A busy and ram packed Cardiff on a game day is my destination tonight for a night of metalcore madness from Employed To Serve, Cage Fight and Continents in the superb venue that is Clwb Ifor Bach, lets get inside and see how it all went down.
, a band I have seen a few times and never really disappoint with the passion and energy they give every single performance and, tonight was no difference.
The band walk on to the stage to a quiet response due to the venue not being at full capacity yet but that doesn’t stop the ferocious music coming from the stage as we get things going with the first track off the bands 2015 album
Reprisal,
Drowned In Hate smashes you in the face with a beast of bouncing drum patten and guitars that rip your face off with the post hardcore metal goodness that we all crave.
The crowd seem to not be very loud for the band in between songs which I find strange as the sound and energy coming from the stage is great from all members. Vocalist Phill Cross is doing his best to ask people to move forward and bringing his strong growls and fast paced energy to everyone he but the crowd don’t really all get louder for the rest of the set which was disappointing, not that there wasn’t plenty of appreciation for what was happening on stage as we had a pit formed for the next few songs in the set.
The stand out song however for me was the bands last release, 2025’s Smile, a more of a slower punchy song that will have you moving and head banging without you even thinking about it. Another very good performance from a band that are showing they are in a prime period of their lifespan and are going from strength to strength in the UK metal scene, I look forward to more new music from them.
Next up tonight after a short break we get London based band Cage Fight (7), my first time seeing this band and from what I have heard and seen of beforehand I was looking forward to seeing what they could bring to the stage tonight and straight away kicking into One Minute from the bands self titled 2022 album you get a sense that this is going to be a brutal set of metalcore.
Vocalist Rachel Aspe has the crowd in the palm of her hand from first to last growl throughout the set, a dominating performance with a trip to the centre of the pit for the bands latest release Pick Your Fighter, as the bodies circled around Rachel as the screams reigned down upon everyone was a sight that should be in a underground obscure metal documentary. A very good performance and as guitarist James Monteith says “its the last night of the tour so we want to have some fun with you all” and I can say that majority of the crowd had woken up fully by this point and the room was starting to be the sweaty mess it should be.
The set ends with Hope Castrated again from 2022s self titled album and its a slamming song that doesn’t let up from start to finish, a great set by a band I have been looking forward to seeing.
We get a well needed break of 20 minutes before more in your face metal comes to the stage with our headliners for the night Employed To Serve (8) who have brought their latest UK tour to a end tonight in the Welsh capital, and what a last set it was. Opening up with the full aggression of Treachery, the first track from the bands latest album 2025s Fallen Star. Justine Jones vocals are on point from first note tonight, hitting you in the gut with every deep growl and shaking your brain with every high scream.
We get to the title track from the bands last album Fallen Star mid way in the set which by this point has everyone here singing along with guitarist Sammy Urwin who effortlessly sings the choruses and keeps the energy pumping with the old school metalcore rhythms screaming from his guitar, the crowd are in full circle pit form throughout the song and all songs till the end. You really get a sense of togetherness with the bands live show, each member playing off each other well and everyone here I think can feel that as the roars after every song show the band a real appreciation from this Cardiff crowd.
To round off the night and last gig on the tour we get the excellent last song from Fallen Star, From This Day Forward. A song that has that stomping marching riff to get any metal fan stepping around, a half time to die for and then a climatic end that has a modern metalcore maturity that has impressed so many people about Employed To Serve, they even brought out Cage Fight members on vocals, triangle and cowbell for one of their encores Who’s Side Are You On?
A great ending to a great night to be fair, three bands that our shoved into the metalcore genre but all have their nuances and different influences that with each you have a good mix of styles to enjoy alongside all being very good bands to watch live.
