Live Review : SOiL + (hed)p.e. + Nonpoint + The Union Underground @ Academy 2, Manchester on November 9th 2024
The early Noughties gave us nu-metal and alternative metal in the bucketload, and tonight we travel back to that era with four big hitters of that time taking to the stage in Manchester. SOiL were one of the names you’d see on all the tours, festivals and magazines, and they’ve endured long enough that they headline this collection of riffing and metalling from back when.
The last time I saw The Union Underground was back in 2001 at Ozzfest, and it’s been 20 years since they’ve managed to get across to these shores at all. Bryan Scott is the frontman, figurehead and founder member of this crew, and he leads them with aplomb. His voice is as distinctive and cutting as ever – mixing a rocky twang with a velvety drawl and futuristic tone. The whole band has the rock’n’roll swagger, like a Texan version of Rob Zombie – all the groove, whirling electronics and snarling industrial rock you could wish for. Riff-master Taz Osterhouse is low in the mix to start with, and Scott has technical difficulties with the wireless mic, but the performance is a perfect balance of raw and professional. The room is still filling-up as they move through the set, but the eager, fanatical crowd down the front lap up every riff and vocal line. We all sing along as though we’re back in 2001, with the standout being an aggressively vibrant version of ‘South Texas Deathride’. We needed these guys back, and hopefully it won’t be another 20 years before we get them over here again.
Nonpoint bring their soulful and funky take on nu-metal, and the crowd are raring to get involved with it. The nu-metallers from Florida have the mid-scooped guitars in bucketloads, the look and confidence that only funky, groovy acts from that time and genre possess, and some awesome tunes to back it all up. Any fans of bands like P.O.D. and Taproot will already have these guys in their collection, but the spread of influences is once again on display through the hardcore drums and bass, to the bluesy and industrial guitars and rap/metal vocals. Singer Elias Soriano delivers that classic smoothly clean vocal into chatty, punchy metal tones. It’s an iconic image to see dreadlocks swing and whip at the front of the stage as Soriano commands the crowd, and the tribal drums and thrumming bass drive the whole performance along to everyone’s pleasure.
Main support on this tour are (Hed)PE, and this is where we see a change-up. The other bands have been exactly how I remembered them from back in the day – transporting me back to those early days of the Noughties in metal clubs. With (Hed)PE though we see a different animal to those times 20-odd years ago, and it’s an evolution that has been progressive and varied. They were also a band back on that Ozzfest 2001 line-up, and at that time they were straight-up rap and turntable infused nu-metal. But having seen them at points across the subsequent years they’re now more an impressive mix of reggae, rapcore and punk rock. They get the crowd moshing and dancing, as the groove and patter leads everyone on a gritty and enjoyable musical parade. Jared Gomes has led the band from the start and is a commanding presence physically, vocally and charismatically. He oozes confidence and unreserved enthusiasm – more so than I’ve seen for ages, and it is infectious with the crowd from start to finish.
Headliners tonight are SOiL, who most people will know for the hit ‘Halo’. They’re very much stalwarts of the whole period that we’re retracing tonight, and staples of the metal clubs we frequented. They’ve always been popular, with plenty of SOiL t-shirts at every other gig, festival and night-out, but haven’t necessarily hit the mainstream or seminal heights of bands like Korn or Disturbed. Frontman Ryan McCombs may be diminutive in stature, but he has a larger than life and vibrant voice. It’s meaty and rich one moment, then staccato and driving the next – like another instrument jaggedly slamming into the crowd alongside the snare hits and guitar stabs. The riffs are catchy alternative metal mashed with nu-metal sensibilities and are so comfortable to experience that you feel you’ve lived with each one intrinsically for years. For many of the crowd that last sentiment is clearly true, as the room is packed and with most of the punters flailing or jumping with glee. It’s no surprise that they close their set with the aforementioned dancefloor filler ‘Halo’, but we’re treated to their version of ‘Black Betty’ for a deserved encore that rounds out the night perfectly.
Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
SOiL + (hed)p.e. + Nonpoint + The Union Underground