It’s a bank holiday weekend here in England, and what better way to kick things off in the Second City than a Friday night of Nu-Metal and Metalcore madness down at The Asylum? Coming off of the back of a 24-night run around mainland Europe, tonight signals the start of the final run of gigs around the UK and Ireland for Vended, The Gloom In The Corner and Profiler.
Vended – The Gloom In The Corner – Profiler
The Asylum, Birmingham – 24 May 2024
Words And Photography: Simon Arinze
Vended
Hailing from Des Moines, Iowa, for those who have not come across Vended before, on the surface, it is hard not to compare them to Slipknot.
With lead singer Griffin Taylor and Simon Crahan on drums, being the offspring of Slipknot’s very own Corey and Clown, respectively, many will have questioned if this band are simply just of privileged kids ‘having a go’ at music aided by a bit of nepotism?
Spoiler alert. No. Vended, rounded out by Jeremiah Pugh on bass and Cole Espeland and Conor Grodzicki on guitars, are very much a rising force in their own right.
And they have the talent to back up their pedigree.
Like many breakthrough bands of the 2020s, Vended have shunned the traditional promotional routes and have instead found immense success building a strong fan base through DIY social media self-promotion.
With the reception that they received when they took to the stage and the amount of those in attendance who knew most of the words, it is clear that their fan base is rapidly rising.
The lights dim as Soft Cell’s Tainted Love begins to play. The crowd are noticeably buzzing as they sing along before the band eventually emerges on stage.
Griffin greets the audience, a combination of blue, black and white face paint showing that he is ready for battle. The rest of the band are also sporting some form of ‘warpaint’ with bassist Pugh looking almost muzzled in his mask.
What follows is roughly an hour of what I can only describe as an audio assault, but in a good way.
Such is the energy of this set that all semblance of the original paint has streaked away from Griffin’s face and is gradually smearing down his chest. The performance is visceral, high in tempo and well polished, Vended are definitely deserving of bigger stages and bigger accolades.
Often compared to his old man, the similarities between Griffin’s and Corey’s voices are uncanny, although what is evident through the sheer power and grit of his delivery and the presence with which he commands the stage is that Griffin more than lives up to the Taylor family name.
Giving their thanks to both the crowd and the bands that came before, Vended finished the night off, quite aptly for the venue, with fan favourite “Asylum”. By the end of the evening, the audience was hanging on to Griffin’s every word; the pit was wide, middle fingers were raised in the air on command, and there was not a person who was not drenched head to toe in sweat by the time floor lights came up, and all were ushered out.
The Gloom In The Corner
Then it’s the turn of The Gloom In The Corner, self-proclaimed as the “the convicts that you lot let back in”, a Metalcore four-piece from Melbourne, Australia.
Providing a shift in gear with some real face-melting “caveman riffs” as described by charismatic frontman Mikey Arthur, who had the crowd encapsulated right from the opening number.
I wasn’t sure if bassist Paul Musolino was auditioning for the next Jackie Chan flick, with his kung-fu skills firmly on show, high kicking his way through every other breakdown.
Recent release The Jericho Protocol goes down well with the crowd, seeing the first meaningful pit of the night.
The sign of a good set, before I knew it, Arthur announced that they were onto their final song for the evening.
Profiler
First up to entertain the Birmingham crowd are Nu-Metalers, Profiler. Fronted by vocalist/lead guitarist and all round driving force behind the Bristol based three piece, Mike Evans.
Their set is well put together, and although there is an initial timid response from the crowd, with many opting to stay at the bar/in the smoking area, by the time they reach their closer Zero, the main floor is nicely filled with the audience now adequately warmed up for what is to come.
