Hellfire/I Hate You More – The Giffard Arms – Friday 28th August 2009
Considering the number of times I've drunk in the Giffard, amazingly this was the first time I'd been to a gig there. Regrettably we missed the headliners Dissidence, but no doubt we'll get a chance to see them in the not too distant future.
Call For Blood could very easily have taken the easy option and not played this gig, and few in the room would have blamed them, as they'd parted company with their bass player and drummer hours before the gig. To make matters worse, their set was besieged with technical problems, yet they battled on manfully. They lined up as a vocalist and guitarist with a rapidly added stand-in drummer, and played a passable set of punk/hardcore. Fellas I respect you immensely for fulfilling your obligation and wish you well in your quest for replacement musicians. Give me a shout when you're up and running and I'll come and see you play. Best of luck guys.
Hellfire were as concussive as ever, and pounded their way through a familiar set. Fellas I'm at a loss to really add much more – but that's what happens when a reviewer's seen you play so many times – and always to such a high standard. Currently working on new material for the follow up to “Bleed For The Cause” I await the finished results with considerable interest. Setlist; “Darkest Hour”, “Eye Of The Storm”, “Deceiver Of The Damned”, “Evil Prevails”, “Bleed For The Cause”, “Hell On Earth”, “Forced To Kill”, “Betrayal Of Trust”.
I Hate You More are a band I've seen, if anything, even more times than Hellfire (although it's a close call). They are settling into their new lineup well, and sound ever more confident, and solid, as a three piece. As the alcohol had kicked in by now – and also bearing in mind that I saw them play at the Black Horse the following night – I'll keep this one brief, and cover the following night's set in more detail. Entertaining set, as ever, fellas. Setlist; “Chokehold”, “Retrospect”, “Decide”, “The End Still Remains”, “Smash Your Enemy”, “Bloodshed”, “Unlock The Hatred”, “Lockdown”.
