Wokings Employed to Serve played to an already packed Academy.
Post-pandemic, and for a show rescheduled due to the C-word, it’s been fantastic to see support bands having the crowds to play to. In this case, you couldn’t help but wonder if the fans hadn’t been camped since 2020, as the walls already begin to sweat.
Whatever the reason; the thrill of the tour finally breaching our shores, a stellar lineup, or just a nice mid-week break from the 9-5, the room was heaving, and ETS’s Justine Jones had the crowd firmly where they wanted them.
Alien Weaponry open with Henry de Jong riling the crowd with a haka from behind the kit, as the throng rev to begin an early circle pit.
The young trio are aging well (term used lightly – annoyingly barely a wrinkle between them!), and continue to bass-slap the naysayers of a new wave of groove thrash metal into submission. Joined by brother Lewis, and relatively new on the touring scheme of things, bass player Tūranga Morgan-Edmondson, all lads are on stage, and it’s time to kick things off with Raupatu.
Having seen them at the old Wacken Wasteland, and Bloodstock a few moons back, this is the first time seeing the band indoors. I won’t lie, a little negative anticipation had crept in as I wondered how the down-to-earth New Zealanders would perform, indoors, in a sold out 2500 capacity. The answer seemed to be “if we don’t fit, we’ll blow the chuffin’ roof off!”
One of my firm favourites, Hatupatu, pounds the stage as echoes of te reo Maori bounce back from the captivated pit.
Hard-hitter, and some may say band-maker, Rū Ana Te Whenua kept the wheel of the mosh pit turning, whilst Ahi Kā demonstrated that AW continue to collectively grow and tighten their technique.
And so it’s time…
French stalwarts Gojira enter, and the roar of the crowd can be felt underfoot, with Born For One Thing leading the proceedings.
Fan favourite, and another pit riler of the night, The Heaviest Matter of the Universe jumps in, and the balconies begin to sway. The energy from the band remains on top form on the third UK night, and now well beyond the midway point of the whole tour.
Flying Whales hits hard somewhere around a third of the way through, leaving no opportunity to grab another sneaky pint. What’s the need, though, when there’s wave after wave of intoxicating beats, and the pummeling guitar of the brothers Duplantier, alongside Christian Andreu (lead guitar), and Jean-Michel Labadie (bass)—has been
Another third in, and Another World followed by the iconic L’Enfant Sauvage engulfs the Academy from the rats* to the rafters with its potent riff-on-riff build ringing through. The thematically throbbing momentum is only cut, in part, by Joe Duplantier’s full lung capacity conclusion, before the roar of the crowd fills the air once again.
New track Our Time Is Now continues to please the crowd, as the pit begins to feel the title, and it’s a now-or-never chance to get dancing before the night closes.
Not to fear though, two tracks for the encore concludes the night with The Way Of All Flesh, which apparently hasn’t been played live since 2008 (amazing considering Gojira are never off the road), and lastly, Amazonia.
As per usual, our encore is to find Mr Slow Dragon. Last seen two songs back, we found him chatting up Lewis AW and got to meet the man himself! Top finish to an amazing evening!
*Of course the rats were outside, having come from the underground next door, lured by the smell of brie on a nearby tour bus. Slow Dragon Music is not suggesting any of Scotland’s well maintained music venues have any vermin beyond the usual ticket tout.
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