It beggars belief that (after slaying the small room in 2023), is long overdue, frankly.
Kicking off the night is self-proclaimed “funk-infused metal” outfit In Search of Sun. Whilst they may come across altrock as fuck, if they say they’re a funk metal band, then they’re a funk metal band. As Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” introduces them, it lulls you into a false sense of security before they bring the heaviness and lets you know they don’t take themselves seriously. That said, they definitely take the art of a live performance seriously. The five-piece blend light and shade into one succinct thirty-minute slot with enough grit and melodicism to let you bob your head or go for a full-on headbang. There’s also some solid grooves to be found, powered by bass which is filthier than a teenager’s Internet search history. With more energy than a Golden Retriever who’s been promised all the treats for being a good dog, they keep the audience’s attention, despite being a touch left-field for the headliner’s core demographic. But it’s proof that when you’re as good as this lot, giving it everything you’ve got, it doesn’t matter – good music can raise itself above pre-conceptions.
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High Parasite take the filth from their predecessors and run with it at high speed. It’s gothic and industrial, full of ominous and foreboding soundscapes and underlined with a dry sense of humour. With the chugging guitars, and vocals which are drawled forcefully, the harsh nature of their tones bring a much harder edge to the evening. It’s delivered by a band who are as well-drilled as an F1 pit crew, not relying on theatrics but still create the right atmosphere with their imposing presence. Indeed, it’s the vocals of Aaron Stainthorpe which keeps things delightfully dark, bringing an element of 80s post-punk to the proceedings, albeit not quite so po-faced. Chuck some harsher vocals on this band and they’d be a completely different beast. But it’s this band’s inclusion on the bill which shows how far ranging the headliners’ influences are and make for a congruent evening.
Stage time hits and the LED-powered dressing pulses with life as each member of tonight’s headliners take their place to welcoming cheers. Those cheers turn into one swelling roar once the room is plunged into darkness and the band are re-revealed, charging head-first into “Let us Prey”. You can’t say South of Salem don’t know how to make an entrance. And this is the level of effort and commitment they put into their entire show across the sixteen songs they play. It’s consistent from the first note to the last, wanting to give the packed room the best show they possibly can, managing to make a Thursday night feel like a Friday. They use every inch of that massive stage to their full advantage, never feeling lost or intimidated like some bands previously.
But it’s also from that first song that you can see it’s not about a band stepping up their game because it’s needed for tonight. It’s simply a case of them getting better and better with every tour and the advantage of catching them at the end of the run – they’re in full flight, not giving into the exhaustion which comes from touring at this level but rather using it as a fuel to deliver a captivating and dynamic show. As the band blend their sound of rock, metal, (horror) punk and add in a splash of darkness, it’s fuelled by an exceptionally skilled band. Frontman Joey Draper prowls the stage, cutting an intimidating figure, knowing exactly how to bounce off his band mates and keep the crowd exactly where he wants them. Meanwhile the duelling guitars of Kodi Kasper and Denis Sheriff crunch and squeal in equal measure, both working in symbiosis and each with their own moments in the spotlight, weaving around one another and managing to never outdo their partner. Although it takes a couple of songs to fully hear them because to begin with, they’re completely buried in the mix. But by third song, “Pretty Little Nightmare”, they finally punch through in all their full-blooded glory.
There’s a couple of left-field choices tonight in their set but they’re ones which work. They hit with an early cover of Savage Garden’s hit of “To the Moon & Back”. It’s given the South of Salem treatment to sound grittier, those moody hints enhanced further and whilst the lyrics may be a bit sappier than you’d expect from the Bournemouth lot, the punchier interpretation makes up for it. And whilst Savage Garden may not be in the listening habits of the band’s core demographics, there’s not many in the room who aren’t singing along. The only disappointment about it is that whilst it was released as a digital single, it now seems to have mysteriously vanished from streaming sites. There’s also a tease of new material early on with “Fallout” which teases what the future holds for the band – it’s the natural progression for the band, it’s ballsy, tempered with restraint and maturity, not quite as high-octane as some of their other songs but you can feel it lurking beneath the surface.
Covers and new material in the space of the first four songs isn’t even the boldest move the band make tonight. The rest of the set, the next ten songs until the encore all come from Death of the Party. But the knock-out punch comes from them playing it all in order. This is the kind of thing bands do when they’re celebrating an anniversary of a seminal album, not your second album which isn’t even a year and a half old. But truthfully speaking, if I was in a band and had an all-killer, no-filler album like that, I’d do the very same thing. It’s a celebration of what they’ve done with this album and given the standard of their performance, it wouldn’t be the same as listening to the album in your house and staring at a picture of them (which is what you may as well do if you want to see Disturbed – plus you’ll save a few quid). Whilst they could have still done a good number of songs from the album and not the full thing to give them room to chuck in some extra The Sinner Takes it All tracks, it never feels needed or wanted. They’ve spent enough time blending the two albums together last year. It’s all about the present and future and it’s reflected in the band’s sound, too.
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However, the encore does bring us back to the start after “Villain”’s show-stopping finale. Tonight has ed in the blink of an eye and whilst there’s a demand for more, you can’t deny they’ve given nothing but their all. Unsurprisingly, it means revisiting the debut album with “Demons Are Forever”. It allows for a breather, its haunting and chilling tones a contrast to its themes of and fans seeing themselves in its lyrics. Of course, it wouldn’t be a South of Salem show if they didn’t close with “Cold Day in Hell”. It’s a bit like going to see Guns N’ Roses and them not finishing with “Paradise City”. Their anthemic calling card has never sounded better than it does tonight, allowing both them and audience to fully let loose one final time, the band leaving the stage as conquerors.
I’ve said before that we don’t deserve South of Salem. It’s clear they’re a special band with a dedicated following which is only growing. They should be playing to much bigger audiences, but their organic growth combined with the fact they do everything themselves is to be commended in a time when authenticity is scoffed at. They’re also making a sound that no other band out there is doing right now and it’s done by such a well-polished band who don’t just go out and play – they give everything to create a spectacular show. They’re back later this year for some co-headline shows with The 69 Eyes and the Finns better bring more than their A-game to keep up with them.
Photos by SRK Lens
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