Biffier than thou

The proverbial saying, ‘Slow and steady wins the race’ is often ignored by many and laughed at by others but it is not often more true than in the music industry. Tonight’s main attraction, Biffy Clyro, are a good example of this, having released an album a year for the past 3 years on the relatively small Beggers indie label their support has grown steadily upwards since their classic ‘Blackened Sky’ opus hit in ‘02. In stark contrast supports Hell Is For Heroes are a model example of (for lack of a better phrase) peaking too soon, having released their debut (and actually rather good) ‘Neon Handshake’ album on a major label, large scale touring, festival appearances and hype overdrive followed but as happens to many bands in this situation they were dropped by their label, sunk like a bomb and now find themselves supporting one of the bands they were once as big as.

So it is here, at the ram packed Bristol University that we see American outsiders Ghostride open. Unfortunately though this band were dire, their uninspiring, old and frankly boring brand of metal was just not suited for this kind of occasion. Some members of the audience got into them but the rest just headed straight for the bar and milled about outside. Maybe they just didn’t click tonight, most of the songs sounding all too familiar with little to distinguish one from another. On another night, another occasion Ghostride might have shined, but not tonight.

Hell is for Heroes on the other hand were actually rather good, playing a set littered with new songs along with some past favourites they got the crowd going more than perhaps some may have initially expected. It was songs such as, ‘Night Vision’ and ‘Five Kids Go’ from the aforementioned debut album which saw quite a large participation of the crowd singing along, testament to this band’s longevity. Some may see Hell is for Heroes as a band on the way out, but tonight was proof that there’s still life in them yet.

Following a rather elongated classic piece as an intro Biffy Clyro came on to the techno start to their as their most recent ‘Infinity Land’ album, before launching head first into the impressive, ‘Glitter and Trauma’, getting the crowd whipped up into a frenzy. No expense had been spared for this tour, with a huge backdrop coupled with side of stage imagery the band also employed a very effective lighting rig. This combined showed the band in a much more mature light, far from their earlier shows which relied on their raw energy to create atmosphere, its clear that now they have moved up to the next level.

Splitting the tracks almost equally between albums they played classics such as ‘The Go-Slow’ and ‘Justboy’ along with new favourites, ‘Only One Word Comes To Mind’ and ‘The Kids From Kibble’, the latter proving a mosh friendly live favourite. The seamless sweep from new, ‘Wave Upon Wave Upon Wave’ to old, ‘Joy.Discovery.Invention’ showed exactly how much depth this band have, from the epic-ness of the former to the endearing naivety of the latter.

Leaving the stage following crowd favourite‘There’s No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake’ cheers of ‘Mon the Biffy’ rang out through the venue, prompting guitarist Simon Neil – a man becoming increasingly biblical in appearance – to take to the stage for an acoustic rendition of ‘The Atrocity’. With a single spotlight on the frontman, lighters were aloft as the crowd joined in with a singalong of ‘I don’t wanna die / Don’t expect me to die / We can live forever’. With the full band returning to the stage Biffy Clyro ended with the awesome ‘Toys, Toys, Toys’ and the timeless classic, ‘57’.

Moral of the story? None in particular, but mark my words, if Biffy keep going like this there’ll be no stopping them.