Converge Converge, just never seemed to touch Brum, every single time they’ve come to the UK. More the pity, as they’re arguably the one band from amongst their peers who have managed to successfully traverse the years since that first boom period almost a decade ago with their integrity and identity relatively intact. Until today, so for those who’ve been waiting for Converge since ‘Jane Doe’ or before, this gig really had a real air of anticipation attached to it. It also boasted a carefully picked undercard in the form of Kylesa and Gaza.


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Ghostfest DAY 2 Headliners Gallows stepped onstage 25 minutes late, lapping up the air of anticipation which permeated the room. They dedicated a song to Yorkshire in honour of their headline performance in Leeds, renaming ‘London Is The Reason’ to ‘Yorkshire Is The Reason’ which had the crowd chanting along. They played almost an hour of their trademark sing-along hardcore punk, peppered with Frank Carter’s uninsightful, cheeky and cocky banter.


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Ghostfest DAY 1 Headliners The Acacia Strain stormed onto the stage with one goal in mind: to make a much noise as possible. As vocalist Vincent Bennett announced ‘We are a very angry fucking band’ they ripped into a sound that epitomised their hatred. The American deathcore band decided they would dedicate a song especially to the UK Hardcore and straight edge scene. The crowd reacted well to the headline act’s aggressive performance.


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SLAYER A lengthy queue has formed after our arrival, and swiftly grows out of sight around the corner, demonstrating that Slayers near thirty year history has diluted their appeal not one jot. This is clearly going to be quite some gig.


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Marilyn Manson Marilyn Manson? Playing a gig on a Sunday? Isn’t there a law against stuff like that? Happily not, although I was kind of expecting a plague of locusts to fill up the Academy at any moment (hmmm I wonder how security would deal with that one eh?) or perhaps the good Lord would just turn us all into pillars of salt or some other such biblical jiggery pokery. Clearly he had other things to do this evening though. Washing his beard perhaps? That must be a bugger to keep clean.


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Biffy Clyro Biffy Clyro aren't my usual cup of tea. Don't get me wrong, I think they are a talented group of musicians and are really popular, just not my bag. However, nothing ventured, nothing gained and thus it was that I found myself reviewing some heavy rock music on a grim and cold Monday Night at the new O2 Academy in Brum. I was actually pretty excited for a couple of reasons. I was looking forward to seeing the new venue (it was the Dome last time i went - am I showing my age!) and secondly I'd heard that Biffy, on the day of their new album release 'Only Revolutions', were being supported by Manchester Orchestra. Get in! It was going to be a night to remember.


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AC/DC You can tell tonight's gig is something special by the atmosphere outside the venue and the vast amounts of cash that tickets are being traded for. It has been nine years since AC/DC last played Birmingham on their Stiff Upper Lip tour and there are far more fans than there are tickets for the event...


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The Bronx The final date of the “Shred Yr Face 2” Tour sees The Bronx being supported by Fucked Up and Rolo Tomassi, upstairs at the “will-it-ever-be-rebranded” O2 Academy. It’s cold outside, so lets hope the bands warm me up...


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Shinedown Playing a venue as small as the Barfly must be somewhat strange for a band like Shinedown – even if this is only their first headline tour in this country – because back home in the US they are a huge success; albums one and two have been certified gold and platinum respectively, and they are used to playing arenas. And yet, they are still relatively unknown over here, although that does look set to change.


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