Back in the late 80’s early 90’ Kerrang! used to be the bible for many a rock fan up and down the country. Obviously times have changed and the demographic at which the magazine is aimed has changed along with it therefore it was somewhat of a surprise to see the line up for this years Kerrang! tour catering for all ages of fan, and that was certainly something borne out by the wide variety of ages inside the packed Academy.

Opening proceeding were Circa Survive, whose On Letting Go album received favourable reviews on HRH last year. Unfortunately due to the queues outside by the time this reviewer got into the venue the band had already hit the stage and were well into their set. In saying that from what we caught the band certainly did a good job of entertaining the mixed audience with tracks mainly lifted from the above mentioned On Letting Go Opus. And this was despite a poor sound which, at times, caused the instruments to blur into one another and lose clarity. Frontman Anthony Green however pulled things together and, with the aide of a simple yet effective light show, an unforgivable level of dry ice which made photography impossible, and a sharp set of songs won over the majority of the Newcastle crowd with ease. Cool

The second band of the evening, Fightstar, also suffered at times from a very muffled sound and over the top use of dry ice thus making seeing what was going on stage difficult. Returning once again to the Academy the band delivered what was basically a cut down version of their headline set which they served up in the Academy 2 six months previously. Opening with Grand Unification the band, and frontman Charlie Simpson in particular had the near capacity crowd eating out of their hands from the word go, a mosh pit quickly forming as the band powered through 99 and Deathcar before taking things down a notch with the new, piano led single Floods. Fightstar basically ruled the Academy for their allotted 30 minutes and,  musically get better and better ever time I see them. Onwards and upwards me thinks.

When I first saw the line up for this tour I wondered why Madina Lake were in the “special guest” slot given the pedigree of the bands below them on the bill. The reason became patently obvious however as they took to the stage. They are simply very popular with the younger members of the audience. Coming across as EMO with a touch of 80's new wave thrown in for good measure Madina Lake rely equally on keyboards as on guitar for their sound and the whole band are whirring dervishes on stage with bassist Matthew Leone spending the entire set spinning like a top. Musically the songs all have pop, rather than rock, sensibilities and perhaps it is this which appeals to the younger generation rather then the more hardened rockers in attendance. Likewise for those with a good few years gigging experience under their belts frontman Nathan Leone's stage raps were rather unimaginative in the heard it all before stakes but despite these shortcomings the younger members of the audience pulled Madina Lake through...

It’s been a long time since I have been, to put it bluntly, bored at a rock gig but the three bands that preceded Coheed & Cambria certainly had that effect on this reviewer. Lots of bands are good on record but it’s the live arena where bands forge alliances and secure the undying loyalty of new and old fans alike. With that in mind Circa Survive were tedious, their singer sounding like a cat that was slowly being drowned and begging for mercy, Fightstar at least made a fist of it and did entertain musically with some light and shade in their music but last and absolutely least Madina Lake were just pitiful, the equivalent of a metal boy band and as dangerous as a custard pie fight. Thankfully everything changed when Coheed & Cambria hit the stage and it has to be said that the musical gulf between the opening bands and the headliners was bigger than the Atlantic Trench and would be able to be viewed from space. Here was a band with genuine passion, musical depth and who literally blew all memories of the previous three hours into the dark and very distant past.

Opening with a storming performance of “No World For Tomorrow” and then surging into “Gravemakers and Gunslingers” was one of the most intense musical experiences that I have had for some time. It was a joy to watch the interaction between musicians and the sheer talent on display. How a guitarist can sing and play such involved parts was truly amazing to watch. Coheed & Cambria’s latest album is receiving great feedback from many prominent voices and so it was no surprise that the bulk of their set was culled from “No World For Tomorrow”. One of the best tracks on the album is “The Hound (Of Blood And Rank) and tonight they delivered a stunning version. They also pulled off a great cover of Iron Maidens “The Trooper” which was played to within an inch of its life and received great applause in recognition of a job very well done.

When it came to the bands performance of “Feathers” I got the feeling that it was just a little bit slow and lacked some of the sprightly movement of the album version. The band are recording this song on each night of this tour so maybe it was a side effect of being cautious and wanting to get it right. The energy level though was ratched up a notch with the wonderful “The Running Free” and before you knew it the band was returning for the encore of “Welcome Home”. A music friend had told me that Coheed & Cambria are a revelation in the live environment but nothing prepared me for just how good they were. One of the finest sets, albeit shortened, that I have seen at the Academy for a good while. Coheed & Cambria saved the evening from being a lack lustre night out with they’re scintillating performance and have ensured that next time they return I’ll be first in line for a ticket.

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