 The
Croft in Bristol is an ace little venue, walking
in to the public area to see it covered from floor
to ceiling with band posters with classical pin-up
women in an Andy Warhol style. This certainly
seemed like a perfect place to host a small city
gig.
The ‘gig room’ was almost full when
Romeo Must Die entered on stage, not too full
that it was uncomfortable to be in there or distort
your vision of the show. Adam Frake-Simes certainly
knew how to work the crowd, blasting straight
in to their thrash metal at 100mph. This was fresh,
upbeat and made your ears bleed. The energy on
stage was unbelievable, Adam and guitarist Ben
Frost did not stop moving around, riling up the
audience, demanding circle pits and getting everyone
involved. You could see the sweat dripping from
Adam’s face, the passion in his eyes was
something to be admired, and you could see he
was in his element on stage, this is what he was
born to do. They only had a short set which was
a real shame, they ran through a few hits from
their new album' Harships In Season', including
‘Time..The Great Vivisector’ and 'The
Fall of Man’. Not one beat was missed, the
sound was crisp and penetrating. I can’t
wait to see these guys headline a bigger show,
I think they’d appreciate having more room
to cause more chaos!
 The Defiled drew the crowd closer the second
they began playing. Stitch D stood with his masterpiece
that is his hair and make-up, The AVD raring to
go, Curse without his trademark mask; instead
some white masking take took his place with his
teeth blacked out, JC Brutal topless and ready
to dominate his kit and Vincent in his leather
hat; guitar poised at the ready. The audience
were gripped from the start, kicking off with
'In The Land Of Fools' then quickly dispersing
in to their biggest hit from the album, ‘Call
To Arms’. Everyone sang along and the sound
seemed heavier, every note was spotlessly on key.
JC’s double bass skills were something
to be admired; he is an incredibly talented drummer
and adds so much to The Defiled as a band. Stitch
D interacted with the crowd, inviting certain
people on stage and asking pits to be created.
For such a small and intimate venue this was really
a show worth being present at. The AVD molested
his keys and mixed with the crowd, posing for
photos during songs and shaking hands. This band
that cares about their fans, it was clear at all
times  that they were conscious of wanting to create
a good show. Vincent had many a hat-change, and
Curse concentrated furiously on his riffs. They
played tracks from old and new, admittedly the
crowd responded more to the new but this didn’t
seem to affect the gig as a whole. ‘The
Resurrectionists’ and ‘Black Plague’
stood out in particular; Stitch D’s vocal
abilities are striking and grasp your attention
at the first note.
Overall The Defiled put on a damn good show,
with a great support from Romeo Must Die. Go see
them both!
The Defiled – 5/5
Romeo Must Die – 5/5
Review By Karlie M
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