Born of Osiris, Attila, Aviana & Crown Magnetar – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham – 27/03/2024
First on tonight’s jam packed bill, Crown Magnetar kick off a brutal, filthy set, instantly capturing the audience. After the first song comes to a close, I hear a girl on the front row astonish ‘these guys are fucking amazing’, and by the way the whole room is jumping, horns raised and heads nodding, she’s not the only one who thinks that. Crown Magnetar rage their way through a solid set, it’s almost comical when frontman Dan Tucker introduces a song by saying ‘this next one is a heavy one’. As far as an opening band goes, Crown Magnetar have riled the room up perfectly.
Next up, the slightly more melodic Aviana take to the stage. With all members bar vocalist Joel Holmqvist in creepy masks, the stage presence is other worldly – which is only increased by the sheer amount of smoke pumped in from every side. They may be more melodic than their predecessor, but that doesn’t stop the pits from forming. During one song Holmqvist orders the audience to get down then jump up on the drop, on another both anonymous guitarists silently lead them to a wall of death, and the crowd is eating it up. The aptly titled ‘Anomaly’ stands out as a brilliant way for Holmqvist to show off all of his talent in the clean vocals department, while the last song of the set ‘Obsession’ is a masterclass in showing what Aviana is made of.
Main support tonight comes from self confessed ‘villains of metalcore’ Attila, who get a reaction worthy of a headliner. It’s clear that a whole heap of those in attendance tonight are here for Attila, with the words to newer songs like ‘Bite Your Tongue’ being screamed back at the band just as loud as old favourites like ‘Party With the Devil’. Attila have never taken themselves too seriously, and everyone in the room is in on the joke. When frontman Fronz starts the heartfelt message ‘if you pick up a shirt tonight it goes to a good cause…’ no one bats an eye when that good cause is ‘drugs and alcohol’. Recently released ‘Timebomb’ gets a great reaction, but of course, nothing like set closer, the absolutely massive ‘About That Life’.
Last but not least, that leads us to headliners Born of Osiris, who waste no time, kicking straight into ‘White Nile’. Keeping talk to a minimum, Born of Osiris are here to pummel the room with banger after banger, not giving the audience a second of downtime. The ‘angels’ to Attila’s ‘villain’ arc, they focus a lot of set time on 2021’s ‘Angel or Alien’ album, while also treating og fans with a plethora of material from 2007’s ‘The New Reign’. Title track ‘Angel or Alien’ whips up a storm, guitarist Lee McKinney showing off his skills, while vocalist Ronnie Canizaro is a powerhouse centre stage. What Born of Osiris lack in conversation, they make up with in pure talent, which is present throughout. They finish off the night with chugerific ‘Machine’.
Words and Photos by Carrie-Anne Pollard
