Photo: Janice French
A palpable tension is in the air, people fill the venue till the Rialto is packed. The local metal hardcore band Murder Victim has something special: wicked, skilled instrumentals so powerful and sharp it peels our skin off. They throw a cog in our wheels with a mix of hip hop and screamo as ‘Bleed Your Venom’ turns the wall to wall mosh pit into a prickly mix of swinging arms and full force body blows. Guitarist FRZA, Pete and Tim are jaw dropping as they shred their way through ‘Better Luck Tomorrow’ and drummer Bruce Wayne amazes us with hands faster than a hummingbird’s wings. This band took us completely by surprise 
and renewed our love off all that is thrashy and pure.
From mid-west America the alternative metal band So They Say invokes a love of another sort, fresh metal with just a smattering of screams. They become a metal connoisseurs dream as the mournful and moving vocals of David Schroeder and Joseph Hamilton trade off perfectly during ‘Whisper Of Sin.’ David shouts “Tucson are you guys awake?” the mob gives an answering roar, closes in, tightens the mosh pit then the aggressive, punk flavored ‘Antidote For Irony’ begins it’s assault. The guitarist line up and head bang in unison, hair flies and gruff vocal harmonies resonate as ‘Wake Me Up’ makes sure no one in the building is asleep. The crowd is yelling throughout the piece, hands beat the air and they shout for more.
The Rialto is now disseminated into multiple mosh pits as It Dies Today sends a shudder through the horde with relentless brutal riffs and crashing breakdowns. During ‘A Threnody For Modern Romance’ frontman Jason Woods runs and leaps about then onto the rail and is surrounded flailing arms, surfers fly towards him but he continues to roar on without blinking an eye. Then the mosh explodes as ‘Reignite The Fires’ fuels the horde’s aggression into overdrive.
Haste The Day takes the night over with ‘Stitches’ and the crowd goes freakin nuts forcing Gigwise to head for the balcony. Guitarist Brennan does an impossible looking backbend while performing a lick during the biting and coarse ‘American Love.’ The pushing agitated horde looks like a stormy sea, everyone is moving. A guy comes out in a brown robe dressed as Jesus then throws slices of bread at the crowd whilst shouting “Jesus Christ loves you” and laughter fills the air.
Ok, hold onto your eardrums, Atreyu is here. They throw themselves into the metal monster ‘Creature’ and become the beast, moving about the stage so much that our camera can barely track them. The jumping horde has reached an overload and insanity rules as the exquisite ‘Ex’s and Oh’s’ drives us over the edge. The crowd claps overhead and their new song ‘Doomsday’ stops the clock, hell the fans seem to already know all the words. The clear vocals of drummer Brandon Saller and the roars of Alex Varkatzas fit like a bra on Pamela Anderson. Perfect. The guitars of Dan, Travis and Marc produce a unique sound that is unmistakably their own. There is no doubt that this band is headed for greatness. They'll be in the UK in November and we suggest you get your tickets early.
‘Right Side Of The Bed’ shows off Alex’s singing vocals and adds a welcome new dimension to their music. Marc is also sporting something new, a uni-bomber look that hasn’t slowed down his penchant for head banging one bit. Honestly, most call backs are half-hearted but not for Atreyu, the audience is begging for more and they get it as Dan Jacobs comes out and treats us to a lick from heaven. The rest of the band joins him and they give us the gift of ‘Lip Gloss And Black’ then they finish the evening with a metal twisted cover of Bon Jovi’s ‘You Give Love A Bad Name.’ This was the last night of a major tour and the bands were relaxed, enjoyed it and gave us a performance that was an obvious labor of love. Thank you metal gods, we bow to the mighty.
