Hailing from Southampton Burn The Fleet look like real musicians. You know the kind who play because they love it, not just to get on stage and be screamed at by girls. The four piece blend gravely vocals with intense drumming and at times frenzied guitars, if you think along the lines of of Polar Bear Club, and recent Alexisonfire you’re on the right track. Lead singer Andy Convey’s voice which would elude to a level of maturity over the other bands at the show, conducive to a level of aggression without having to scream. The mix wasn’t great at the start, but a few tracks in and the vocals were lifted, creating an emotive atmosphere in the almost full venue. Burn The Fleet exuded a level of confidence on stage which rivals the most established bands and considering it was their first time in the city they definitely captivated the crowd. Their debut single, Blackholes went down a treat with guitars ripping through powerful vocals. Definitely a band to watch out for, make sure you catch them at a show soon. 4/5
Shadows Chasing Ghosts were on next and whilst I enjoyed them the vocals were messy and tied up in the mix. Again they went down a storm with the crowd who were quick to form a pit and start hurtling themselves around. Screaming mixed with catchy sung choruses were struggling to compete with the drums and so I unfortunately lost interest quite quickly, and had to focus more on avoiding getting hit by the few flying limbs which seemed to be taking up the whole floor. A good band to watch but they didn’t really strike me as a memorable act. 2/5
In terms of sound Bury Tomorrow are probably closer allied with Shadows Chasing Ghosts than Burn The Fleet. Sticking within the comfort zone of other metalcore bands they can probably give their American cousins a good run for their money, but to me they do all sound quite similar. Saying that Bury Tomorrow do put on a good show and created the biggest pit I’ve seen in the relatively small Academy 3. Unfortunately there weren’t that many people in their, it just meant everyone was squashed against the walls. The crowd were very much involved and almost every song was a singalong and most importantly the band looked like they were enjoying themselves. Heartfelt gratitude and thanks was given by a rather sweaty Dan Winter-Bates wrapping the evening up nicely. 3/5
Libby