Live Review: Amity Affliction, The - Cologne 2019

Essigfabrik, Cologne, Germany
1st July 2019
The Amity Affliction - European Tour 2019 - Special guests: Polaris, Venues

“Metalcore” plus “Australia” does not always equal PARKWAY DRIVE. In fact, THE AMITY AFFLICTION from Queensland were formed in the same year (2003) as their countrymen from New South Wales, who seem to enjoy a bit of a hype run lately. THE AMITY AFFLICTION lean a little more on the melodic spectrum of the Metalcore genre, which is manifested by the two singles from their new album, ‘Misery’, which has been released end of August 2018. Fans of the band looked forward to the gig, as the band also has brought a two carefully curated support acts with them, the first fellow Australians POLARIS, and the German combo VENUES from Stuttgart.


Venues

VENUES describe themselves as female-fronted Rock / Post Hardcore from Southern Germany, and list their major influences as PARKWAY DRIVE, ADEPT, SILVERSTEIN, FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND, UNDEROATH, ARCHITECTS, and VANNA. Their first release was an EP, called ‘Break Down a Venue’ in 2015, and their debut long-player followed in 2018, titled ‘Aspire’. https://www.facebook.com/VENUESofficial / http://venues.bigcartel.com



Music & Performance
VENUES started their set right on time at 7:40pm inside the warm Essigfabrik. Their version of Post Hardcore included dual vocals form Lela and Robin, which contrasted nicely, as Lela stuck to the melodic parts, and Robin took over the growling sections. Initially, it took a while for the audience to get acquainted to their music, but after a few songs, the mosh pit awoke and despite the scorching heat, people began to move. The thirty-minute set flew by very quickly and near the stage, everyone was yapping for oxygen.

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 6
Sound: 7
Light: 6
Total: 6.5 / 10

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Polaris

The latest addition to seemingly growing roster of Australian Metal bands marked the start of that special evening: POLARIS, a Metalcore band from Sydney, Australia. Founded in 2012, the band has released its debut album ‘The Mortal Coil’ in 2017 and spent the greater part of 2018 touring as support for PARKWAY DRIVE. https://www.facebook.com/polarisaus / www.polarisaus.com.au



Music & Performance
POLARIS entered the stage around 8:30pm with a bang. Singer Jamie Hails growled “Cologne! Circle Pit right now! Spin this fucking room” at the top of his lungs, and with the first riffs of their song ‘The Remedy’, the approximately 1,200 people inside the venue happily obliged, as the first circle pits and crowd surfers started to appear instantaneously. Jamie and his band mates delivered an extremely energetic show, which made it clear they took their job as an opener very seriously. The band put the pedal to the metal music-wise and gave the people in the mosh pit the heavy riffing they were waiting for. The fans thanked the band in the form of a giant wall of death, which underscored what an excellent addition POLARIS have been for this tour.

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 7.8 / 10

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The Amity Affliction

While the new album indicates that THE AMITY AFFLICTION would follow BRING ME THE HORIZONS’ direction towards more electronic elements in their music, a peek at setlists of recent gigs showed that the band would still unleash some decent mosh and circle pit frenzy with their hits from older albums, such as ‘All F****d Up’, ‘Pittsburgh’ or ‘Open Letter’. Check out https://www.facebook.com/theamityafflictionofficial or www.theamityaffliction.net.



Music & Performance
At 9pm, the lights inside the room fell completely dark, and the four members of THE AMITY AFFLICTION walked on-stage, accompanied by the intro of ‘Drag the Lake’, which they began playing to kick off their set. While this track embodies the band’s recent shift to include more accessible elements in their music, it was hugely celebrated by the relatively young and comparatively female audience. Next up was the melodic single ‘Ivy (Doomsday)’, which provoked the first sing-alongs to the incredibly infectious chorus. For 2016 hit single ‘I Bring the Weather with Me’, Metalcore disciples got what they came for: giant hook-lines and infamous breakdowns, mosh pit action and circle pits. For ‘Death’s Hand’ from the 2014 album ‘Let the Ocean Take Me’, fans formed a wall of death.



After a mere 50 minutes, the band walked off-stage, but came back for an encore, celebrating the two most popular songs inside the band’s portfolio: ‘Pittsburgh’ and, after another - and in my mind completely unnecessary - walk-off, the fan favourite ‘All Fucked Up’. So after an hour of playtime from their favourite band, the hundreds of fans spilled out into the night.  

Setlist
01. Drag the Lake
02. Ivy (Doomsday)
03. I Bring the Weather With Me
04. Holier Than Heaven
05. This Could Be Heartbreak
06. Shine On
07. D.I.E
08. Open Letter
09. Feels Like I’m Dying
10. Death’s Hand
11. Set Me Free
12. Don’t Lean On Me
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13. Pittsburgh
14. All Fucked Up

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 7.8 / 10

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All Pictures by Keke Dombrowski