Live Review: Thy Art Is Murder w/Spite, Fit For An Autopsy and Whitechapel at The Roundhouse London!

Upgraded from the O2 Forum in Kentish Town to The Roundhouse, the London stop of the long awaited and highly anticipated tour that sees Spite, Fit For An Autopsy, Whitechapel and Thy Art Is Murder was always going to be a night to remember, even if there is an air of controversy around the whole thing. The queue to get into the venue is epic so fortunately tonight it’s dry as fans enjoy pre gig beers, cigarettes and kebabs waiting for the doors to open with all the talk about the events surrounding CJ McMahon’s infamous exit from arguably the biggest Deathcore band on the planets rife…

On such a heavy hitting line up someone has to go first and Spite [9/10] draw the short straw. They ensure that not only is the crowd is warmed up but the other bands are kept honest with an incendiary burst of violent turbulence that causes the ground to shake beneath our feet. Vocalist Darius Tehrani has the glint of a serial killer in his eyes as he dances his way around the stage, his boiler suit looking not too dissimilar to a straight jacket. His performance is almost as feral as it is ferocious and the band themselves bring the bass heavy sonic assault to destroy the venue. The only complaint is that if there is one thing missing, it’s the lack of Whitechapel vocalist Phil Bozeman reprising his role on “Thank You, Again“. But we can’t have it all, can we?

Next up are Fit For An Autopsy [10/10] may have begun to transcend their roots and be hailed as Post-Deathcore but tonight they are in no mood to mess around, delivering a set a level heavier than Spite with that second guitarist power. Bathed in dry ice that takes on the light show colours and the crowd go wild as “Black Mammoth” rears its ugly head once more. One no one can ever tire of hearing, it’s a tightly performed as it has ever been before “The Sea of Tragic Beasts” rolls up with an accompaniment of fists in the air. Joe Badolato shows off his impressive vocal range while both Tim Howley and Pat Sheridan take it in turns to bring out the fret board smoking solos. A rousing rendition of “Far From Heaven” brings down the curtain on the tonight’s set and there seems little doubt that Fit For An Autopsy could headline this venue in their own right. We’re sure that both Dylan Alves from Harbinger and Jasper Harmer from Beyond Extinction would agree from their positions in the crowd tonight.

Given the other bands on this tour it was always going to be interesting to see if Whitechapel [9/10] returned to their roots tonight or if they still played new material and the answer is that they show absolutely no fear, delivering a career spanning set that is the best of both worlds. “A Bloodsoaked Symphony” reminds that there is still brutality in their latest work while the obligatory “The Saw Is the Law” and “This Is Exile” are as unforgiving as ever. Phil Bozeman still has the voice that can create a thousand nightmares and the four string merchants look like they’re having fun. It maybe a shorter set than perhaps we’d hoped but it is sweet and given the crowds reaction, a return for a headlining run of their own doesn’t seem beyond the realms of possibility.

Given everything that happened with Thy Art Is Murder [10/10] in the build up to the release of their new album “Godlike” and this tour, what they have been able to do to keep everything on track feels like some kind of miracle. The band were incredibly lucky to get their first choice new vocalist in Tyler Miller of Aversions Crown fame immediately but for him to be able to learn the set back to front and re-record the album vocals and only delay the album release by a week? That’s phenomenal.

Their stage set is huge, the drum rig mounted on a riser that puts skin basher Jesse Beahler some fifteen feet in the air and the view of the crowd he gets must be incredible. Taking a leaf out of the Lamb Of God book we get treated to strobe lights, lasers and flame jets, all used sporadically to enhance the visual as the band hit the tracks out of the park one after the other.

As they take to the stage their Miller is kitted out in a combat vest and baseball cap, waiting a few songs in to announce himself even though the reality is he needs no introduction. The band open with “Destroyer Of Dreams“, the opening cut from the new album and it sounds immense, “Slaves Beyond Death” get the mosh pit going before “Make America Hate Again” gets the scream along it deserves. Obviously Miller isn’t CJ McMahon and so his register is different but he still nails the older tracks in his own voice rather than being a mimic. “Human Target” and “The Purest Strain Of Hate” are both impressive and get circle pits, Miller’s humbleness between the songs giving off the air of someone who is genuinely pleased to be on the stage and here to have a good time. The band themselves are as razor sharp as ever, keeping things tight and not allowing the audience to rest with slab after concrete slab of punishing breakdowns, groove laden riffs and pummeling percussion. As you’d expect, circle pits go off like tornadoes at regular intervals as a capacity crowd drinks in the Australians offering like they haven’t just witnessed three other skull crushing acts. Thy Art Is Murder are majestic tonight, a well oiled live machine who don’t skip a beat even with a new vocalist at the helm. They simply refuse to give up th dream and that deserves a lot of credit.