LIVE: The Artery Foundation Tour 2011 @ Rescue Rooms [24/10/2011]

Miss May I w/ Chunk! No Captain Chunk, Abandon All Ships, Chelsea Grin

It’s another typical weeknight and we’re waiting outside Rescue Rooms; fans are strewn about the pavement, it has started to rain and we’re being heckled as idiots making the wrong choice by those waiting in the queue at sister venue Stealth. But, as Angelo Aita (lead vocalist with Abandon All Ships) remarked Monday night: “we don’t give a sh*t, we just came to party!”

Opening the stage are the ridiculously-named Parisian rockers Chunk! No Captain Chunk who are losing their UK virginity by visiting our lovely city – and for five skinny twenty-something’s they sure make a lot of noise. Firing up with the enthusiastic Captain Blood track from their 2010 album Something For Nothing, these boys get the crowd moving and it’s surprising how rammed the room is already. After finishing their sweet six-song set with sentimental (but growly) In Friends We Trust, lead vocalist Bertrand declares to the crowd: “This is our first time in Nottingham and we are having such a good time” – and so are we.

Next up are Canadian up-and-comers Abandon All Ships. They were spotted after a huge success on MySpace and it’s easy to see why – they play great, sound great and sing great. But, I can’t help but notice the Angelo’s bad attitude, which kind of ruined the performance for me. Constantly exclaiming about how bored you are and what a terrible time you’re having on stage isn’t a way to gain fans; neither is getting the name of the venue and city wrong. Regardless, their final song Take One Last Breath goes down well and a few small mosh pits have started down the front.

As Chelsea Grin step on to stage, the crowd literally explode into cheers and everyone chants their name. It seems like a lot of people love this band and their ‘Everlasting Sleep’ track from new album My Damnation hits the spot. Sweaty and eager, the sixsome finish with ‘My Ambition’ and have definitely added to their growing list of fans tonight.

Headliners Miss May I make a welcome return to Nottingham, after facing criticism for being “too metal” for their last tour – as support to Asking Alexandria. Their own brand of thrash metal really impresses the crowd as they play most of their year-old Monument album and a pit the size of the room soon forms. They played the impressive Swing for the first time in the UK by popular demand from fans on their website. And as a crowd surfer launches himself on stage and is wrestled off by security they finish with old favourite Forgive and Forget.

The Artery Foundation is an essential record label, which has paved the way for lots of underappreciated punk-rock, hard-core and metal acts. Their 2011 tour was great too, but I’m deducting points for bad attitude. Tut, tut.

7/10
Platform Rating

Sarah Mitchell – Platform

Tags: miss may i, rescue rooms, the artery foundation, tour