Within Destruction
Special Guests: Space Of Variations, Bound In Fear & Earth Caller.
Venue: The Joiners, Southampton.
Date: 5th October 2022.
Review By: Ryan Payne
Hot off of releasing their 4th album “Lotus”, Within Destruction embark on a full EU/UK tour with a fully loaded line up consisting of Ukrainian techno-metalcore group Space Of Variations, UK downtempo giants Bound In Fear and Australian deathcore group Earth Caller with Misstiq.
Earth Caller
Opening the night and playing their first ever UK show was Earth Caller, accompanied by one of the most prolific alternative musicians on the internet, Misstiq, on keyboards and some backing vocals. After speaking to several of the gig goers on the night, I think it was safe to say that the majority of fans that came to see them were primarily for Misstiq, but were equally surprised by the show put on by the Australian deathcore act. The main vocalist incorporated singing and rapping, as well as delivering some crushing screams throughout the bands set. The crowd seemed very uninterested from the start, even with the enthusiastic frontman pushing for the crowd to interact with the music. Several songs in and the crowd are a bit more interested with signs of fans banging their heads and the nights first mosh pit. Earth Caller bought an incredible show and played flawlessly, winning over a lot of people by the end of the set and after talking to the band, definitely some of the friendliest musicians you’ll ever have the pleasure of meeting. 
(4 / 5)
Bound In Fear
Bound In Fear took up the stage next, bringing their signature blend of hardcore and deathcore with a vengeance. These boys are no strangers to The Joiners and are well known for their violent crowds. Unfortunately, this was not the case, as the crowd again did not seem as enthusiastic as expected. Vocalist Ben Mason spent a lot of time trying to push the crowd to move in a manner he is used to at his shows, but you could see from the visible irritation on the bands face that this was not what they’d expected. The band performed well, but they are clearly an act for a certain type of crowd and out of all the bands on the bill, they seemed to be the outcasts of the night. 
(3.5 / 5)
Space Of Variations
Space Of Variations were by far one of the most exciting bands of the evening. The 4-piece took the night to another level with their blend of techno infused metalcore, playing songs that were both infectious and heavy. The crowd really started to come alive from the first song they played, and the atmosphere became a lot more uplifting. The mix of the bands live set was very impressive, making them one of the cleanest bands I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching live. Space Of Variations are from the Ukraine and spent a small moment to share the appreciation to the crowd for the support of their band and their country. They even bought some unity to the crowd as they encouraged everyone to repeatedly chant “f**k Putin” which, again, is definitely a highlight of the night in its own right. I can’t fault that this was definitely the band of the night in my opinion and would recommend anyone to see these guys live. 
(5 / 5)
Within Destruction
We now come to the headliners of the night; Within Destruction. The 3-piece from Slovenia had a very distant atmosphere about them as they played through song after song, but not looking like they enjoyed being on the stage at all. The performance of each track was incredible, and the crowd definitely enjoyed what they were hearing, once they had finally warmed up to them, but you couldn’t help feel like the members were just going through the motions. Some crowd interaction happened, but not enough to be considered memorable, especially after the performance from the previous band. The bands set list consisted mainly of songs from the new album “Lotus” as well as tracks from the previous 3 albums that fans definitely enjoyed hearing. I feel that they need to work on their stage show and crowd interaction: they are incredible to hear live, but seeing them left me feeling uncomfortable unless you were in the pit, doing your own thing. 
(3 / 5)
