The Defiled - UK Metal band defiled my ears!

***

The Defiled need to step back a bit into the past!

The Defiled *** Had the crowd ‘Running in Circles’, and dancing hard, but I found their performance a little bit disjointed. This band has been growing in statue over the last ten year and they have even been lauded as the “Saviours of UK Metal”. It was good to have a little bit of Brit in an otherwise American lineup of bands supporting the Coal Chamber UK tour. Their music compliments SOiL and Coal Chamber well so it was not surprising for them to have been included in the line up. They have grown their support up by being clever about who they play with, and often tour in the States.

They started strong by building the anticipation with an extended intro from the beginning of 'Sleeper', and their entrance on to the stage was polished. Overall I found the performance of the band a little lacking... they shouldn’t have been higher then Dope on the bill... who were far more exciting and an altogether a bigger draw. They played every song in the same way and on the same level, which I found a bit boring. Their set also didn’t include 'Five minutes', which is one of their most played songs online. This track is slower and it would have added a bit of variation and substance to their set. 'Call to Arms' and 'Black Death' were also missing, which I am sure was a disappointment to fans of the band. 

Their best live songs were 'Running in Circles' a very new track which they did at Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters / Nirvana) studio, which had a very fast Grunge Rock vibe to it and 'Unspoken' a song that meant they ended their set on a high. I was really impressed with the newer members of The Defiled lineup. Vincent Hyde’s performance on the bass was masterful, he really had a great look and he played the songs with high energy... good movement and rocked hard the whole way through. This guy is one cool dude!!!. Needles was equally amazing on the drums. He oozes animal magnetism, and has perfect timing and coordination while managing to look loose and wild. 

After he threw in a few neat little juggling tricks, I was beginning to think of him as a beautiful beast. It can’t be right that the drummer and bass player stole the show and had me watching them for most of it. Needless to see I was a bit disappointed with Stitch D (Lead Vocals and Guitar) and The AvD (Keyboards and Backing Vocals) and the absense of Aeron Cure was a big disappointment. These two should have been shining as the front men of the band, but I felt like they were posing as musicians. AvD was swinging his keyboard around too wildly...  he seemed to drop it accidently at one point, but the music continued all the same.

This was really confusing to me, how could that be happening at a live show.  A little voice in my head quipped, “I came to hear musicians play not an inapt dance act”. I would be the first to say that it is not all about the sound.  A little stagecraft and dramatic flair can make all the difference. While Stitch D and The AvD were in synch with each other, and moved together in a head bobbing motions, they seemed to be playing a different show to Needles and Vincent. I hate to say it but I felt like they were two different bands, roughly stitched together like some mutant Emo / Metal rag doll.

Sometimes something that is wrong can look right, but this was not one of them. I could see Needles and Vincent outgrowing The Defiled and playing music with a bit more Glam and panache. When AvD smashed his keyboard at the end of the show I was happy it would never be played again, and glad some kid got the chance to try and fix it at home... don't think that will happen it was really broken... maybe that is why the on light seemed to be off for some of the performance.

Review by Devorah Lentii and Photo's by Dan Devour.

Check Out! the Video for 'Unspoken' Below...