Live Review: Cancer Bats/Bleed From Within/Underside at The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth

Like Mastodon, Cancer Bats are another band I’ve wanted to see for ages, but have just never managed to get round to it. The surprise release of their fantastic sixth album, The Spark That Moves, made the decision for me to see them at the start of 2019, and as we’ll get onto, I do not regret that decision in the slightest.

Underside (6/10) have travelled all the way from Nepal to support Cancer Bats on this tour, and you’ve got to admire their obvious commitment and passion for the project. They bring a fairly standard modern metalcore sound to the Wedgewood Rooms, with solid musicianship all round, but what makes this band stand out (for better or worse) is their “mascot”. I’m not too au fait on the subject of Nepalese folklore, so I can’t be specific about what it’s meant to be, but essentially they have a voodoo-shaman-esque character come out (sporting dark robes, a gas mask, and massive dreadlocks) and dance along wildly to two or three songs throughout the set. It’s… interesting. You do have to feel a little bad, though, that despite the frontman’s near constant encouragement, the band receive a fairly muted response from the Pompey crowd. Still, not a terrible way to kick off the night.

Next on are Scottish metallers Bleed From Within (7/10), whose latest album Era has been heralded as one of 2018’s most underrated releases. The amount of energy they radiate live is impressive, and I’m reminded a lot of Bury Tomorrow, both in terms of their sound and in the way they go about presenting the show. It’s mosh-call central, and the endless stream of gnarly breakdowns makes it difficult to resist getting involved in the pit down the front. Though it gets a little samey after a while (as most of this kind of music does), Bleed From Within hype the crowd up suitably enough for what’s to come.

How in the world I’ve managed to miss seeing  Cancer Bats (10/10) thus far in my life is absolutely beyond me, and now that I have seen them, I’m kicking myself about it even harder. I don’t want to be handing out 10/10s willy-nilly on this blog in my live reviews, but the show that Cancer Bats put on last Thursday was just absolutely perfect.

The band storm onstage and kick off the proceedings with Sleep This Away, Pneumonia Hawk, Old Blood, and Brightest Day, by the end of which everyone on stage and everyone down the front (including myself) is already starting to look like they’ve just stepped out the shower fully clothed. After frontman Liam Cormier takes a second to have some Coldplay-based banter with the audience, the setlist only gets better from there, and the crowd only gets rowdier in response. For me, the highlights come in the form of huge, stomping ragers like Lucifer’s Rocking Chair and Bricks & Mortar, but there are moments during fan favourites Hail Destroyer and Sabotage that encapsulate everything I love about live music. It’s absolute pandemonium intertwined with a feeling of pure mutual love between everybody in the room, as those in the pit shout every word in unison and climb over each other to get closer to the mic. For a single song to have such an effect on 500 people is a beautiful thing.

Again like Mastodon last week, each member of Cancer Bats has an equally important part to play in making this experience so fantastic; Liam’s obstreperous stage presence is so much fun to watch, and vocally he’s on top form tonight too - elevated to another level by backing from bassist Jaye Schwarzer. Oathbreaker drummer Wim Coppers is joining the band for this UK tour, and his skill is undeniable, fitting seamlessly into the controlled chaos raging onstage. Potentially the most impressive part of the Cancer Bats dynamic, though, is guitarist Scott Middleton, easily crushing each song in the set and some of the best riffs ever written. Each one hits like a freight train, and there are moments (like the breakdown halfway through Bricks & Mortar) during which it’s near-impossible to take your eyes off his guitarwork.

Cancer Bats are inarguably one of the best live bands in the world right now. If you feel like experiencing that for yourself, their remaining tour dates in the UK are as follows:

• ·         Jan 28 - Bristol - Fleece
• ·         Jan 29 - Stoke on Trent - Sugarmill
• ·         Jan 30 - Manchester - Rebellion
• ·         Jan 31 - Liverpool - Phase 1
• ·         Feb 01 - Edinburgh - In La Belle Angele
• ·         Feb 02 - Aberdeen - Lemon Tree
• ·         Feb 03 - Leeds - The Key Club
• ·         Feb 04 - Newcastle -Think Tank
• ·         Feb 05 - Nottingham - Rescue Rooms
• ·         Feb 06 - Norwich - Epic Studios
• ·         Feb 07 - Cambridge - Junction
• ·         Feb 08 - Milton Keynes - The Crauford (SOLD OUT)
• ·         Feb 09 - London - 100 Club  (SOLD OUT)