STRAY FROM THE PATH - BRISTOL, UK.
Stray From The Path at the SWX, Bristol, UK (06/11/2023).
with support from Make Them Suffer and Void of Vision!
Images by: Megan Jenkins.
STRAY FROM THE PATH
MAKE THEM SUFFER
VOID OF VISION
When is the best day for a hardcore gig? Any day of the week in our books. Today's offering of circle pits and crowd killing comes from US heavyweights Stray From The Path, on their UK tour. We catch them at SWX in Bristol and an early opening of doors and a full-time job means that we make our way inside the venue at the halfway point of Knosis’ short but sweet set.
The brainchild of Ryo Kinoshita, KNOSIS is fairly new but has amassed a decent crowd so early in the evening. What would be a difficult task for most other bands seems effortless as they pump out various original tunes and some covers of Nine Inch Nails and Machine Head tracks in a bid to win over audiences as the opener. They don’t need the help because the brutal pairing of a gunshot snare drum and harsh guttural vocals have done all the work for them.
Next up on this global tour of metalcore and hardcore is Melbourne’s Void of Vision. Their set gets off to an explosive start with- ‘Angels’ by Robbie Williams? It may not be the wildest of walk-on tracks, but it gives the audience a chance to warm-up their vocal cords ready for a set that is full of melodic prowess. Singer Jack Bergin switches flawlessly between clean and harsh vocals, backed up effortlessly by guitarist James McKendrick. The band are clearly enjoying themselves on this tour, taking the time to interact with the audience who happily obliges with their requests to sing along and chat with tracks like ‘Hell Hell Hell’ and ‘Angel of Darkness’.
Main support for the evening is Perth’s Make Them Suffer. The group are insanely tight, not missing a single beat for the entirety of their performance. Frontman Sean Harmanis performs with a ferocity that is unmatched, with even the security guards looking unsure of him as he looms over them, growling and screaming. By this point, the audience has well and truly warmed up and the room is a frenzy of flying limbs and bodies coming over the barrier. Their sound is a perfect mix between hardcore and djent-y metalcore – a match made in heaven for this audience that is eating out of the palm of their hands by the end of their set.
By the time the main attraction can make their way to the stage, the venue is riled up beyond belief. The opening notes of ‘Guillotine’ barely have a chance to ring out before the audience becomes a blur of aggressive crowdkilling, throwing limbs and themselves around in the middle of the room. Frontman Andrew “Drew York” Dijorio has an infectious energy, feeding off the crowd and offering a slew of high kicks that would challenge any gymnast. The rest of the band matches his energy, with guitarist Tom Williams and bassist Anthony Altamura egging the crowd on throughout, daring them to push themselves further. Craig Reynolds sits at the back of the stage between his drum kit and a guillotine like a king, observing his kingdom of loyal subjects before him. Dijorio spends the time between groovy riffs and harsh vocals stalking across the stage with ferocity, almost as if he’s preying on the audience.
There is no denying that Stray From The Path will always play a solid set, turning up at venues night after night and playing all the crowd-pleasers. Tracks like ‘Fortune Teller’ and ‘III’ illicit a primal response from the audience, forming a wall of crowd killers that don’t dare back down from the challenge presented by the band. The same goes when they ask for crowd surfers – the room becomes a sea of flying bodies almost falling over the barrier toward the stage and Dijorio’s outstretched hands. As their set nears its end, the room can’t help but regress further into chaos. The venue itself doubles as a nightclub, but tonight is far-removed from their usual evenings of rather tame house music and club nights. The place is pure chaos for a full hour and a half, the crowd making sure to scream the opening to ‘First World Problem Child’ in closing, to really show their appreciation for one of the greatest hardcore bands to grace the stage at SWX.
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