Röck Döts

The Word Alive with The Color Morale, Like Moths To Flames, Polar and Breathe Atlantis

Location: Kulttempel, Oberhausen
Date: 11/01/2014

THE WORD ALIVE are among the hottest band of the current metalcore scene. Their new record "Real." was quite successful and now the group does a small run across Europe, which consists of a string of UK shows, one in the Netherlands and two German dates as well. The Kulttempel in Oberhausen is filled with almost 300 kids that long for this great line-up of fresh and interesting metalcore-acts like THE COLOR MORALE and LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES.

But the first band of the billing is BREATHE ATLANTIS, who are the local support for this date. The German metalcore band's sound is among stolen breakdowns, deathcore parts, techno elements and even some DANCE GAVIN DANCE-like guitar shredding. There is absolutely nothing unique about their music. Even the performance combines the scene's most embarrassing stage moves. I don't know why some kids in front of the stage are enjoying this show.
UK's POLAR are far better. The melodic hardcore follows the path of bands like HUNDREDTH or COUNTERPARTS. The British five-piece hasn't played that much in Germany, but some people seem to be familiar with the music. There are even some fans, that try to get a hold of the microphone to sing a line or two. Especially the fast songs can impress the audience. I am surprised that a little mosh pit emerges in the middle of POLAR's set. I guess these kids would mosh to anything.
And they won't stop moving around during the set of LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES. The metalcore outfit kicks in with 'The Worst In Me', taken from the band's 2011 debut "When We Don't Exist". The raw and nu metal fuelled sound has more edges when it comes to playing live, which suits the material very well. The group's performance is solid as well. Singer Chris Roetter is the man of the show. He knows how to deal with the crowd and how to make them move. The set contains all the hits from the band's two records, "When We Don't Exist" and "An Eye For An Eye".
You have to like Garret Rapp's voice. The singer of THE COLOR MORALE really presses the notes of his clean vocals. The fans really dig it - at least they dig the band. There is a huge moshpit during the band's entire set. The tracks taken from the recent record "Hold On Pain Ends" are the ones that get the most response from the crowd. Tunes such as 'Suicide Stigma' or 'Scar Issue' seem to mean a lot to the fans in the front rows. But I don't like the band. The musicians are good and know how to handle their instruments, but I can't connect to the songs. Hands down: it could have been worse.
Up next are headliners THE WORD ALIVE. 'Broken Circuit' opens set. From the very first seconds the fans are off their feet. There is moshing, jumping, singing. The kids go crazy as THE WORD ALIVE play hit after hit. The group is in a great mood and shape as you can see. They know how to play old and new songs, and they know how to present them. Singer Tyler "Telle" Smiths is the man of the evening. He plays with the audience and can get always a little more reaction from the kids. The setlist is a good mix of the THE WORD ALIVE's three records "Deceiver", "Life Cycles" and "Real.", their most recent one, released this spring. New tunes such as 'Play The Victim', 'Never Forget' (which is dedicated to the late SUICIDE SILENCE vocalist Mitch Lucker) or the anthem 'Lighthouse' are going to end up as new live favourites in the years to come.
'Life Cycles' end the regular set, but the band soon returns for the encore. The first song they play is '94 Hours', a cover of AS I LAY DYING. It is unusual for THE WORD ALIVE to play a cover song and it is the first time they brought this song on this European tour. '2012' is the final song of the show and everyone is going crazy one final time - band and audience as well.