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) Trial Check all the pictures in the photos section |
Trial + November Coming Fire + The Break In
18/11/05 - Barfly (London) Flying all the way from Pisa to London only to see a show isn't a thing I exactly use to do all the times, yet it's also true that the chance to catch the reunion of one of my favorite hardcore bands ever doesn't come so frequently either. That's why when I got to know that TRIAL, one of the most eminent hardcore bands of the 90's, was doing 3 closure shows (one in Seattle, the remaining 2 in London and Budapest) I rushed myself to find the exact date for these and the relative cheapest round way plane tickets to London. I had great expectations for this event, and luckily I didn't remain disappointed at all. We get to the venue kinda early, just to make sure not to miss any bands on the bill. While entering the venue, we cross into Greg Bennick (Trial’s singer) and it's really pleasant to discover how this dude is a really great, down to earth person. We spoke for a while and he was genuinely surprised in knowing how people from far away (Italy, Germany, but even Australia!) decided to attend the show despite the long distances, and he seemed truly grateful of it. Also the other guys in the bands were really appreciative of the thing and very cool to us. In a depreciated hardcore scene as the one of nowadays, it's always nice to find people like these. The show started around 8 (I guess Italy is the only country where concerts always start after 11 pm...) and the first band on the bill were THE BREAK IN. Featuring former xCanaanx members, these Canterbury dudes have an EP out on Dead & Gone Records. I hadn't listened to any of their material before, so besides the good things I had heard, I didn't know what to expect: Anyway it didn't take much for me to assume that this quintet plays classic, metallic hc in the vein of Until The End and Figure Four. They don't bring anything new to the table, but that didn't prevent me from enjoying their scarce 30 minute set, a really tight one. The crowd's answer was good, as the shouter sporadically passed the mic to some kids and the moshpit was relentless but not violent. Once again, if you appreciated bands like Terror or xCanaanx, The Break In will surely entertain you. As for The Break In, the following band on the bill, NOVEMBER COMING FIRE, was another act not resulting so familiar to my ears. I only knew they are gonna have a full length out on Reflections Records soon and that they're gonna be touring Europe with Doomriders in March. By the way, the fact that they took their name from a Samhain song was a clear anticipation on their sound. I expected something dark (not only clothes), and I was right indeed. This South UK based quintet plays a dark mixture of hc punk, sometimes fast paced and some other times more slowed down. The vocals are screamed and heavy and so was the overall atmosphere of the band's performance, maybe a little too stagnant at times, but still able to offer some convincing hints. People definitely seemed to be into it. There was less movement in the pit than with The Break In, but I guess that was due to the inferior of lack of breakdowns and moshparts the songs contained. I kinda liked what I've heard but I put off my definitive opinion on November Coming Fire for the next time I’ll see them, as I still need to entirely assimilate their sound. As TRIAL's turn was getting closer, more and more people gathered themselves in front of the stage. Being this the one and only UK show ever for this Seattle's combo, I could clearly understand the reason behind that. As these folks entered the stage the Intro for the seminal “Are These Our Lives” record was played in background, and people were already stage diving. That made me fear the situation would have prematurely degenerated (if you remember the intro I’m referring to, you’re likely to understand my worry) but luckily this hasn’t been the case. The band’s 1 hour long exhibition is one of those things that reconcile you with what the word hardcore truly stands for, as it contained everything you would expect from this music. Passion, fury, personal and social commitment, anger; Trial stood the test of time, as their set was entirely built on these values. They were tight, heavy, fast and aggressive. Between every song, charismatic frontman Greg always stopped to explain the inner meaning of his lyrics, trying to awake that feeling of social awareness and coherency somehow lost with most of today’s hardcore. The audience seemed to catch the legacy, as there were constant, huge stage divings, fingerpointings and attempts to scream along. The highest point of the performance has probably been touched with the execution of “War By Others Means”, when the solemn spoken parts have been followed by crowd’s general attempts to grab the microphone and scream: “War!””. That was awesome. It is nice to observe that this London trip hasn't been a decision to regret by any means. Reunions often reveal themselves to be half a disappointment, but it obviously wasn't the case with this one and I’m not even saying I ever feared that. On the other side, it's extremely sad seeing such a great band callin it quits. Very little other hardcore acts out there these days deserve to be included in the same category of Trial, as the scene is getting poorer and poorer in terms of contents and engagement, which represent the fire of this music. The back of the tshirt they were selling at the show stated the following: "Strength Mantained By Never Giving In". In Trial’s case, this corresponds to the pure, granitic truth. “The Struggle’s not over, it assumes new forms. But no matter what the face, no matter what the name, it’s still, War”
Report by Leonardo
What do you think about it? Posted by ric // IP Address: 213.140.22.68 The only comment I can say to this report is: TOUCHING Posted by O.S. // IP Address: 82.122.185.253 So great shows !!! Nice pics !! You can find ours there : http://www.spiritribe.com Cheers O.S. http://www.spiritribe.com |
