It has to be said that The Sun Explodes is an absolutely excellent band, so as soon as I heard they would be playing a set at The Compass, I naturally had to make sure I was there in attendance.
Unfortunately, I missed the beginning of openers Polarasis set due to my interview with The Sun Explodes but I arrived to a room filled with excellent music and a good amount of people. Whilst admittedly their music wasn’t the most original out there, they more than made up for it with their performance and the jokes and comments between the songs, and it was a great performance from them.
Up next was In Depths and aside from an incident where an audience member took it upon himself to completely strip off (I wish I was joking) before getting escorted out, the band took it in their stride and it was a great set from them, littered with awesome songs that were nice and heavy. Their frontman was also excellent with crowd banter and it made for an enjoyable show as a result.
Main support for the night came from Vera Grace, who took things up a notch. When bands perform from the crowd, it gives the show an intimacy that just can’t be achieved at bigger shows and it absolutely paid off here. Fast paced and energetic from start to finish, Vera Grave gave it their all and when a band works so hard at putting on a good show, it feeds back into the crowd and makes for a more enjoyable and engaging set as a result. It was a marvellous performance and a rewarding watch all-round.
Headlining the event was the mighty The Sun Explodes and if you haven’t heard of them yet then I must advise you to head over to their bandcamp where you can pick up their album for a pay-what-you-want price, and then head over to one of the remaining shows of the tour. Quite simply, this band is incredible – both on CD and in a live environment.
There was a tremendous amount of movement from frontman Dave, who barely seemed able to keep still as he performed, which made for a visually interesting performance, and when coupled with the sheer energy from the other four members (in particular harsh vocalist/guitarist Alex) it really showcased just how much the band had to give and it was a nice touch when Dave addressed the crowd to thank everyone for sticking around and giving them a chance – it’s always nice when a band is so appreciative.
The set ended with the practically the whole band spilling into the crowd and partaking in what could only be described as a mini mosh pit in the stage area before winding up the set. It was hectic to say the least – they certainly knew how to go out with a bang!
A night to remember.
8/10
