Russell HughesWhile She Sleeps @ Newcastle Riverside 8 May 2017
Loud, raucous, rowdy. Metalcore was back on Tyneside after Bury Tomorrow warmed up the Geordies weeks earlier but While She Sleeps were more than a match for their genre buddies.
The Sheffield natives have just released their impeccable 10/10 RUSHONROCK rated album You Are We and this tour was a celebration of all the good work they have accomplished with the record.
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After going through their fair share of record labels since their inception in 2006, the band have taken the independent route and released their third album via a massive crowdfunding effort on PledgeMusic and the level of support obviously means the world to the group.
But not as much as the level of support from the crowd, who gave it 100% from the first notes of You Are We to the encore of Hurricane. Bands like While She Sleeps must be a bouncer’s nightmare and the crowd surfing from the crowd was only matched by the efforts from vocalist Lawrence Taylor, who made the most of a willing audience as he dive bombed into the crowd from the top of the speakers and threw himself at their mercy during the final song of the night.
This wasn’t just a night to promote new material though, and This Is The Six from their debut album was one of the highlights of the night while Brainwashed and Our Legacy also managed to bring the roof down.
While not being the most conversational on stage, Taylor and the rest of his band prefer to let the music do the talking – and sometimes it’s better to just get on with it instead of embarking on a slightly cringe monologue about inclusiveness, love and good vibes.
You certainly won’t find anyone complaining about While She Sleeps’ on stage patter, while the bottles of water handed out into the crowd was a nice touch. The band are on an upward curve right now and nights like that one just serve to remind everyone of that.
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