Kicking off their five-date headlining tour in Glasgow, Heriot accompanied by fellow hardcore friends Grove Street and False Reality, delivered fierce performances that would leave the Wednesday night gig-goers begging for more.
Featuring three of the most exciting new bloods in the hardcore and metal scene the busy crowd at G2 was treated to some brutal talent and the right to say, “I saw them before they blew up”, about each and every one of the bands on the bill. Heriot especially are gaining popularity with their fresh metal sound, and I would say openers False Reality will be following in their footsteps shortly with their own hardcore blend.
With an untameable energy and stage presence that makes everyone in the room want to pay attention, False Reality are easily one of my favourite newcomers I’ve seen in the hardcore scene for a while. Their sound is heavy on the hardcore but also draws inspiration from thrash and there were moments where I even got hints of 2000’s metal spilling through.
This performance from False Reality was one that felt as though it rattled the foundations of the building, the group from London are led by Rachel Rigby who absolutely owns that stage. This band’s fierce energy is contagious and even with Rigby stating that they were getting tired and were just off the back of another run of shows, I really felt like they still gave their all on that stage and more. While I’m not normally the biggest fan of the more thrash leaning hardcore genre, False Reality have such a likeability and talent to match that I would rush to see them again. A personal favourite track from the show must be ‘Pressure’ which I’ve now also been enjoying on Spotify at home. They’ve found a new fan here.
Taking to the stage next Grove Street come on and immediately begin to shake up the vibe in the room. As this was a weeknight gig it was clear to see that many people in the audience were maybe starting to get a little sleepy but between their punchy in-your-face sound and the frontman’s demands that people move down the front, the room began to wake up and a pit formed.
Grove Street feel a lot more nostalgic to 80’s or early 90’s thrash/hardcore than the fresher sounds of the two other bands on this bill. While probably not a band I would go out of my way to listen to, their live show had me completely invested. The five-piece’s inability to stand still for more than a second made them even more entertaining to watch and much like False Reality, for being fairly new as a band the way they sound and move together in a live setting makes them feel much more like a band that have been playing together for ten plus years. Every single song came complete with pounding yet bouncy riffs that at the very least will have you banging your head.
Finally exploding onto the stage Heriot made their presence known. This is a band I have had the pleasure to see live more than a few times now and I swear they get better and tighter each and every time They are challenging the boundaries of what metal music is, giving anyone that sees them a show that doesn’t need any frills or extras just a group on stage that believe in the music they are putting out into the world. . Opening their intense and energetic set, the sounds of ‘Sentenced to the Blade’ rung out, as it made its live debut. Throughout the show this metal bands unique sound can take you from listening to something downright demonic to more angelic like sounds that wouldn’t be lost on a Billie Eilish album. This is largely down to vocalist Debbie Gough who’s two separate mics on stage let her completely take on each personality.
Playing a shorter set than a headliner normally would, or at least it felt shorter, Heriot played tracks from across their discography like early single ‘Dispirit’, popular ones like ‘Siege Lord’, or the stunning ‘Opaline’ which truly is otherworldly to experience. Then they rounded up the set with the absolutely explosive (and my personal favourite) ‘At the Fortress Gate’, I literally cannot get enough of this song live, the energy it bleeds is unmatched.
Overall, my night at G2 was packed with what I do consider to be three of the next big names in the hardcore and metal scene. Heriot are already proving they’re ability to rise through the ranks and the show at G2 not only showed how they’re live sound has grown even more powerful but also the confidence they seem to have gained in their craft is apparent, which leads to an all round mighty and passionate performance.