LIVE REVIEW: LOVEBITES @ O2 ISLINGTON 21ST NOVEMBER 2018
Background:
Despite only being a band for two years, Japanese power metallers ‘Lovebites’ have been making significant waves this year including winning the award for “Best New Band” in the Metal Hammer Golden God Awards. With two EP’s and a full length under their belt already and a second full length on the way, ‘Lovebites’ are becoming a force to be reckoned with as they embark on their first European Tour.
O2 Islington 21/11/2018
There is an electric sense of excitement in the air in Islington tonight as most people present will be seeing ‘Lovebites’ live for the first time. Tonight marks their 4th ever show in the UK, but they already have a large group of supporters waiting in anticipation. Up first though are local boys ‘Seven Sisters’. Tonight marks the largest venue that the West London quartet have played to date, but you could never tell. From the opening seismic shred of ‘The Premonition’ they instantly grab everyones attention and proceed to plough through an incredible set of NWOBHM inspired heavy metal bangers. Over the years, we have encountered many bands inspired by the likes of ‘Iron Maiden’ who have tried to inject a youthful spark into an old genre, but very few have ever succeeded in grabbing our attention. ‘Seven Sisters’ make it look like childs play and as far as we can tell, the difference is originality and ambition. Vocalist Kyle McNeill stands tall, proud and full of energy in a way that reminds us of early era James Hetfield. With two German festival dates already announced for next year, we highly doubt that this is the last that we will see of ‘Seven Sisters’.
Like it or not, image has always played a pivotal role in music, especially within the world of Heavy Metal. Entire bands have been written off by people who haven’t heard a single note, purely on how they are dressed. With that in mind, it is so refreshing to see the amount of horns raised as 5 Japanese women walk on stage in white pretty dresses before tearing the stage down in one of the most infectiously entertaining metal sets we have seen. We have mentioned before in earlier reviews, that power metal is a genre that we have always struggled to get into; however ‘Lovebites’ bring an air of heaviness and pure excitement that we have rarely encountered before as they incorporate elements of thrash and classic metal into their sound. We were already sold on the EP, but tonights performance takes ‘Lovebites’ to a whole new level. We are treated to a rendition of new song ‘Rising’ ahead of its release that sounds like the best song that ‘Anthrax’ never wrote. Rammed full of tight riffs and glorious dual guitar solos. Asami’s vocals are truly astounding as she ranges from catchy pop hooks to aggressive metal vocal lines with ease, but it is during the encore ballad of ‘Edge Of The World’ that her voice truly shines through.
The fact that this is a band still in their relative infancy is almost impossible to comprehend, if you missed them this time around, make sure that you see them the next time they reach our shores.
