Fortunately, after a couple of songs the crowd began to get into it. I must admit that the first song or two had me a little worried, not so much for the crowd participation so much as the band's sound. It sounded awfully weak and I could not make out much of front man Kenny Hickey's vocals, and the band had an overall lack of punch. What the problem was, I am not sure but I am reasonably sure there was some problem with the monitors, when the sound came up it brought a punch to the stage that had a ripple effect through he audience. I love it.
The band did not have a lot of space to move around on the stage, but it mattered not. Seventh Void is not about the stage antics, they are about delivering a slab of heavy rock, and that is what they did. They tore through such tracks as "Closing In," "Heaven is Gone," and "The End of All Time" before closing with "Broken Sky."
Kenny's voice sounded a little rough, but still strong. His guitars were solid and well complimented by Matt Brown's work, together they create a nice thick wall of guitar fuzz. Behind them, Johnny Kelly leads the rhythm section with his big drum sound. The back end is thickened by Hank Hell's bass playing. All things considered, they may not be the most original act, but they are rock solid and playing music worth listening too.
Next up was hardcore act Bury Your Dead, offering a decidedly different sound from the heavy hard rock of Seventh Void. I first saw these guys about two and a half years ago, they were opening for Hatebreed and Killswitch Engage, and it was one hell of a show. The time in between has seen the band release a new album with a new singer and replace one of their guitarists, so this is a different look than what I knew.
They came out, opened with "Harvester of Straw" from the Beauty and the Breakdown album and never looked back. They played with as much intensity as the small amount of stage they had would allow. It was great watching them play. It was a different experience than last time, they are a bit more melodic with their new stuff and singer Myke Terry sings a little more than Mat Buso did before him.
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