Live Review: Statues; Life Pilot; Emecia; I, Icarus

With the tough task of opening for some heavyweights in the scene, I, Icarus set the mood for the evening. With pinch harmonies and hardcore dancing, bassist Christian Pedersen was no stranger to the concept of crabcore. Although I, Icarus's time-tested blend of hardcore and metal held them in good stead, a clean-sung number allowed lead guitarist Seamus McIlduff to soar. Once they iron out some technical difficulties, I, Icarus will surely bear the torch for the metalcore genre. 

Emecia stripped things back with sparse instrumentation supported by an ambient backing. Although the technology involved might have led to a sense of dissociation, Emecia found the balance, creating a sense of intimacy that their music begs for. Each instrument was pushed to the limit, from punk riffs to heavy breakdowns, all led by singer Scott Middlin's engaging vocal performance. They're a band we're honestly surprised we haven't heard more from.

More explosive than we'd ever seen, Life Pilot weren't concerned about tech, or aesthetics, or taking things seriously. Each member got an introduction, almost like a theatre performance, yet this comedy couldn't have led into a harsher reality; crushing lows and piercing highs, breakdowns that ground to a halt like the metal on metal screech of train tracks. Moving from Marilyn Manson's The Beautiful People into a downtempo belter, don't ever expect to see Life Pilot pulling out heartfelt harmonies. "Have fun and be yourselves, as cliche as that might be," said singer Angus Long, authenticity bleeding out.

Enthusiasm burst from Statues singer Alex Shom as he repeated two words: "Stand down!" What an irony, as it felt like a call for engagement and urgency. The unrelenting assault only paused when the interplaying lines led from musician to musician. With the guitarists spending more time off the stage than on it, the barrage became a 360-degree affair. Due to an issue with their gear, Statues weren't able to use the backing tracks from their new album No Grave, No Burial, and decided not to play a lot of tracks from the LP. Forced to create a show on the fly, they pulled the heaviest tracks from their catalogue, which resulted in a more bare-bones show. It was much heavier, more raw. Bringing Life Pilot on stage during their final bout, the stage was lost in utter chaos right until the last note. We couldn't help but think that against the odds, against the turnout, against the technical difficulties - this was one of the best hardcore performances we had ever and might ever see.