Australia is not behind when it comes to outstanding bands, and Battlesnake is living proof. Touring around Europe and the UK in support of its latest album Dawn Of The Exultants And The Hunt For The Shepherd, the 7-piece metal band’s popularity has been rapidly increasing day by day, and rightfully so, as its music is striking, silly and full of insanely good riffs.
On the 6th of August, Battlesnake played its biggest headline show in London to date at the iconic The Underworld, supported by the fierce Mother Vulture and Dead Air.
Mother Vulture
The first band of the night was the energetic Mother Vulture. Bringing its blues-punk from Bristol to London for the first time, and powered by the members Brodie Maguire (guitar), Chris Simpson (bass), Matt West (drums) and Georgi Valentine (vocals), the four-piece band has been primarily playing down the South-West but has also performed at the infamous Bloodstock. At their debut set in the capital city, the band had not fallen behind on riffs and made the venue go feral from the start. Although the crowd was still just building up, the set struck anyone lucky enough to witness it, and the band surely gained a lot more recognition and fans that night. Valentine has mentioned multiple times throughout the night that a second full-length album is coming out next year in January, and this fact only pushed the crowd to enjoy the performance even more. Although the set was not that long, it already made the fans long for more.
Dead Air
Next in the line were the South London-based Dead Air, who were not left behind with their set. Visibly loved by the crowd, the band was welcomed with open arms, as the audience sang their songs they already knew. The members Lyle Salvatore (guitar), Rich Greenbury (drums) and Reuben Moonasar (bass and vocals) made the floor shake for the whole time while showing off their energising repertoire, which was a blend of rock with multiple various genres, the band likes to describe as ‘Rock & Rock’. Bringing to the table striking riffs, aggressive drums and echoing vocals, as well as groovy and anthemic melody, the set was a memorable one, not only for the audience, but for the band as well, and brought the three-piece band a handful of new fans.
Battlesnake
After two hours of unforgettable support, it was finally time for Battlesnake to show London their full power, and it was not hard to convince the audience to move and sing, as the applause after the lights went off was enormous. Although the set started with Sam Frank’s live spoken ‘Dawn of the Exultants’, the fans still went berserk, and when ‘I Am The Vomit’ started, the floor transformed into a battlefield. Giving the fans songs from their latest album such as ‘The Fathers Of Iron Flesh’, Beelzebug II’, ‘Aurous Automatic’, ‘Moto Exordium’, ‘Murder Machine’, ‘Sanctum Robotos’, and ‘Shepherd Hunter’, as well as older songs such as ‘Motorsteeple’, ‘Nazarene Extreme’, ‘The Rotten Priest’, ‘Pangea Breaker’, ‘The Battlesnake’, ‘The Key Of Solomon’ and ‘Nightmare King’, Battlesnake ensured an unforgettable atmosphere and a perfect show off of Ben Frank (guitar), Daniel Willington (guitar), Elliot Hichcock (bass) and Nick Zammit’s (drums) skills, as well as Sam Frank’s unmistakable vocals. The set was finished off with a good old stage dive from all the band members, sealing off the unforgettable evening with great memories and hopefully not too aggressive mosh pits, that were occurring the whole time.
Battlesnake is an incredible band that has been proving to the metal scene that their live sets are even more impressive than their studio recordings, and the concert at The Underworld has exceeded all the expectations the band has set with their two Download Festival sets earlier this summer. Both of the chosen support bands, Mother Vulture and Dead Air, were an excellent choice, as they fit with the band’s style and both managed to make the venue move and surely gained more fans that evening. With Battlesnake’s upcoming set at the ArcTanGent, the concert felt more intimate, and surely was a perfect choice for the band to perform for their fans in the capital city.