A fantastic night of Extreme Metal at The Asylum, showing why this is the most exciting genre of music around at the moment. On the final night of the Steppin’ Over Roaches tour in Britain, Alpha Wolf, King 810, ten56 and Xile thrilled before heading back to Europe.
Alpha Wolf – King 810 – ten56 – Xile
The Asylum, Birmingham – 17 April 2023
Words and Photography: Andy Shaw
Xile
The evening kicked off with New Zealand’s Xile, and they got proceedings going with a massive bang. Their set comprised mainly songs from their new album I Am Your God. They started with 369 from their Grafton EP and this set out the stall for their short but sweet stay on the stage.
Then a quartet of songs from their new album – Diamond Eyes, World Demise, Damaged and So Much for Love – showing what a strong body of work this really is.
The crowd had got in early and were loving this opening stint from Xile and it wasn’t long before a rather well-built front man Luke Mason was stripped to the waist and leaping around the stage.
Next was the new song Speed Dial before Penalty Death which went down really well with plenty of moshing and a wall of death eagerly entered into by the packed crowd. The set ended with Promise Of Bloodshed and the album’s title track I Am Your God. What a brilliant start to the evening.
ten56
Next up was French/British outfit ten56, which has a growing reputation as a brilliant live band and is easy to see why. Their set was exclusively made up of tracks from their new two part album Downer, kicking off with the powerful Diazepam then quickly into Saiko.
Frontman Aaron Matts is brilliant. His stunning vocals and powerful presence on stage is a focal point for the band. Next is Yenta, then Shitspitter. Both are utterly brilliant, and The Asylum crowd are completely into it, before the stunning Traumadoll follows.
Luka Garotin and Quentin Godet on Guitar are fantastic, together with Steeves Hostin on Bass are moving and jumping around the stage. RLS is next with the set finishing with Ender, Boy and finally Kimo. Brilliant set from a band definitely on the up.
King 810
Then was time for King 810 – pronounced King eight one oh – a Nu/Alternative band from Flint, Michigan and many of the assembled crowd were here to pay homage to this brilliant band.
They started with Brains On The Asphalt from their Follow My Tears EP with frontman David Gunn entering the fray sporting dungarees, strutting around the stage and his amazing vocals filling the room. Next is Alpha & Omega, followed by Murder Murder Murder with masked guitarist and drummer giving an air of mystery to their performances.
Hellhouds is next followed by Widdershins. With the relenting pace not letting up, bassist Gene Gill was bounding and jumping around the stage enhancing an already frantic performance from the band. The crowd were in a frenzied state with Fat Around The Heart next followed by Heavy Lies The Crown.
This stunning set ended with Killem All and left the crowd exhausted but with still one more left to go.
Alpha Wolf
Then was headliner time with Alpha Wolf, an Australian Metalcore band located in Melbourne, Victoria, keeping the Antipodean theme topping and tailing the evening.
The vast majority of the set was made up of their latest album A Quiet Place to Die. Starting with 60cm Of Steel followed Creep, then two newer songs, Black Mamba and Hotel Underground. Frontman Lochie Keogh – lead vocals – was a bundle of energy from the moment he ran onto the stage.
Next was Acid Romance followed by a couple from their Fault EP – Sub-Zero and No Name, with Sabian Lynch and Scottie Simpson, guitar, and John Arnold, bass, keeping up the ferocity of the music.
The Asylum crowd involvement was as intense as I have ever witnessed and really upped the passion along with the power and ferocity of the music. Nowhere more than with Ultra-Violet Violence.
Golden Fate; Isolate followed, at which point Keogh said, “Are we enjoying this….right now, we have lots to play and not much time to play it in.”
Alpha Wolf were straight into Bleed 4 You then Restricted (R18+). The set finished with Rot In Pieces, Don’t Ask… and Akudama all from A Quiet Place To Die.
An absolutely fantastic performance and the end of a brilliant night.
