LIVE FROM THE PIT: Infected Rain, Butcher Babies and Black Spikes

BUTCHER BABIES and INFECTED RAIN combined forces to bring one of the most raw co-headline tours of this year. Supported on the run by BLACK SPIKES, the night at the O2 Academy Islington could not be any better.

Opening the night were the Lithuanian ethereal beings BLACK SPIKES. Their presence, coupled with very distinctive costumes. captivated the crowd almost immediately, but the real surprise was the vocalist’s use of her voice. From emotional screams, to rap, to Lithuanian traditional singing, all the different styles just felt right in the moment, especially since only one song of their set was sung in English. If that was not enough, BLACK SPIKES also brought a dancer along with them for a couple of songs, elevating their stage presence to a new high. The band experienced some technical issues right after their second song, but that did not keep them from engaging with the crowd, who had some Lithuanians amongst them. They are absolutely a band to keep an eye out on as their sound is unique, raw and captures the melancholy of their nation’s history.

Up next were the first headliners of the night, the highly anticipated BUTCHER BABIES. Coming on the tour all the way from the US, the quartet, currently formed by Heidi Shepherd (vocals), Henry Flury (guitars), Ricky Bonazza (bass) and Dave Nickles (drums) was welcomed in London instantly, as the fans were more than familiar with their work. Right off the bat, the band also received a meaty moshpit right in the middle of the floor that did not stop until the last song Magnolia Blvd. was done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdWhaJ_qKUc

Not only the fans interacted with the band, but the frontwoman Heidi talked to them every chance she had, and at one point during the third song Monsters Ball even went down to the barricade to sing with the crowd. As a little treat, BUTCHER BABIES played the then unreleased song Black Dove, which was accepted by the fans with even bigger cheers than anything before. As the end approached, the fans were not ready to let the band go yet, and showed them that they are always welcomed back in the capital.

The second headliner INFECTED RAIN took the reins not long after the first set finished, but with a slightly rebuilt stage. Boasting a set of screens on each side, it was only a matter of minutes before the lights went down for the last time of the night. And once they did and the screens turned on, the floor turned into a mine field full of moshers waiting to get into action. Eugen Voluta (drums), Alice Lane (bass) and Vadim “Vidick” Ojog started making their way onto the stage, and by the time the vocalist Elena “Lena Scissorhands” Cataraga finally showed up, the whole venue was cheering and joining her to co-sing Mutation Phase.

Interacting with the crowd on every occasion and continuing with their songs such as DYING LIGHT, Orphan Soul and Black Gold, as well as their latest single Stranger, Lena suddenly invited Heidi Shepherd to join her for the uncompromising duet, which made the floor move even more than before. Combining INFECTED RAIN’s melodic riffs with twice as brutal vocals, it is no coincidence the song was so popular with the fans. Swinging through the likes of Ut Supra and NEVER TO RETURN, it was only a matter of time before the Moldovan quartet closed off the night with the hit Judgemental Trap, leaving a trail of nostalgia and excitement behind, as the fans just witnessed three spectacular sets, that will be hard to forget for a while.

Words: Katerina Stepanikova

Photos: Adam North