Unprocessed Bring their Tech-Heavy set to London

Gone are Unprocessed’s soft and melodic days from the days of “Gold (2022)”. Back then, they relied heavily on R&B elements mixed with a softer pop soundscape approach. The German tech-metal band has since returned to their heavy roots, still using their guitar prowess and genre fluidity, but this time it comes from their love for heavy metal, no longer trying to cater to a wider audience.

Unprocessed brought the Angel tour to the Electric Ballroom, playing their biggest headliner in the capital in their career, and the second time this year we see them command a stage after being the main support for Jinjer earlier in the year.

Texan trio Daedric (who got their name from The Elder Scrolls) open up the evening with their blend of synth heavy riffs, clean and astonishingly powerful growls from vocalist Kyrstin Hope, who is accompanied on stage by a masked guitarist and drummer. The formula might feel a little overdone but they bring something refreshing to it by adding a clean blend of heavy riffs mixed with electronic components and the incredible vocal duality coming from Hope

Up next, Michigan’s metalcore giants Of Virtue are ready to celebrate a very special night in London as the show falls right on the release day for their highly anticipated record “Death of The Altar”. I caught up with vocalist and guitarist Damon Austin Tate before the show and had a quick chat about how the album came to be and how easy it seemed to take shape after they started focusing on it. Will be covering the release in more detail in an upcoming review.

For the London show, the group had the crowd in the palm of their hands from the get go. Between Tyler Ennis’ rough vocals and Tate’s softer more melodic tones, the quartet took to stage with a setlist loaded full of new and old material, with mosh pits running wild from start to finish. Opening on title track “Death of The Altar” and all throughout the insightful “What’s it Like To Be Happy” the band proved themselves that they deserve the big rooms. Hoping to see them on a headliner run shortly!

When it’s time to the big event, Unprocessed take to stage surrounded by an impressive lighting display and go straight into riff heavy “111”. Vocalist and guitarist extraordinaire Manuel Gardner-Fernandes, who originally rose to fame through Instagram and Youtube where he used to showcase his complex, highly percussive play style which blends guitar slaps, deadnotes and is heavily influenced by not just metal but funk, R&B and jazz, leads the group into what it will come to be an astonishingly technical and heavy headline set.

Right before jumping into “Sleeping with Ghosts” he bellows a scream to the crowd asking them “Who’s ready for a night of heavy metal?” and the response is deaffening. Moshpits and crowd surfers galore pair with the electric light displays as the musicians on stage go through a smooth give and take with the audience. Later on in the set, Fernandes reminisces about how a short 8 years ago they played in London for maybe four people, and how crazy it is to now headline one of Camden’s most iconic venues.

A great surprise comes with the addition of Metallica’s “Creeping Death” which shows exactly how good Unprocessed are at doing the heavy stuff, keeping it true to it’s original roots but adding some of their own technical and proggy complexity to the track.

They end with a vicious encore comprised of “Deadrose” and “Terrestrial” solidifying once again the fact that they are no longer chasing pop, softness nor wanting to cater to the masses. It’s a distinct and heavy sound, with a take it or leave it approach from the band who look like they are having the time of their life on stage.