Live Review: Highly Suspect - Oslo, London 27/11/2019
Having not played in the UK for a while, the anticipation for a new Highly Suspect tour was growing by the day, so when a new tour and album is announced, no doubt we had to attend at least one of the shows…
Oslo in London was tonight’s venue, by the time we arrived it was rammed from front to back with eager fans all waiting to hear old classics and new bangers! The speakers went quiet and the lights dimmed as Johnny Stevens and Co. took to the stage, waving frantically at their undying fans in the front row as they picked up their instruments; bodies slammed into each other as the opener to ‘Bath Salts’ began. A monumental start from the guys and it did not stop there, ‘Bloodfeather’ and new one ‘Snow White’ continued to fill the room with heavy guitar and the stench of sweat. “I’m sure you know this one” Johnny announced as they crashed into the opening of ‘Claudeland’ to everyone’s excitement, the band continuing their trend of extending every single guitar solo possible by at least a few minutes (not complaining to be fair). Half way through the set the tone took a more chilled approach when bass player Rich Meyer was left on stage to play an acoustic rendition of ‘Arizona’ which gave everyone a short break to catch their breath before the mayhem ensued. Of course, it was going to kick off when fan favourite ‘Lydia’ starts being played, mosh pits opening up and down the room, as the song came to an end Johnny pleaded with everyone to vote in the upcoming government election and someone from the back proceeded to shout “Fuck Donald Trump” which then got the response of an unplanned playing of ‘Viper Strike’ which no one was complaining about.
A trio of bangers came not longer after in the form of ‘Freakstreet’, ‘Fly’ which had everyone singing the chorus back to Johnny and unreleased raunchy single ‘Everything Is Sex’ where there was a wave of crowd surfers like no other.
Coming back on stage after a short interval, the band now all clad in neon orange jumpsuits and beanies, they proceeded to play two big songs from both of their last albums; ‘Tokyo Ghoul’ and ‘16’ from MCID and ‘Serotonia’ and ending the night with the modern masterpiece that is ‘Wolf’!
Highly Suspect are an ever changing rock band, always looking to show off their craft in new and interesting ways, their newest release MCID is a prime example of that having features ranging from metal giants Gojira to rap icon Young Thug. With another UK tour already announced for the new year, we now have something to put on our Christmas lists for sure.
Words and Photography by Joe Dick