LIVE REVIEW: COPE @ THE BLACK HEART - 29TH MARCH 2018
Background:
‘Cope’ (Challenge Oppression Pursue Equality) are a five piece hardcore band from London. Formed in 2015, ‘Cope’ have two EP’s under their belt. Their most recent EP ‘Tooth & Nail’ was featured in Metal Hammer as one of the top bands from the underground to keep an eye on. After playing at notable events such as Camden Rocks, this year ‘Cope’ are aiming to push their politically charged music further out of the underground and into the ears of the unexpecting public.
The Black Heart - 29th March 2018 It is a wet and miserable evening in Camden, but that hasn’t stopped a loyal base of hardcore fans from travelling to the Black Heart for what promises to be a heavy and diverse night of punk rock in all its glory. First up on stage are ‘Death Goals’, there is something fascinating and alluring about two piece bands; with recent live shows from the likes of ‘Jamie Lenman’ and ‘Haggard Cat’, Spirit Level can’t help but be drawn in by the showmanship and level of musicality created by just two people on a stage. ‘Death Goals’ are no exception to this. What guitarist/vocalist Harry may lack in his quality of stage banter between songs, he more than makes up for with charisma as he tears around the stage and at one point even dives straight into the crowd. Sonically, the band start off sounding like a blend of ‘Nirvana’ and ‘Palm Reader’, but by the end they are closer to the likes of ‘The Dillinger Escape Plan’ or ‘Rolo Tomassi’ as the riffs get angrier and more avant-garde. For a band who are still very much in their infancy, ‘Death Goals’ put on a great show and we hope to see much more of them in the future. Next up on stage is ‘Winchester’, coming off the back of the release of their debut ‘Life Begins At These Dead Ends’, ‘Winchester’ have been touring relentlessly over the last few months and have become a well oiled machine. Starting off with an atmospheric backing track that remains constant between songs, the band kick off into a stunning set of melodic hardcore. For anyone who misses ‘Funeral For A Friend’ or ‘Reuben’ this is a band that you should definitely check out. Performing with dual vocalists, gives them an extra dimension to add more creativity into each song and allows lead vocalist/bassist to make the most out of his expertise bass playing skills. It is a shame that the guitar is a bit too low in the mix and barely audible for most of the set, but the three piece still put on a great show.
It isn’t long before Welsh Alt-rockers ‘Frown Upon’ take the stage for a wild and varied set. For the first half of their set, ‘Frown Upon’ play a blistering set of technical hardcore with influences ranging from the likes of ‘Gallows’ all the way to ‘Converge’ and ‘Employed To Serve’. There are mixes of old school punk thrown in as well with riffs that would grab the attention of any fan of the first wave of Hardcore. After introducing their new guitarist who is making his live debut, they kick into some new material. Taking a slight turn from their earlier music, the next two songs are sung with entirely clean vocals throughout and have a slight ‘Radiohead’ feel to them. It is a bold and interesting direction to take, but for the most part they are successful. The second song ‘Misfire’ could benefit from a slightly heavier outro but anyone worried that the night is starting to mellow out has nothing to be concerned about as they finish their set with one of the heaviest and best songs of the night ‘Enough’ that gets everyone geared up for the final band.
All in all, the night has been a brilliant showcase of up and coming artists from the UK underground scene who are eager to show the world that the hardcore still has a lot to offer. With three support bands of such high quality, it is a truly impressive feat then that headline act ‘Cope’ wipe everyone off of the stage within the first song. Taking comparisons from early ‘Feed The Rhino’ and ‘Parkway Drive’; ‘Cope’ are bone crushingly heavy. By the time they are on their third song, the entire room is bouncing up and down and it isn’t long before a circle pit breaks out at the front of the stage. Soloman Radley pounds the drums like Animal from The Muppets and vocalist Tom Walker’ commands the room as he grins down at us all from the stage. The crowd isn’t given a chance to stop for breath at all throughout the 30 minute set and by the end, even people stood at the back are drenched in sweat after what can only be described as metallic hardcore in all of its fury. With the hope of new material on the way, it can’t be long before ‘Cope’ start to gain more attention and progress to larger venues. Until then, make sure that you see them whenever they are in town.
