Live Review: Ghosts of Atlantis at New Cross Inn with support from Worship the Sacrifice and Thylacine (11/09/2024)

The New Cross Inn, a local venue (to us), is our destination to check out some Ghosts of Atlantis live and I can’t think of many better ways to spend an evening.

Supported by Thylacine and Worship the Sacrifice, this had all the markings of being a proper good show. Unfortunately for me, work commitments meant I would miss Thylacine but I was still very much looking forward to checking out Worship the Sacrifice as well as the main event, Ghosts of Atlantis.  As anyone who knows me knows, I love this band. It’s fair to say that all of us here at GBHBL have become firm fans of these guys since the release of their immense debut, 3.6.2.4, the equally astounding follow-up, Riddles of the Sycophants and of course through plenty of live shows including their most recent run supporting Fear Factory across Europe and their show stealing set at Mangata Festival.

The Suffolk based 5 piece have been growing their reputation steadily over the last few years through a lot of hard work and quality music. Their live performances are something else though. That’s where you see their reasonably polished record sound get turned up to the max and be delivered in quite brutal fashion. It is said about a lot of bands but is definitely true here – Ghosts of Atlantis live hits a hell of a lot harder than they do on record – and they are already pretty heavy on record.

So I head to the venue, looking forward to aggressive pits and anthems to sing along too but to my utter dismay, the turnout was pathetic. I am not going to harp on about this too much because I get it. Wednesday night, work etc…and yes, it happens but I am so over seeing everyone constantly tweeting and posting about “saving their venues” and “supporting underground music” then, when an opportunity comes up, like this with some quality bands in a small venue with a £10 ticket price – where are you?

Luckily for those who did attend, the bands did all we could hope for and played to us like we were a crowd of hundreds or thousands.

I mentioned earlier that I didn’t get a chance to see Thylacine which is a shame but there will be other times I hope. I did get to enjoy some of the absolute melodic death metal chaos delivered by Worship the Sacrifice though and had a blast. The small crowd meant the band utilised some of the floor to entertain themselves, and us, with some interesting dance moves displayed by the guitarist in particular. Musically, chaos describes it well with some serious blast beats and growls blazing out and filling the cavernous room. They are a band that deserve a pit, and that pit would be intense so with them clearly packing a lot of talent, I would expect to see a whole lot more from these guys in the coming years.

As for Ghosts of Atlantis – well, I once again had an absolute blast. The band sounded great hitting us with some seriously meaty tracks from both albums including the likes of Halls of Lemuria, The Third Pillar and Gardens of Athena from 3.6.2.4 and The Lycaon King and Lands of Snow, amongst others, from Riddles of the Sycophants. A strong set from a band that ooze class and quality. The sound was good – not perfect, but I think that was down to the space and echo. The vocals live, whether clean or harsh are so powerful and clear, it always amazes me and musically they are as tight as you could hope for from a band with plenty of experience in the bank.

The songs do come across heavier live but the symphonic epicness still shines through creating a mammoth musical experience.

I had such a great time, singing their songs, trying to start some crowd movement and just revelling in that glorious moment where you are at a show, hearing your favourite songs and feeling like life has just synchronised for a few short moments.

If you haven’t seen these guys live, you really must. If you have, you already know what I am talking about.

Do yourself a favour, there are still 3 dates left on this tour, listed below, get yourself down to one of these and give them the crowd they deserve.

12/09/2024 – Milton Keynes (The Crauford Arms)

13/09/2024 – Birmingham (The Flapper)

14/09/2024 – Bridgewater (The Cobblestones)

Grab yourself some tickets from Ghosts of Atlantis, here – or just head down to the venue and you should be able to get a ticket on the door.