Live Review: Siamese w/Resolve, Senna and Odd Palace at Camden Underworld!

It’s Bank Holiday Monday and The Wired Hearts Tour has reached its London stop with Camden Underworld the destination for Odd Palace and Senna alongside co-headlining duo Resolve and Siamese. Curiously enough while the venue merch cut saga continues to rumble on in the background, tonight’s iconic venue aren’t taking anything from the bands so while the price of merch is still high, at least all the money is going to end up in the pockets of the people we want it to.

Like tonight’s headliners Odd Palace [8/10] are all clean vocals and funky bass lines, a story about being on tour and sleeping on a bunk next to a dude with stinky feet catching a laugh before “Insomnia“, which delights with a rich solo in the middle of a six song set. Stuccato riff breaks bring the groove and sweaty bodies begin to sway, won over by the bands sound early as they reach and touch DJent on “The Unknown“. Their first time in London, they’re greeted by cheers and applause and the bouncy riffs keep flowing, the tapping lead sections impressing. New single “Wildfire” is an interesting choice as a set closer but does so in style, the chunky riffs augmented by programming from a backing track and having a certain extra energy and power live while packing plenty of verve and swagger.

Hailing from Germany Senna [8/10] have just five cuts on Spotify with SharpTone Records debut EP “A Moment Of Quiet” but justify their place on the bill will a powerhouse performance that oozes funky qualities with hints at influence from bands like We Came As Romans. The American styled vocals give no indication of their native tongue with their vocalist regularly singing part of a line before finishing it on the unclean register. A bass heavy mix means the second guitar gets a little lost at times but it’s their first time in the United Kingdom and they give us a couple of songs that are yet to be released so there can be no arguments. A Carly Rae Jepsen cover is an interesting moment, the band beefing up the song substantially and making it a contender for the next incarnation of Fearless Records Punk Goes Pop series, however it sounds a little predictable, lacking a little star dust to elevate. The killer breakdown section at the end of their final cut ensures they get a rapturous round of applause as they leave the stage.

While tonight may not be officially sold out, by the time co-headliners Resolve [10/10] take to the stage as the heaviest band on the bill, there is breathing space only and Camden Underworld is as hot as hell. The stuccato riff infestations hit home as the crowd jump in unison, the brutal guitar tone splitting skulls in half, “Death Awaits” getting a metaphorical standing ovation after its huge breakdown section, the band having ear to ear grins at the sheer amount of love in the room for them tonight. The chugs and stomps keep coming with the vocal melodies giving balance and the bands energy is unrelenting, even when they command a wall of death. Maybe like Landmvrks before them there is more melody underneath the Metalcore swagger but here it’s heard only fleetingly as Resolve keep the gut punches flowing. The dull ache of the meloncholic introduction to older cut “Between Me And The Machine” might make it an interesting choice for people who haven’t seen the band before but the fans know what’s coming as it rises majestically to a DJent fuelled monster before vocalist Anthony Diliberto picks up a guitar and lays down a solo. That’s one of the great things about Resolve live because while they do use a backing track for synths and programming they bring a second electric guitar and even an acoustic guitar to the stage to add something which could have been on the backing track. That deserves a round of applause as does the fact that guitarist Antonin Carré plays the entire set with no in ear due to technical issues. That means no click track but he still slays the beast, his performance on point throughout.

Copenhagen Denmark R ‘n B Metal act Siamese [10/10] take to the stage with clouds of dry ice before delivering a delicious rendition of “Numb” that gets the crowd singing along with cries of “Save us, save us or kill us, kill us dead!” from the very start. The five piece barely fit on the stage but still manage constant moment, which is impressive, some how not falling over each other in the process. As vocalist Mirza Radonjica has a wife who is 4 weeks away from giving birth, so the band have bought with them a vocalist who can fill the shoes and allow the tour to complete if necessary. That’s not the case tonight but they bring him out to do “Bananas” as a thank you for being on standby and the performance goes down an absolute storm. The band keep the breaks purposefully short between songs to cram in as much as possible and that ensures the energy is kept high, the atmosphere tonight being nothing short of electric. New song “The Shape Of Water” is an absolute pleasure which sees drummer Villads Berg standing to generate the power for the anthem driving patterns while the DJent guitars and synths give it real strength. No other Metal band could get a Mosh pit to an electric violin solo but Siamese do, the flashing lights with vibrant blues, reds and greens create illusions with flashes as the band move around the stage, their pulsating rhythms fueling the fire. A three song encore after a chant of one more song is insane with the “Home” at the centre going down a storm. Between two vocalists and a packed audience there isn’t a dry body in the house as the sweat pours Drew York’s part reprised in style. “Ocean Bed” completes the set with another anthem and while sixteen songs is the most they’ve ever toured with, we could happily listen to them for another 30 minutes.