Live Review: Burner & Calligram at Blondies, London (15/12/24)

It’s Christmas and there’s no better way to celebrate the most festive time of the year then at a London dive bar with the blackened hardcore noise of Calligram and the blackened death and hardcore intensity of Burner. Yet, Christmas is more than just a backdrop for this show, it’s a theme, and there was a hearty attempt by the bands to encourage attendees to dress up, get into the spirit of it, and potentially win merch from both bands.

London… you let us down. The lack of costumes was disappointing, but happily, Burner frontman Harry Nott is handing out Santa hats, the rest of the band have their own festive wear (Santa and his elves might be the theme – sort of), and Calligram bassist Smittens is in a very uncomfortable looking Christmas Tree outfit. It all feels so very festive, and there is a very positive mood inside Blondies. A wonderful little venue that has a capacity of 60.

A number that this show seemed to reach as there’s not much room to swing some tinsel, and when the bands start playing, the heat in room would have you thinking it is July outside, and not December. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire? Something is roasting, that’s for sure!

Up first, it’s Calligram and notably, they appear to be missing their vocalist, Matteo. It turns out he shattered his knee in a climbing accident recently, so of course, he’s unable to perform. We wish him well and that he has the speediest of recoveries. So, what do Calligram do? Play instrumentally and have Burner vocalist Harry Nott, jump in for a couple of songs. Which is so damn cool. Awful circumstances aside, it’s a unique show and both the band and Harry look at ease.

How about the noise Calligram make though? God damn it’s good. Brutally heavy and savagely intense, their ability to deliver such an explosive combination of instruments is one thing, but the way they expertly switch tempos, infuse grandness, sound progressive in places, have effective layers of melody, and more, is what makes them and shows like this, so special. They could have played for another half an hour, and nobody would have been complaining.

Which also applies to Burner, who blaze through their immense set like they due out on the sleigh tonight and time is a-ticking. It’s not a rushed show, but it feels like its over in ten minutes when it’s about forty. Such is the captivating nature of what they do. Not only delivering banging songs from their incredible album, ‘It All Returns to Nothing’, but going back to their brilliant ‘A Vision of the End’ EP and playing brutal sounding new stuff too!

I’ve seen Burner a fair few times now, and they never let me down, but this might be one of my favourite times. Not just because of the super-intimate nature of the show, but because of the festive vibe and general feeling of jolliness in the air.

Music this aggressive shouldn’t put so many smiles on so many faces, and everyone is grinning from ear to ear come the end. I can’t think of any better way to celebrate the festive period than in the company of two brilliant bands. This was an immense show. Merry freaking Christmas, indeed!