Alexisonfire Newcastle O2 Academy 10/11/10

Alexisonfire came to town on Wednesday night, and brought along their mix between hardcore metal and melodic soft rock to Newcastles O2 Academy. Of course support bands, The Computers and Chickenhawk got the show underway, but it was Alexisonfire who stole the show, demonstrating that they didn’t make the trip from Ontario, Canada, for no reason. First thing you notice about the band is “Hey, 5 sweaty men with an unhealthy amount of tattoos and facial hair”, however with playing classics such as ‘The Northern’ and ‘Rough Hands’, they had audience standing in complete awe.

The Canadian boys rounded off their 11 track set list with a 3 song encore, which seen the band calm down the whole crowd and then at the very last peak, have the roof blazing with hands in the air and crowd surfing to keep the security on their toes. Alexisonfire appeared on this tour not to promote a new album like any other mainstream artist would. They came to remind their true fans why they fell in love with their heavy riffs and nostalgic lyrics. Ok, so maybe they did come to spread the word on their new EP which has just been released, which includes the bouncing new track, ‘Dogs Blood’.

However not everything can be perfect. With big bearded men and music so loud to overpower a jet engine, the last thing which they fall at which would have been eye-catching, is the lack of lighting effects throughout the whole set list. The band were surrounded by a simple lighting rig which seemed like it couldn’t even provide the satisfactory light for someone to read a book under, which out of the whole performance, is the only place I can pick a fault.

A Fantastic bunch of gentlemen though. We caught up with the lead singer George Pettit and guitarist Wade McNeil for a chat after the show, however this was only spoilt by lead guitarist Dallas Green being an absolute grinch and only appearing to announce that he wont be signing any autographs. Never mind though, the band will be doing shows around the country for the next 2 weeks or so, so if you ever get the chance to see these guys, DO NOT HESITATE in the slightest. I can only guarantee that you WILL enjoy yourself and eventually fall head over heels with the whole background and nature of the band itself.

http://www.myspace.com/alexisonfire