0
With there only being a few UK shows from Deftones this year, including a Glastonbury set, it was a real coup for the first of them to be held at The Piece Hall in Halifax. Following in the footsteps of Limp Bizkit and Korn who have both played there, the Sacramento metallers inspired the strong local metal community to come out in force on a rainy Tuesday night for what was a truly epic show.
Openers High Vis played a ferocious set of hardcore punk with indie influences and tons of energy and passion. There’s no doubt they made a host of new fans with their set. Frontman Graham Sayle has a similar presence to Frank Carter and the same boundless energy – leaping about constantly for the duration of their show.
Live they sound rawer and rougher than on record and their blend of punk and indie sounded magical. The crowd loved them, and they are definitely ones to check out further in the future.
The moment Deftones took the stage, the heavens opened. It rained heavily for the majority of their set but that mattered not a bit to the audience, many in just t-shirts and plenty without them, dancing and crowd-surfing with abandon – in fact the rain played its part in making the show so special. The sight of crowd-surfers being passed around in the historic courtyard of The Piece Hall will never get old.
The opening salvo of ‘Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)’ and ‘My Own Summer (Shove It) felt like a real statement of intent, with the band firing on all cylinders and Chino bouncing around the stage looking svelte and full of energy Deftones were back!
Building toward a crescendo with every song they played, they seemed to ramp up the intensity at every turn, playing everything you’d hope for as a fan. Sextape followed the rifftastic Rocket Skates with a powerful ‘Around the Fur’ seeing Chino’s Jekyll and Hyde vocal style switching between beautiful melodic vocals and cathartic screaming at its best.
The stage glowing intensely like a star about to turn super nova, and Chino silhouetted for Change (In the House of Flies) was as glorious a sight as that of the crowd, arms aloft loving every single moment – the ‘best crowd in Europe’ according to Chino himself.
The encore was a perfect trio of songs to close what was a truly epic show – Minerva, Bored and a seriously danceable 7 Words – left the audience to go home and dry off while contemplating who will provide them with their slice of metal next year. We’ve got everything crossed for a Faith No More reunion or maybe something along the Lamb of God, Machine Head lines.
Band photos: Frank Ralph
Venue photos: Cuffe & Taylor/The Piece Hall
