Live Review: Counterparts - Underworld, London 25/10/2022
Having just dropped their 7th record; Counterparts were meant to be heading out to Europe and the UK with The Amity Affliction but alas that tour had to be canceled. Thankfully the band decided that would not be the end of it and decided to do their own tour! Getting to experience ‘A Eulogy for Those Still Here’ in a more full capacity had ourselves and most likely all other fans very excited!
A windy autumn evening in London and The Underworld, Camden was the venue for tonights Counterparts show. The dingy basement venue started filling up quite quickly as opener Cauldron took their places on stage, this relatively young hardcore group were an outstanding way to warm up the crowd and get the cobwebs dusted off everyones two-steps! A short but sweet 25 minute set with some despicably heavy tunes blasted throughout, a great way to open tonight's show.
Hailing from the opposite side of the world, Aussie deathcore outfit Justice For the Damned were this evening's second act and they came out swinging. As the first riff was emitted from the speakers, fans of the band were already pushing the crowd back to make a pit before windmilling their arms so fast you would think they were about to start levitating off the floor! An enjoyable set from the Australians, frontman Bobak constantly passed the mic to fans in the front row to scream along.
As much as we enjoyed the two support bands this evening, they were an appetizer to tonight's main course Counterparts; the band strode on stage with all the confidence in the world, vocalist Brendan Murphy instantly initiating chaos in the dimly lit room. A impressive first 3 consisting of ‘Whispers of Your Death’ and ‘Bound to the Burn’ from the most recent record and ‘Wings of Nightmares’ from Counterparts 6th album 'Nothing Left to Love; ‘Bound to the Burn’ had the whole crowd screaming the lyrics from back to front! The rest of the set consisted predominantly of tunes from the most recent 2 albums but there were still enough oldies scattered throughout for the OG fans, ‘Burn’ and ‘Thieves’ getting a satisfying roar from the crowd to show their approval. An impressive set from Counterparts this evening with a magical encore consisting of fan favorite ‘The Disconnect’, a truly wild and unruly event but through the chaos you could see the connection the fans in the room had with the band and vice versa. Counterparts are one of those bands that have such a deeper meaning behind every song they release and Brendan’s lyricism truly translates to the fans in a phenomenal way. Come back to the UK anytime Counterparts, you are very welcome!
Words and Photography by Joe Dick
