Before this gig was announced, the last time I had the pleasure of seeing Crossfaith live was at Festival 2014. At the time I had no idea who they were and actually had them mixed up with another band called “BattleCross”. They were the second band to play on the hallowed grounds of Donington Park and when their set began the mosh pits were like Lamb of God pits! I thought to myself at the time “Imagine seeing this band in a small venue, the place would be destroyed.”… And then they announced a UK headlining tour including a date in King Tuts.
As you can imagine I bought tickets immediately. I knew it was going to be a sold out show so I got them in early. To my amazement (not) the show did eventually sell out as well as another few dates around the UK. Arriving at the venue the place was packed, there was already sweat and drinks all over the floor before the band were even on. The local “Pit Troll” made an appearance and as the crowd waited in anticipation, Crossfaith took to the stage.
So how was it then? It was absolutely amazing.
Sometimes bands get to a point when they are consistently amazing live it actually get boring. You think to yourself “come on, at least have an off night”. They put a lot of bands to shame… scratch that. They put most bands to shame. They started their set with “System X” and following onto the title track from their latest album Xeno. This song comes flying out of the traps with an aggressive electronic line straight from the Prodigy which then proceeds to a classic Slipknot build. From start to finish the crowd were bouncing off the ceiling. It had a real impression on how the rest of the songs from the new album would be live considering the fact that the first song blew me away and it’s not even my favourite on the album.
They then played “Raise Your Voice” and “Ghost in the Mirror”, two songs which are also from their latest album. These songs have a great blend between heavy, body throwing verses and massive sing-along choruses. The thing is, a lot of bands follow this formula but always have their choruses lacking. They are always too nice and radio friendly. However with Crossfaith it’s a totally different story. They are able to keep the intensity within their choruses which is something that I ire.
Usually I will mention one person in the band who really stands out to me as a performer whether it be the vocalist or the drummer, etc. Crossfaith as a whole are a unit who don’t let up. Koie Kenta, their lead vocalist, will tell the crowd to keep on moving if there is any lack of energy, the guitarist and bass player leap from each side of the stage into the faces of the people up front, the drummer bangs his head consistently throughout their set and Tamano Terufumi who is in charge of all the electronics sykes the crowd and edges them on whilst swigging his bottle of Jack underneath his turntables. I really can’t think of anything that was wrong with this gig. They played all the fan favourites from the previous album and EP (apart from “Jägerbomb”) and smashed them out of the park. I thought to myself that they could have included the ballad on the latest album to have a change of pace. However, if you want a band to play heavy music that will ruin you within an hour, Crossfaith are the band.
They ended their set with a cover, “Omen” by the Prodigy, followed by their most popular song “Monolith”. It was a moment where half the crowd were dancing and the rest were moshing away. Either way everyone in that room were moving in some way, shape or form. They are amazing and there isn’t much else to say. If you get a chance to see them in your town, please don’t make the mistake of not going. (10/10)
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