Brutality Will Prevail
Special Guests: Dead Swans & Last Witness
Venue: Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff.
Date: 24th September 2022.
Review By: Liam True
Dead Swans
A band I’m not familiar with in a small venue is always a good way to see the band perform with heart and passion, as they’ve got nothing to lose. Dead Swans is that kind of band. Performing as if it’s a life-or-death situation, and they’re close to the edge. They’ve poured their soul into the 10-song set. Well, the vocalist, bassist and drummer have. Both guitarists look like they’re not even bothered to be playing to a sold-out venue. Apart from that and a guitar technical hitch in the first song, the set is sublime. Energy, action and crowd participation are all shown. While one song is dedicated to ‘The Tories’ saying ‘Fuck them all’ and one song being dedicated to the singer’s girlfriend, it’s a blast through their hardcore set. Additional bonus fact, they played here 14 years ago with a small band called Bring Me The Horizon (Remember when they were good?) Playing to a packed room has warmed the crowd up and most importantly, made (Most) of them smile and content. 
(3.5 / 5)
Last Witness
Another band I’m not familiar with and another band that’s blown me away. The pure aggression they’ve displayed in their set is par none. The entire band look happy to be up there and bask in the energy of the flailing limbs of the crowd. The vocalist (Theo, I think) is happy to be here, as he’s wearing a balaclava. While bringing issues with his voice to us, you wouldn’t even tell because he sounds on point. The band are ruling the stage, but during the first few songs the crowd aren’t eating it up. Until their fourth song then a lone brave soul swings his body, erupting a hardcore out of fury. It’s madness in the 1st degree, and the moshing heads in unison agree that the band have blown us all away. 
(4 / 5)
Brutality Will Prevail
Now it all comes down to this. The headliners last ever hometown show. For the last 17 years they’ve toured constantly and released 6 albums and released EP’s and splits with many bands in the scene. While the band sound check’s you can see vocalist Louis Gauthier pacing the stage like a lion stalking his prey. ‘Fuck this horseshoe, move up’ he demands from everyone before his signature ‘Kill the lights’ as the venue goes completely black. A rendition of The Doors’ The End is played before the band launch into their spectacular hour and fifteen-minute set. From the moment the first note is played by the band, the crowd goes absolutely savage. Sometimes you can barely hear Louis himself as the crowd overpower him. Louis, guitarist Nick Rix and drummer Marc Richards all say a heartfelt thank you to everyone in the band, crew and their families, which is a lovely touch before the carnage resumes. They’re playing songs from every album tonight, all the way from their early EP days all the way to 2019’s Misery Sequence. The crowd surfers obey Louis as he demands they all jump off the stage, and they oblige by unleashing a sea of surfers and divers. An unexpected moment is when merch man Jay Smith runs on stage, snatches the mic from Louis and screams his heart out before getting surfed back to the merch desk. Unexpected and a great moment.
As they come toward the end of the set, the powerful Trapped Doors Moving Walls sends us home as they all look into the crowd with a look of fondness and accomplishment as they know they’ve played their last song and laid waste to Clwb Ifor Bach for the final time.
It’s sad to see such a great band call it a day, but there was no better way to go out than tonight. They’ll be missed dearly within the scene. But this night will never be forgotten for anyone in this room. 
(5 / 5)
