Defects
Special Guests: RXPTRS & Hidden Levels
Venue: Kaz Stockroom, Liverpool.
Date: 12th December 2022.
Review By: Joe McKenna
After rescheduling the last dates of their recent UK tour, metalcore newcomers Defects promised to return with a bang and deliver an exciting show with support from the electrifying RXPTRS. Playing at Cardiff, Liverpool, and Sheffield, Defects and RXPTRS certainly expressed their emotion in a heartfelt and heavy performance for these last dates that really hit hard and brought the energy. Although playing many sold out shows on their recent tour, I caught the band in Liverpool in what seemed to have more of an intimate feel, being in a smaller venue and the bitter cold keeping many people at home. Nonetheless, this didn’t stop these bands from showcasing their arena worthy performances to get the crowd moving.
Hidden Levels
First to hit the stage were local act Hidden Levels, bringing an exciting and noise inspired experience to their performance that saw them play with an element of fun and vitality fused together into their own take on nu metal and metalcore. A fitting band to start the night, it seemed, as they could certainly play to their own audience and get things into gear early on. Their set was enjoyable to say the least, although a highlight would definitely be their cover of Limp Bizkit’s Rollin’ which was an obvious fan favourite 
(3.5 / 5)
RXPTRS
Next up was RXPTRS, and they didn’t waste time bringing the crowd forward and getting people engaged with their set. A very hard-hitting and energetic performance then followed, with some melodic guitar hooks and intense drumming, whilst the band’s frontman established a lively and enthusiastic stage presence that increased the momentum. There were also moments in which the band got the crowd signing along and participating in a typical metalcore fashion, making for a very cathartic atmosphere, even amongst a relatively smaller crowd 
(4 / 5)
Defects
Last band of the night were headliners Defects, and they did everything to keep the high momentum going for the final hour of the show. Chunky, nasty riffs between the guitars and bass filled the room and created a jarring atmosphere, the drums were pretty on point as well with some aggressive and powerful tempos to keep the energy high. The bands frontman moved about the front of the stage and gave an emotionally executed vocal delivery that resonated with the audience in a typical heart-aching metalcore fashion. But things wouldn’t be complete without some sort of mosh pit to end the night, and despite not being many people involved there was a mini circle pit that began to take shape, showing people what Defects were all about (3.5 / 5)
This was an all-round fun gig to attend, and although this show in particular was predominantly low in attendance (which says more about the Liverpool rock and metal scene than it does about the bands), each of these three bands showed it was more about quality over quantity and delivered the same show they did for packed out crowds in London Bristol and their sold-out Birmingham show on the same tour.
