It’s been a vastly successful tour of the UK and Ireland so far, with a series of packed-to-the-brim shows, but there’s one more night left, and it brings the Florida Metal giants Trivium to England’s capital. Originally advertised for the Brixton academy, the show had to be cancelled due to an unforeseen incident that saw the venue close until further notice. So, with less than a month to find an alternative, the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith was named the new host.
Trivium – Heaven Shall Burn – Malevolence
Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith – 15 January 2023
Words and Photography: Lawrence Potter
Trivium
Heaven Shall Burn and Malevolence had certainly left the bar high leaving the absolutely crazy London crowd anticipation levels high for the headliners, the mighty Trivium. As a black curtain is now covering our view of the stage, Iron Maiden’s Run To The Hills lends itself as an introduction to the oncoming onslaught. I don’t think there was a person in the crowd not singing along.
As the song comes to a halt, the curtain drops and Trivium burst out of the gates with Rain. Talk about starting a set the right way! The crowd are well and truly on their feet, singing their hearts out to every lyric. Next up, the band go full steam ahead into A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation.
Throughout the tour, the band have been dropping subtle hints as to what to expect in the form of various set lists of their previous shows posted on social media. And from what I’ve seen, every one has been jam-packed with wall-to-wall bangers, and this evening was no exception.
Even though it’s the last show of the UK and Ireland leg of the tour, the band have not missed a beat and delivered something truly special. It’s easy to see why they are up there as one of the best.
Trivium give the fans a sprinkling of all songs, old and new. Going all the way back to ascendancy with The Deceived, tonight joined by Josh Baines and Alex Taylor of Malevolence, or up to In The Court Of The Dragon, with its self-titled song.
On a couple of occasions, lead singer and guitarist Matt Heafy pointed out how London was the first place that gave the band a chance and possibly without that initial big break, the guys wouldn’t be where they are today. With all their success, Trivium remain one of the most humble bands on the circuit.
It’s been a great night of Heavy Metal, and as the evening comes to an end, Trivium end the show with The Heart From Your Hate, the truly epic, Shogun, followed by Capsizing The Sea, straight into In Waves and finally ending with Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr.
A truly standout showing from all bands, with Trivium showing they are the perfect live Heavy Metal band.
Malevolence
First to the stage was Sheffield’s own Malevolence, who started the night off with the song Malicious Intent. As their set carries on, circle pits start emerging, and it’s not long before streams of crowd members surf to the front.
Even vocalist Alex Taylor dived straight into the sea of people. Malevolence put on a killer performance with a symphony of brutal riffs, roaring solos and overall carnage. The set was closed off with Keep Your Distance and On Broken Glass.
Heaven Shall Burn
After a short break and a chance for the crowd to catch a well-needed breath, the Malevolence banner was taken down to reveal our next act of the evening, German extreme Metallers, Heaven Shall Burn.
In the same vein as our opening band, no punches are held as we were greeted with the song My Heart And The Ocean, which cascaded perfectly into Bring The War Home.
An absolutely stellar performance from Heaven Shall Burn, which had the fans pumped from start to finish. To name a few song highlights of the night, the band played arguably their biggest hit to date, Black Tears, with Übermacht also excellent. A great finish of Endveit and Tirpitz topped off a fine performance lapped up by an energetic crowd.
