A review of Funeral for a Friend with support from Fallen Riot, Seed of Sorrow and Departures at Ironworks, Inverness on the 19th of June, 2013.
First up on the four band bill, remarkably good value for the ticket price, were Fallen Riot, a five piece band based in Inverness and Glasgow. Today they were a man down, with their singer out injured, the remaining members filled in on vocals with some. The result was some very impressive multi-tasking from bassist , and birthday boy,Sean Toye and guitarist Micky Scott. With heavy breakdowns and some beefy riffs, this metalcore band also managed to orchestrate the atmosphere down to very relaxed, before pounding it back into a frenzy of head-banging mayhem. The band’s very dedicated fans and friends were out in force, many flying the flag with Fallen Riot shirts and in many ways acting as the “extra man”.
Next up were another local act, Seed of Sorrow. Creating a significant contrast to the previous act, and a band I found very difficult to draw comparisons with. Screaming vocals and distorted guitars, “Heavy Metal” seems a tad of an understatement. Safe to say, ambient and melodic were not words to describe them, but energy of the band and technical ability was abundant.
Hailing from Glasgow, and hitting the stage with full force and bouncing energy were Departures, the main touring support for Funeral For A Friend. Their highly charismatic front man immediately knew how to get the crowd moving, showing the professionalism and experience of this band. Their on stage presence reminded me of a heavy version of Dob Broco, with their way of moving and “manly” attitude presented. Drum driven and vocals not dissimilar from Olly Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon, they were a great way to psych up the fans for the main event. Departures really were a “check out this band” group, even from early on in the set.
Funeral for a Friend are veterans of their scene,having formed in 2001 they could be considered a thing of the past, but their show last night proved the naysayers that they are anything but. What the audience lacked in numbers they made up in enthusiasm, although they appeared to split into three obvious groups, the youngsters down the front, older people at the back and a space in the middle, largely filled by a few individuals with excess energy to burn (most notable being an attempt at a human pyramid mid set).
The emotional foundations of ‘Roses for the Dead’ was matched by the popularity of the tune and whilst played early in the set did it did not temper the response and appreciation from the audience. The band bring with them a strong sense of poignancy and relevance, a good example of which being a song about growing up in a small town with nothing to do, and people always putting you down, a scenario that many in the room from the surrounding areas of Inverness could relate to.
Drawing from six albums, some difficult decision about what to cut had to be made with emphasis obviously being placed on the “return to form” of recent album ‘Conduit’. Recent addition on drums, Pat Lundy, settling in very well indeed proving to be a major part of the rejuvenation of the band.
Although promoting movement and a circle pit, it was very nice to see safety information from the stage, as their front man, Matthew Davies-Kreye advises “ I wanna see a circle pit, but look after each other, if someone goes down, pick them back up. If you can’t handle it, just get out of there. Just enjoy the pit”, a humbling thing to hear from such a legend of the rock-emo scene.
No frills, armed with just guitars and drums, they were a delight to watch in action. A band not living in the past but very much rejuvenated and ready for action.
Please check out more photos from the night.
