Arriving in Sheffield for the package tour badged as 'Hell On Earth', I was clear about one thing, this was going to be metalcore fans dream with band after band of that genre hitting the stage for what looked an impressive lineup on paper. Unfortunately bad traffic struck, and by the time we arrived at the venue, ALL SHALL PERISH were on stage and already half way through their set. The moshpit, if you can call it that, was in full force and loving their performance with windmilling and the emo hardcore dancing in full swing. Highlights of their set included closing duo of 'Eradication' and 'Wage Slaves'.

According to the bill, CATARACT should have been up next, but as I found out when THE RED CHORD came on instead, CATARACT had played earlier and therefore, I had missed them. Why they were near the top of flyers and on listings I have no idea, as this would have implied they were higher on the bill than they actually were…very misleading! Still, rant over, and on with the show as they say. Massachusetts based metalcore outfit THE RED CHORD put on an impressive display with frontman Guy Kozowyk jumping off the stage to interact with the crowd on a few occasions handing the microphone to members of the crowd to have their few seconds of fame as it were.

They ripped through their set with the pit really getting into action with a few circle pits thrown in for good cause. Playing a set with material that covered their albums to date, the highlights of the set included 'Dreaming In Dog Years' and the impressive 'Antman'. The set was an insight to anybody who had never heard THE RED CHORD before into their extremely heavy style and how they portray it on stage.

I have never seen or heard anything by WALLS OF JERICHO before tonight so basically it was like a blank canvas for me. All throughout their set, the energy they portrayed not only on stage but that was transmitted to the crowd was incredible. Front woman Candace Kucsulain was here there and everywhere on stage and also emerged into the photo pit to interact with the fans on several occasions. Kucsulain also has a voice any metalcore singer would be proud of, and she certainly used it too full effect tonight.

Their 45 minute set passed by extremely quickly, but in that space of time they rattled off near enough 14 or 15 songs. The new tracks from latest album 'The American Dream' that were played tonight went down extremely well with the crowd with 'Feeding Frenzy', 'The Prey' and 'The American Dream' all standing out. Other set highlights included 'A Trigger Full of Promises', 'Welcome Home', 'A Little Piece of Me' and set closer 'Revival Never Goes Out of Style'.

On tonights performance, I was extremely impressed with WALLS OF JERICHO. You can't argue with a band with such great stage presence, interactivity with the crowd and sheer 'We don't give a fuck!' attitude. If your into metalcore, then you should definately check out any of the bands on show from tonight. All delivered very good performances making Hell On Earth a good night out.

RATINGS:

WALLS OF JERICHO: 4.0/5.0

THE RED CHORD: 3.6/5.0

ALL SHALL PERISH: 3.3/5.0

Review By Adam Fredericks