LIVE FROM THE PIT: BORN OF OSIRIS, AVIANA, AND CROWN MAGNETAR

Towards the end of the UK and European leg of The Angels & Villains Tour, Born Of Osiris brought an entourage of multiple other heavy bands with them to Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms. With the early start time of half past six, Nottingham’s black-clad BOOCrew rocked up nice and early for the oncoming onslaught of heaviness.

Crown Magnetar ripped straight into their set without giving much more than a brief ‘Hello!’ before diving straight into the deep end. As a band on their first ever UK tour, they had a very respectable crowd and kept interacting with everyone throughout their whole set. The four piece are based in Denver, Colorado, and played a slamming technical brand of deathcore that shares as much with tech-death bands like Archspire and Cryptopsy as it does with gargantuan presence of the likes of Lorna Shore and Carnifex. They might well have been the heaviest opener Rescue Rooms has seen in a long time, and they delivered a set worthy of that mantle. In a short twenty minutes they managed to crush all expectations of them, and showed off why they need to tour the UK again asap.

Swedish group Aviana appeared onstage amidst an introductory voiceover, and rapidly gave an exquisite demonstration of how good a show a band playing so low down on a bill can put on. With most of the band wearing a hooded cloak-cum-veil, there was an air of mystery about them, and the smoke machines surrounding them gave us some stunning visuals of these enrobed figures wreathed in tendrils of smoke. Being treated to another short set, the Swedes made use of every second of it and ruled the stage with their four song setlist comprising ‘Rage’, ‘Anomaly’, ‘Oblivion’ and ‘Obsession’. Their alt-metal sound was a great fit on the lineup, and their unique look captivated the audience long after they’d left the Rescue Rooms stage.

Headlining the tour was Born Of Osiris, and they ripped Nottingham a new one with a barnstorming set chock-full of bangers new and old. ‘White Nile’ was a phenomenal first song of the set, and the in-part tour namesake ‘Angel or Alien’ went down a treat. The Chicago fivesome showcased their technically demanding, aggressive brand of metalcore flawlessly, and in the process got numerous metalheads headbanging, moshing, and of course throwing the odd pint. The end of their set was made up of a number of their best songs, as well as their latest single ‘A Mind Short Circuiting’ which sounded as good in person as it does on record. After that, they rounded the set off in style with a left-right-left combo of ‘Bow Down’ into ‘Brace Legs’ and finally ‘Machine’, which of course had the room bellowing along even though the show had begun four hours previously!

Whilst the whole evening had been a long one, the time had flown by with each set being a joy to watch. After each of the other bands set their stall, Born Of Osiris finished things with a flourish and capped the night off brilliantly, leaving to rapturous applause

Words: Jake Longhurst

Photos: J. Asha Sitarz (Photos taken in London)