Live Review: God Eater w/Vexed, Derange & YVAH @ The Black Heart, Camden

Our first adventure to the infamous Black Heart in Camden for 2020 sees us on very familiar territory with three of the four being witnessed at last summers incarnation of Tech-Fest. Add to that the first three of the bands are female fronted and you’ve got yourself an interesting point. Not that it matters who is at the helm in a band as long as they have a decent set of pipes and can write some relatable lyrics, however it should be noted that female vocalists tend to attract female fans…

A Progressive Metal Quintet called YVAH [7/10] start tonight’s show with cuts from their debut EP “Vehemence Resurrection” and with frontwoman Leah Stanhope at the helm, they have someone who can really sing and brings that eclectic and enigmatic touch to a band who contrasts Progressive with Symphonic Metal moments. “Fragments” goes down particularly well tonight and the Brighton quintet make the most of their longer compositions by making each song a journey though each of the elements that comprise their sound. Rarely do the shift time signature significantly, instead opting to move to headbangable moments with graduation. Unfortunately they suffer from vocal issues and they end up having large passages of intrumental to avoid vocal chord damage but it the time that they are complete, the show that they have what it takes to be on bigger stages than this.

Perhaps a warm up show for their February Scotland shows Derange [8/10] are more than a pleasant surprise on the bill tonight. Their new EP “Senses: Part One” has barely gone cold and with the second part due at some point this year, it’s good to see them back where they belong, in the live arena. Cat Pereira has a seriously impressive vocal range when it comes to the bands recorded work and as they blast through “Runaway” it’s clear that she’s actually got more to her game than she shows in the studio as she effortlessly moves from beautiful clean vocal moments to throat ripping screams. She loves every moment and the fierce passion she has for the music shines through. The other members of the band are equally as energetic, blasting out their Sass Rock cuts of Alternative Tech Metal and you can safely say those Scottish fans are in for a treat.

We’ve lost track of how many times we’ve described Vexed [9/10] as being the hottest property around at the moment. A lot of hype surrounds the quartet fronted by Megan Targett and they know how to deliver. Despite having only a pair of singles out in “Elite” and “Dominate” which dropped around 9 months ago but they’ve been playing shows across Europe and got some pit antics going at the Fireball Whiskey stage at last summers incarnation of Tech-Fest. They clearly have the material in the locker so the delay in putting it out there can only be due to the wait for a label. Tonight they go off like a bomb blast in at The Black Heart, flooding the venue with a fog of dry ice from a faulty smoke machine. Targett has brutal unclean vocals and savage rap screams but also has some briefly touched upon clean vocal range as well. The drum sound is huge tonight and the 8 string guitars get put to good use with shock wave after shock wave of Deathcore riffs ripping through the place. It’s only a matter of time before they get big.

Glaswegian Technical Death Metallers God Eater [9/10] are playing their debut album “All Flesh Is Grass” in full tonight – which isn’t as grand an undertaking as you might think as it’s only 33 minutes long. They’re in overdrive from the very start, each member going hell for leather with the Death Metal attack and leaving everything on the stage. Each one of them cuts shapes and pulls faces as they work their fingers to the bone to keep up and by the end of the set they look cream crakered. Highlights include “Inertia Haze” and the brilliant “Blood Moon” while the wall of death is always a crowd pleaser. It’s nothing short of epic.