Simon Rushworth
@ Newcastle o2 Academy, November 30 2009
On this evidence the Taste Of Chaos tour can run and run. A capacity crowd, passionate pits, brilliant bands and music to make you head melt. If you missed this you missed out.
And talking of missing out it was probably a mistake to arrive late but the acts which followed Mylene & The Sons Of Disaster were clearly worth the admission money alone.
Every Time I Die were not meant to eclipse co-headliners In Flames but it’s a fact: they did. There was so much energy from a so-called support that it was difficult to imagine what direction the rest of the night would take. And after a slight wrong turn during In Flames’s standard set – their die-hard fans would probably disagree – Killswitch got the gig back on track.
Taking the stage all kitted out in matching T-shirts and walking on to the Benny Hill theme tune, the US stars looked like a happy-go-lucky punk band – not feared and respected metal masters. Put their set on mute and you would have sworn Bowling For Soup or their ilk were playing a show. Of course the music and the mosh pits reminded everyone present that Killswitch play some terrifyingly brutal stuff.
Appearances really can be deceptive and even if In Flames lacked the urgency of the bands which bookended their set they were still way, way better than average. Throwing together so much talent breeds competition and spells great news for fans. When you’ve got the taste of chaos you just want more. And we do.