Live Review : Graphic Nature + Cut Short + Paradigm @ The Live Rooms, Chester on July 18th 2024

Last year, Kent based Graphic Nature released their long awaited debut album “A Mind Waiting To Die”, and won over thousands of brand new fans with high energy performances at Download, 2000trees, and Reading/Leeds. Tonight they continue their upward trajectory towards potentially being the next big thing in the UK metal scene, riding the wave of the release of their stunning new album “Who Are You When No One Is Watching?”  Graphic Nature have blazed into Chester for a headline slot at the Live Rooms.

To kick off the night are some genuine bonafide gig newbies, making their performance debut are Paradigm. Initially starting as a 2 piece, the guitarist and drummer are soon joined by their frontman to deliver some satisfyingly djent inspired vibes. With an essence of Holding Absence and Monuments about their sound, not much is known about the elusive Paradigm,  but they are well received by the growing audience.

Their performance was a delight and landed well with the Chester audience tonight. The band have demo CDs for sale on their merch table, and it’s definitely worth picking one up and supporting a young band learning their craft and finding their potential. 

They are followed by the Liverpool group Cut Short. This 4 piece metalcore outfit are pros at bringing high energy well polished performances with plenty of catchy hooks and riffs. 

There's a wonderful blend of the individual styles in the band, with tech-metal undertones, atmospheric synths and even some jazz influence. ‘The Old Soul Dies Young is a superb example of their capabilities, there are moments of offbeat drums and clean vocals that give way into blistering rage. 

Graphic Nature are known for working with a number of ideas to progress metal to new realms, which makes it incredibly difficult to pigeonhole them into any particular metal genre. Some may revere them as part of the nu metal renaissance, but if nu metal was annoying kid in the late 90s and early 00s, surely it’s a grown adult now, with layers of depth and complexity the genre may have previously lacked.

The stage bathed in an eerie green light, the audience are treated to a few minutes of the epic Prodigy hit ‘Breathe’ before the band arrive. Opening with ‘Headstone’ from last years debut album “A Mind Waiting To Die”, it is clear from the off that the performance is going to be incredibly intense and it doesn’t take long for frontman Harvey to have the audience completely in his grasp. There is a fair amount of people here who are actually dancing and grooving around to begin with as opposed the usual headbanging and moshing you’d normal see at a metal gig. All grooving stops when an enormous mosh pit breaks out for ‘Who are you?’

The new material is very forceful, and the set is an excellent showcase of everything this band have achieved so far. In between all the rawness of their songs, there is a moment of drum and bass in the form of ‘Session 24’,  and Harvey takes time to engage the crowd with a speech about mental health before closing the show with ‘Killing Floor’.

Graphic Nature are probably one of the most exciting bands on the UK scene at the moment, fingers crossed they continue to rise the ranks and become the metal heavyweights they deserve to be. Their current UK tours ends next week with a date in Manchester at the RADAR Festival.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Graphic Nature + Cut Short + Paradigm