Live Review: Waterlines with Embodiment, Karybdis & Iridium at New Cross Inn, London (07/09/23)

It’s a partial Bloodstock 2023 reunion in London at the New Cross Inn as Waterlines and Embodiment are in town, alongside Karybdis and Iridium. It’s night that showcases the variety in the UK scene, a night that showcases the quality in the UK scene, and a night to be thankful that we can get shows like this.

The night starts with some local metalcore as Iridium tear it up, delivering a stonking set of emphatic, erratic, and emotive ‘core’ tunes. The back and forth of aggressive rhythms, melodic beats, excitable groove, and so much more, is a real crowd-pleaser. What is really impressive about Iridium is how comfortable they look and sound on stage. They might have been the first band on, but all the proof they could headline nights like this, was in this set.

The same goes for the melodic metal band, Karybdis, who are on incredible form. Turning a crowd that seemed initially ambivalent into a sweaty mass of head-bangers. Their pounding heaviness and soaring melodies sound immense, resulting in a set that no-one wanted to see end. They could have easily gone another 15 minutes and nobody would have complained.

Talking of having no complaints when it comes to giving us more, it’s Embodiment and their freaking ferocious technical death metal sound. Last we saw of them; they were killing it on the Sophie Lancaster stage at Bloodstock 2023, and once again, they absolutely kill it here. The crowd’s a bit thin (a baffling theme for the entire night) and they have to work hard to get folks involved at first, but once they get going, few aren’t making their neck muscles work overtime. Fire and fury, it’s an intense set from Embodiment, made all the more enjoyable by the tongue in cheek banter that comes between tracks. Embodiment might not take themselves too seriously, but what they do on stage is no laughing matter.

It’s coming up to 2215 by time Waterlines start their set, a bit of a problem for a Thursday night show. This does mean what was already a sparse crowd is even smaller now. Something that is disappointing because Waterlines and the rest of the bands who played, deserve better, but it is no reflection on the quality of everyone involved.

We saw Waterlines absolutely smash their Jägermeister stage show at Bloodstock this year and this New Cross Inn show proved it was not a one-off.

Causing a delightful amount of carnage, deafening everyone in the room, causing the floor to shake like a bouncy castle, and even having people outside the venue attempt to film the shenanigans through the window, Waterlines give it their all. From slamming metalcore groove, to stunning melodic highs, to grime-style rap and electronica dance beats, it is a high energy show. One that puts some many happy smiles on faces, even when it is stupidly aggressive. Their time on stage absolutely flies by in a blur of sweat, blood, and tears. We can’t wait to see them again.

Walking away from the venue, we reflected on the show and came to the agreement that we had just seen four of the very best in the UK to do this. Four different bands, four different sounds, but all with one thing in common, passion. What a night.