Fearless Vampire Killers (w/ Zoax, Myth City) @ Rock City Basement (Nottingham, UK) on May 18th, 2015 [Show Review]

Tonight see’s Fearless Vampire Killers return to headline Rock City Basement. The black eyeliner is out in full force…along with the black hoodies and black hair. They bring with them two bands who are as different to each other as they are to the headliners, hopefully making for an exciting and eye opening evening for the fans.

The first band on tonight are Myth City, hailing from Birmingham they mix metal with rapping and screaming vocals effortlessly, having a late 90’s early 00’s vibe with a modern and unique twist. They play a selection of new songs, although any song is probably new to most of those in attendance. Vocalist Maz gets the audience waving their hands in the air (like they just don’t care) sufficiently warming them up for the headliners they are all waiting for. Along with new songs they play a selection off their self-titled EP including most recent music video ‘The Vendetta’.

Zoax make an instant impression on the young audience with vocalist Adam Carroll’s personality shining through the second they hit the stage as he has the whole room eating out of the palm of his hand and laughing (although sometimes slightly nervously). They open with ‘Lonely Souls’, while Carroll proceeds to ‘borrow’ various pieces of clothing and bags from those in the front rows. The crowd lap it up, doing everything they are told, including jumping and clicking in ‘Click’ to the slightly manic threat of “If you don’t I’ll find you and kill ya!”

If the audience aren’t won over by the music (but who wouldn’t be?!) they are definitely won over by the stage presence oozing from the Irish frontman. Carroll joins the middle of the crowd for ‘Zero Point Seven’ but later slows down the pace with an acoustic guitar. They finish on ‘Jekyll Meets Hyde’, after winning over practically the whole room. Zoax are a band that everyone will be buzzing about for days to come, and are an act that definitely need to be seen live to be fully appreciated.

Before Fearless Vampire Killers even walk through the door near the stage the whole room are screaming at the mere sight of them through the glass. Chants of “FVK. FVK” fill the room as the band kick into opener ‘Neon In The Dancehalls’. For the next hour there’s a constant wave of arms in the air, pumping to the music while simultaneously trying to reach out and touch their idols (which, in such an intimate setting, is an achievable goal) A few songs in the band let the audience choose between two songs, the winner being ‘Fetish For The Finite’, which receives an almighty cheer.

Drummer Luke Illingworth shows off his keyboard playing skills for the ballad ‘Brave The Night’, while vocalist Kier Kemp gets everyone in the room to put their phone lights in the air. The penultimate song is ‘City Falls To Dust’ which the audience use to their advantage, chanting the hook ‘I can’t be waiting, no don’t keep me waiting’ for an encore. The band oblige and finish the set on ‘At War With Thirst’

Tonight’s set is all about the fans who have been waiting a long while to see Fearless Vampire Killers after the original dates had to be rescheduled. While I’m sure they all left full of excitement and high off the energy of seeing a band they love as an onlooker I wasn’t blown away by the performance with the night belonging to Zoax.