash Boat were very much a pop punk band who only slightly dabbled with those hardcore leanings. They suffered from what I struggle with regarding modern pop punk, in that there was a lack of both memorable hooks or riffs for my own personal taste. On stage, I didn't find the members to be particularly charismatic from what I could see either. Other than a small set of committed fans at the front, there didn't seem to be that much crowd engagement for their set either. I certainly didn't think they were bad, but in terms of making an impression live, I was far from overly impressed. Odd pick for this gig, I think.
Markedly less odd, and far more exciting was the main support band Stray From The Path. Having seen them for the first time over the summer and being really impressed by the energy of this band, I was well keen to see them again, and was perhaps just as excited to see them as While She Sleeps. As was the common theme of the night, Stray From The Path came on stage very quickly after the previous band, so I came into the room during the middle of their first song. Opening with the highly contentious 'Goodnight Alt-Right', the band made it clear that they were not going to be messing about during this set in the slightest. Drawing largely from their two most recent albums, Only Death Is Real and Subliminal Criminals, this was an unsurprisingly bold set of incredibly furious and politically minded hardcore. Perhaps unnecessary for vocalist Drew Yorke to declare that the band are an incredibly outspoken one, but he did so anyway, calling out Donald Trump in a way which got a particularly strong response form the crowd. The mix of that Rage Against The Machine-eque groove, bounce and rhetoric alongside the swagger and attitude of New York hardcore that they have honed in on these last two albums is something which is utterly undeniable live for fans of both of these things (I'm definitely one of those people).
It's this sense of highwire energy alongside those utterly massive sounding riffs and breakdowns that really does cement the fact that Stray From The Path really do mean what they write about. This makes such powerful sounding songs hit even harder. I was particularly impressed again here with Yorke's stage persona, which was inclusive and confrontational in equal measure, with ample charisma to back it all up. Throughout the set, he acted as the ideal band hype man, encouraging the crowd to jump, mosh and crowdsurf without ever feeling like the routine was forced, as it can sometimes do with this type of band. Admittedly, the crowd response was not as great as I was anticipating during their set, as like with Trash Boat, there was only a small dedicated group of people really moving, singing or engaging with them. The large area that had opened up for moshing during the set was often left largely empty, which gave an oddly lifeless feeling to the crowd during their performance. It wasn't until near the end of their set, when Yorke told the crowd that they were going to be filming for a new music video during the next song that the crowd began to pick up the pace a little bit. By this time, it felt like it was too late to pick up any real momentum, and as the intensity of 'First World Problem Child' rolled past, the set was done all too quickly.
I can have a guess at where some of the issues regarding the somewhat lifeless nature of the crowd for Stray From The Path arose from. It seemed like much of the crowd was largely unfamiliar with the band, which contributed to a sense of apathy during the set. I didn't think the venue particularly helped here either, as the SWG3 is a remarkably long warehouse-eque room, which essentially felt just like that. With the sound desk right in the middle of the room, it felt like the 2/3rds or so full crowd was quite far away from the band, so the atmosphere towards the front was significantly muffled. As such, I found the vibe to be a little bit soulless from the audience perspective, which was far from what I was expecting or wanting for this set. Such a shame, as Stray From The Path really put their all into their performance. I can only hope that they come back and headline a show soon where they can have an audience that is appropriately receptive to their music and thematic message. They are such a fun live band to watch. I've got a video from their set below if you need further proof.
Onto the main band, and one which I have seen more than a few times, While She Sleeps thankfully didn't suffer the same issues of unfamiliarity or sparseness as the previous band. Opening with 'ANTI-SOCIAL', the first (more subtly politically minded) single from their upcoming album fourth So What?, the crowd instantly felt more packed, active and familiar with the material, giving an impressive singalong for the song which has only been released for a few months. Of the newer singles the band has released, this one is by far the one I like the most. I thought it sounded a lot more powerful in the live environment than on record as well. This is always the case with While She Sleeps more generally, but in this instance it was so evident that I didn't even notice that the band were one member short on stage. A few songs in, vocalist Loz explained that the lead guitarist Sean Long was currently ill, so was performing for the band offstage, preferring to do that than cancel the show in its entirety (well in, lads). As such, the then four-piece had considerably more space to play with onstage. This was filled well enough by Loz who, as always, kept the crowd engaged from each side of the stage, striking an impressive figure when contorting his body to push his voice to the highest level.
As has been an issue throughout While She Sleeps career (and was shown in the band's recent documentary surrounding the new album release), Loz has had another bout of throat surgery which has meant that he has had to change the ways in which he performs. I thought this was particularly noticeable in his vocal performance here, as accompanying the usual staple gravelly vocals of the band was a clear venture into higher register territories from Loz. These reminded me of much of Sam Carter's higher screams live, and were noticeably different from what I've experienced from this band before. I can imagine that this style of vocals may not chime with some people, but I thought it gave Taylor an extra dimension of power and control that I've never heard from him before. Hopefully it will stop his voice from blowing out in future again as well. As with the last album, rhythm guitarist Mat Welsh continues to play more of an important role as a vocalist in the live environment as well. With some of this newer material, the dynamic of the band becomes more centred around dual vocal lines than him simply singing in the background. I did feel like he got off to a bit of a weak start in the set opener where his vocals sounded a bit off tone and a bit shaky, but after a song or two, this seemed to sort itself out.
All in all though, the combination of the venue layout, the crowd behaviour, the set material and my own personal vibe during the gig meant that I sadly didn't enjoy it as much as I normally would have or expected to. It's a shame as everyone else seemed to be having a great time. Upon leaving the venue, I heard someone say to a friend: 'that was by far the best gig I've ever been to'. I can't help but feel a bit sad that I didn't feel this way. I found myself thinking that the last show at the O2 ABC (RIP) was far better because it didn't suffer in the same way for any of those factors. But there's always next time, and those factors are changeable. I'm hoping that I enjoy the new album material more upon its release, and when While She Sleeps tour again, I'll still go see them. If you take anything away from this review, it should be the fact that both Stray From The Path and While She Sleeps are excellent live bands with equally powerful but distinct senses of political outrage about the current state of the world, and you should go see either of them if you have the chance.
And get to the SWG3 for any gigs super early if you want to see all the bands on the lineup...
WORDS: Joanne Gray
I was always going to go to this gig as I've been a fan of While She Sleeps for years, but the addition of New York's Stray From The Path made this an essential gig for anyone into politically charged metallic hardcore. It seemed like this lineup would be a perfect antidote to divisive and confusing times like these. Accompanying this stacked four band bill was Trash Boat and LANDMVRKS, who seemed a lot less politically minded, but I was still keen to check them out regardless.
Annoyingly, I managed to miss both the first band, and a good chunk of the second band's set. Partially my fault for leaving the house too late and therefore getting stuck in traffic, but also the SWG3 had the first band play 10 minutes after the tickets' stated opening time... Not cool... Being the second time I've missed the first band due to early start times, I'd strongly urge people getting to this venue for opening time or earlier if you want to see all the bands. I'll be doing this in future when I'm here again. In terms of LANDMVRKS, I was told from a gig buddy (who arrived on time) that they were a decent metalcore band, but nothing else. That wasn't all too surprising considering that was my impression of their sound from listening to them briefly before the gig.
Likewise with Trash Boat, I'd listened to them a little beforehand and I feel like I've seen this band support someone before (perhaps The Wonder Years?). As I only caught a few songs at the end, I didn't get a particularly insightful impression of them but from what I could see from where I was standing towards the back of the room, they did seem to be a little out of place in the bill. Whereas the other bands were more on the heavier side of things, Trash Boat were very much a pop punk band who only slightly dabbled with those hardcore leanings. They suffered from what I struggle with regarding modern pop punk, in that there was a lack of both memorable hooks or riffs for my own personal taste. On stage, I didn't find the members to be particularly charismatic from what I could see either. Other than a small set of committed fans at the front, there didn't seem to be that much crowd engagement for their set either. I certainly didn't think they were bad, but in terms of making an impression live, I was far from overly impressed. Odd pick for this gig, I think.
Markedly less odd, and far more exciting was the main support band Stray From The Path. Having seen them for the first time over the summer and being really impressed by the energy of this band, I was well keen to see them again, and was perhaps just as excited to see them as While She Sleeps. As was the common theme of the night, Stray From The Path came on stage very quickly after the previous band, so I came into the room during the middle of their first song. Opening with the highly contentious 'Goodnight Alt-Right', the band made it clear that they were not going to be messing about during this set in the slightest. Drawing largely from their two most recent albums, Only Death Is Real and Subliminal Criminals, this was an unsurprisingly bold set of incredibly furious and politically minded hardcore. Perhaps unnecessary for vocalist Drew Yorke to declare that the band are an incredibly outspoken one, but he did so anyway, calling out Donald Trump in a way which got a particularly strong response form the crowd. The mix of that Rage Against The Machine-eque groove, bounce and rhetoric alongside the swagger and attitude of New York hardcore that they have honed in on these last two albums is something which is utterly undeniable live for fans of both of these things (I'm definitely one of those people).
It's this sense of highwire energy alongside those utterly massive sounding riffs and breakdowns that really does cement the fact that Stray From The Path really do mean what they write about. This makes such powerful sounding songs hit even harder. I was particularly impressed again here with Yorke's stage persona, which was inclusive and confrontational in equal measure, with ample charisma to back it all up. Throughout the set, he acted as the ideal band hype man, encouraging the crowd to jump, mosh and crowdsurf without ever feeling like the routine was forced, as it can sometimes do with this type of band. Admittedly, the crowd response was not as great as I was anticipating during their set, as like with Trash Boat, there was only a small dedicated group of people really moving, singing or engaging with them. The large area that had opened up for moshing during the set was often left largely empty, which gave an oddly lifeless feeling to the crowd during their performance. It wasn't until near the end of their set, when Yorke told the crowd that they were going to be filming for a new music video during the next song that the crowd began to pick up the pace a little bit. By this time, it felt like it was too late to pick up any real momentum, and as the intensity of 'First World Problem Child' rolled past, the set was done all too quickly.
I can have a guess at where some of the issues regarding the somewhat lifeless nature of the crowd for Stray From The Path arose from. It seemed like much of the crowd was largely unfamiliar with the band, which contributed to a sense of apathy during the set. I didn't think the venue particularly helped here either, as the SWG3 is a remarkably long warehouse-eque room, which essentially felt just like that. With the sound desk right in the middle of the room, it felt like the 2/3rds or so full crowd was quite far away from the band, so the atmosphere towards the front was significantly muffled. As such, I found the vibe to be a little bit soulless from the audience perspective, which was far from what I was expecting or wanting for this set. Such a shame, as Stray From The Path really put their all into their performance. I can only hope that they come back and headline a show soon where they can have an audience that is appropriately receptive to their music and thematic message. They are such a fun live band to watch. I've got a video from their set below if you need further proof.
Onto the main band, and one which I have seen more than a few times, While She Sleeps thankfully didn't suffer the same issues of unfamiliarity or sparseness as the previous band. Opening with 'ANTI-SOCIAL', the first (more subtly politically minded) single from their upcoming album fourth So What?, the crowd instantly felt more packed, active and familiar with the material, giving an impressive singalong for the song which has only been released for a few months. Of the newer singles the band has released, this one is by far the one I like the most. I thought it sounded a lot more powerful in the live environment than on record as well. This is always the case with While She Sleeps more generally, but in this instance it was so evident that I didn't even notice that the band were one member short on stage. A few songs in, vocalist Loz explained that the lead guitarist Sean Long was currently ill, so was performing for the band offstage, preferring to do that than cancel the show in its entirety (well in, lads). As such, the then four-piece had considerably more space to play with onstage. This was filled well enough by Loz who, as always, kept the crowd engaged from each side of the stage, striking an impressive figure when contorting his body to push his voice to the highest level.
As has been an issue throughout While She Sleeps career (and was shown in the band's recent documentary surrounding the new album release), Loz has had another bout of throat surgery which has meant that he has had to change the ways in which he performs. I thought this was particularly noticeable in his vocal performance here, as accompanying the usual staple gravelly vocals of the band was a clear venture into higher register territories from Loz. These reminded me of much of Sam Carter's higher screams live, and were noticeably different from what I've experienced from this band before. I can imagine that this style of vocals may not chime with some people, but I thought it gave Taylor an extra dimension of power and control that I've never heard from him before. Hopefully it will stop his voice from blowing out in future again as well. As with the last album, rhythm guitarist Mat Welsh continues to play more of an important role as a vocalist in the live environment as well. With some of this newer material, the dynamic of the band becomes more centred around dual vocal lines than him simply singing in the background. I did feel like he got off to a bit of a weak start in the set opener where his vocals sounded a bit off tone and a bit shaky, but after a song or two, this seemed to sort itself out.
This is a good thing too as much of the set did revolve around this newer, more melodic material from You Are We and the upcoming album. I will go on record to say that I'm less keen on this musical sound and direction of While She Sleeps than those from the first two albums, but they did sound a lot better and more 'big' sounding in the live environment. The crowd also seemed to be that bit more engaged in this newer material as well, with large singalongs for songs like 'Hurricane', 'Silence Speaks' and 'Empire of Silence'. These were perhaps even louder than I remember from the last time I saw them on that album cycle. That didn't stop the band or the crowd for hitting hard when the bigger musical breakdowns came in though. Songs like 'Brainwashed', 'Civil Isolation' and 'Four Walls' meant the front third of the room became a chaotic mess of bodies (and elbows at times) flying around the place. Perhaps due to the layout of the venue, or this crowd in particular (we'll get onto that later), I thought the pit felt a bit strange as the borders between the pit and non-pit area didn't feel at all constrained and the jostling ended up seeping into the crowd almost up to the sound desk. This is tolerable at points, but when this kept occurring throughout the gig, it did start to limit my enjoyment of the set. Everyone else seemed to be well keen on this level of engagement (as the exciteable high pitched squealing and jumping around me suggested), but for me, it only seemed to aggravate the sense of weird discontent I had with the overall vibe of this crowd, the venue and the gig more generally. To the point where I was actually questioning whether I had outgrown the While She Sleeps fanbase, who seem to get younger and younger each time I go to see them, or indeed the band more generally. This was perhaps a bit of an exaggerated thought, as musically after 14 songs which were technically excellent and enthusiastic, While She Sleeps were probably as tight and riled up as I've ever seen them up until this point.
All in all though, the combination of the venue layout, the crowd behaviour, the set material and my own personal vibe during the gig meant that I sadly didn't enjoy it as much as I normally would have or expected to. It's a shame as everyone else seemed to be having a great time. Upon leaving the venue, I heard someone say to a friend: 'that was by far the best gig I've ever been to'. I can't help but feel a bit sad that I didn't feel this way. I found myself thinking that the last show at the O2 ABC (RIP) was far better because it didn't suffer in the same way for any of those factors. But there's always next time, and those factors are changeable. I'm hoping that I enjoy the new album material more upon its release, and when While She Sleeps tour again, I'll still go see them. If you take anything away from this review, it should be the fact that both Stray From The Path and While She Sleeps are excellent live bands with equally powerful but distinct senses of political outrage about the current state of the world, and you should go see either of them if you have the chance.
And get to the SWG3 for any gigs super early if you want to see all the bands on the lineup...
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