Defenders Of The Faith (Devildriver, Arch Enemy, and Opeth) At Brixton Academy

May 2nd, 2008 by Adam

Hot on the heels of The Black Crusade, the Brixton Academy is once again the London home of a multi-band metal bonanza arriving with all the usual hype and skull-splattered promo imagery that goes with any event this size. The Black Crusade was a bit of a mixed bag of heavyweight, heavy earning showstealers while Defenders Of The Faith promised a slightly more eclectic line-up. I should point out that 3 Inches Of Blood opened but I missed them.

Devildriver come on full force with a set that beats you around like the Incredible Hulk playing squash with your cranium. The selection of tunes as intense as possible given the short set time - there weren’t exactly any relaxing moments in previous times I’ve seen them but a longer set allowed at least a few breathers from the fight pit. The tunes span all three albums including These Fighting Words, End Of The Line and the rarely-seen-live foot-stomper I Dreamed I Died. It’s a mark of Devildriver’s consistency that mixing tracks from their three albums produces none of the variation in quality that you see with other bands who might throw a more sketchy older tune in, alongside the current, polished single. Devildriver embody everything a modern metal band should be - loud, heavy, performed tightly and competently and aimed squarely at getting a pack of people piling into each other as ferociously as possible. The crowd love them for it, and if they aren’t headlining their own tours of this size in a few years then something’s gone very wrong.

Arch Enemy bring a rampantly zealous fan base to the floor which, to be honest, I can’t quite get my head around. There’s not a lot to be said about the “ooh look, a girl doing vocals” issue that a hundred other writers far better than me haven’t covered in detail, and it doesn’t really bother me either way. But it really is hard to shake off the feeling that it’s that very fact which has helped them get so widespread and popular. Perhaps I’m just trying to find an unnecessary explanation for the fact that I don’t really like their music. Clearly a lot of people feel very different, as shown by the sea of waving devil horns and pumping fists. It just feels like… standard metal, along the same level as any number of other bands that haven’t yet broken that massive-venue boundary. Make no mistake, there’s some deliciously intense sections of riffs and vocals in there, but for every one bit of quality there’s five sections that fall flat with a very Scandinavian love of dramatic synth clashes and tedious instrumental bridges. The set also contained one of the most embarrassingly feeble guitar solos in living memory. Star mention goes to an amazing drum solo however.

On to Opeth. With 10-minute tracks and an intellectual, progressive background they’re an acquired taste without a doubt, but it really was quite shameful to see so many people, presumably Arch Enemy fans heading off after their fix, leaving before the headliners. Any self-respecting music fan should be willing and able to try new things and to see them just blithely walking away was pretty shocking. They’re only doing themselves a disservice however as they missed a stunning set. You never quite know what to expect with Opeth’s track selection - in two times of seeing them I’ve not heard their ‘hit single’ The Grand Conjuration and it’s refreshing to know that any album track or b-side rarity is a possibility. As it is the band, looking like spiritual gurus with long beards and hair, bathed in fog and deep lighting, treat the audience to the full range from progressively mind-blowing (Beneath The Mire) to gorgeously soulful (In My Time Of Need). New tracks from upcoming album Watershed showcase a continuation of the vibe laid down on Ghost Reveries, although with some heavier, speedy riffs coming into play. Opeth are a pleasure to see in any environment and if you walk away from them without at least giving them a chance then, frankly, you’re an idiot.