Employed to Serve, Cage Fight and Bind., The Waterfront Studio, Norwich 24.3.26

One of the best things about seeing a touring band play in a smaller city like Norwich is that you will often get to see a great local band that you may never have heard before. This not only helps the band get valuable exposure, it also bolsters the local music scene, gives young creatives like photographers and sound/lighting engineers grassroots experience and means even better value for the price of the ticket.

But you don’t need to do any serious research to know that less than 1% of bands make it to “major star” status, even with the support of a big label. For those that do, estimates suggest that it takes them 7-10 years of relentless touring, promotion, recording and releasing music (often DIY) to break through and even then there’s no guarantee of going on to have a lengthy career in the industry. More than 90% of artists do not earn a living from their music. What we do know is that, even for the most talented musicians and songwriters, it takes many many small steps and whole lot of belief, determination and no small amount of luck to climb that slope.

Taking that small step on this occasion is Norfolk-based four-piece, Bind. Calling their metalcore/hardcore crossover a “blend” of genres is a bit like saying that an earthquake in a thunderstorm results in a bit of noise. This band is loud, angry and determined that the audience should feel the emotions behind the lyrics. Frontman Jacob prowls the stage inciting the early doors crowd to pit-based rowdiness while the rest of the band deliver tightly proficient riffs and massive breakdowns. East Anglian Metalcore is apparently a thing – and these guys are leading the charge.

Cage Fight take a similar no holds barred approach to live performance. They open at 90 miles an hour with the fast and furious One Minute from their 2022 self-titled debut album and there’s really no let-up throughout their set. They’re a band who aren’t afraid to cover difficult subjects head on – whether it’s misogyny and male entitlement (Respect Ends), online abuse (Pig) or toxic individuals (IHYG), the message is uncompromising and delivered with urgent, pounding thrash/metallic hardcore riffs provided by guitarist James Monteith, Nick Plews on drums and Dave Runham on bass.

Lead singer Rachel Aspe is a commanding presence on stage – self-assured with a vocal range that could put some of the very best deathcore vocalists to shame. Higher pitch vocals rip and slash, while her deeper growls shake the building. Recent single, Un Bon Souvenir, also introduces an interesting (and welcome) clean vocal chorus. Their new album Exuvia, due for release on 1^st May, is eagerly awaited and should give them a springboard to reach a wider audience.

Last year’s release of Employed to Serve’s fifth album, Fallen Star, marked another stage in the band’s evolution. Like a number of their peers, ETS have gradually moved away from their early mathcore days and have experimented with different sounds on successive albums. Fallen Star incorporates a lot of the technicality of their first albums, but adds electronic elements and melodic, clean-vocal hooks which has resulted in a greater level of metalcore accessibility. Their music is now often described as “festival ready” which, for all but the purest of mathcore fans, can only be a good thing. And it has seen collaborations with some of metal’s biggest stars including Lorna Shore’s Will Ramos (Atonement).

It’s therefore not a huge surprise that a lot of tracks in their set are drawn from their more recent releases. But don’t mistake the hooks and clean vocals on tracks like Breaks Me Down for a softer approach. The band is more polished than they used to be, but their aggression and power is still there. Tracks such as Now thy Kingdom Come and Whose Side Are You On? have a darkly cinematic edge, while others deal with issues such as facing up to uncomfortable truths (Familiar Pain) and betrayal (Beneath It All).

Singer, Justine Jones, gives a hugely powerful vocal performance showing great versatility to cope both with the heavier, more visceral tracks like Force Fed and the semi-spoken elements of title track Fallen Star. Drummer Casey McHale and bassist Nathan Pryor demonstrate their technical prowess during the many time signature changes, while guitarists Sammy Unwin and David Porter provide a masterclass in mixing heavy riffs and melodic hooks.

The summer festival season now follows for the band, giving them the space to showcase Fallen Star in what is perhaps its natural and intended habitat. It should be spectacular.