Live Review: (hed)p.e. w/Cold and MÜ at the 1865 in Southampton!

Tonight we’re at the 1865 in Southampton for the first show of a co-headlining tour that will find American Nu-Metal royalty in Cold and (hed)p.e. go toe to toe across Europe. As it happens tonight is also the third time in as many years that we’ve witnessed (hed)p.e. at this very venue, as they’ve supported the likes of Drowning Pool and Soil in this town but tonight is special because it’s the 25th Anniversary of their seminal album “Broke“…

Tonight’s opening band are French quartet MÜ [8/10] who are on their first European tour and with three guitars and no bass they make avant-garde Metal sounds that flow from bass heavy lounge music to Meshuggah like polyrhythms and violent anguished screams. The Gojira influence is big in their varied approach but all their songs have a great flow, warmth and even melancholia about them, cuts like “Every Breath” and “Shards” a rewarding listen. Sure, they feel like the odd one out on this line up but variety is the spice of life and after surprising the audience with what they can do by the end of the set they get an ovation. It turns out tonight is the live debut of one of their guitarists although in truth you’d never have known because there were absolutely no nerves on display, the songs being performed with the verve and swagger of a well oiled live machine.

One of those bands who we missed the chance to witness the first time around Cold [10/10] are a soul stirring force live. Bridging the gap between Grunge and Nu-Metal, the quintet are led out on stage by vocalist Scooter Ward and are genuinely happy to be in Europe after so much time away. They’re received with rapturous applause from an audience who love every minute despite it being a Tuesday night on the south coast, swaying and singing along at the top of their lungs to cuts like “Suffocate“, “Just Got Wicked” and “Goodbye Cruel World“.

Ward’s voice shows no sign of age or strain, as he stands alongside bassist Lindsay Manfredi, fill in drummer El Drumwrench and guitarists Dave Pike and Angelo Maruzzelli as the sole original member of the band and it has to be said that the musicians have made these songs their own and love every minute. It’s written on their faces as they watch the audience singing back at them with big smiles, a connection created by the songs that can never be broken. There is a humility about Ward throughout the set which is refreshing, he never tells the audience what to do or how to react, just sings the songs and occasionally holds out the microphone for the crowd to sing a line back to him. It’s part of the charm of a performance by Cold that feels completely timeless.

As anyone who has seen (hed)p.e. [10/10] live will know, when the quartet take to the stage there is no DJ, no second guitar and no backing track. There performances are 100% live, warts and all with no excuses which gives them a phenomenal energy and ensures their musicianship is incredibly tight. Founder and frontman Jared Gomes alongside guitarist Nathan Javier, bassist Kurt Blankenship and drummer Stephen Arango have not only adapted the songs to fit what they have at their disposal but also tweaked them so the sound fresh without taking away any of the essence of the original material.

Tonight is the first night of a run of 25th anniversary shows for the bands seminal album “Broke” and rather than playing the album front to back, they take the scenic route, mixing it up to keep the audience guessing. They open with a refreshed rendition of the albums penultimate cut “Jesus (of Nazareth)” before switching to a blistering “Killing Time“, the band not afraid to drop into a reggae jam at any given moment just for fun. “Feel Good” finds Blankenship and Javier providing backing vocals, the audience singing along to every word of every song as the band out bounce in the mosh pit. “Boom (How You Like That)” sounds great stripped down to the bare essentials, the band clearly doing their homework when it comes to making sure the songs flown together nicely and it has to be said Arango must go through a lot of drum sticks because he hits hard as a driving force behind the pacing of the songs.

The melodica comes out for a couple of songs, most notably on “The Meadow” where it effectively replaces the lead guitar providing the melody lines before the band drop into a rousing rendition of set closer “Bartender“. Gomes holds out the microphone so he can hear the crown singing along, let’s the audience finish lines in call and response style and blows kisses to everyone in appreciation for the fact that everyone knows and loves these songs. Tonight there maybe no encore, no introduction to the upcoming new album with a taste of “Violent Girl” live or anything like that but it doesn’t stop it from being not only a phenomenal performance but also a triumphant return to the English south coast.