REVIEW: Drowning (USA) @ Subside

It was a Monday night at my local live music venue, Subside, and I had the pleasure of seeing Chicago Beatdown band Drowning. Admittedly, it wasn’t the most well attended gig, with only a small horse shoe of friends surrounding the band, however, the gig was put on last minute so it was unfortunate circumstances. That did not stop the band and the crowd from having a good time.

What caught my attention first was the familiar sounding drum beat echoing through the venue when I was sat outside. It suddenly clicked to me that it was Blind by Korn and after that everyone raced in to the venue when we realised what they were playing. By the time I entered the venue I heard “are you ready?” being shouted aggressively down the microphone, the small crowd instantly spread out and moved and went crazy; the song then went into a breakdown and everyone carried on moving. That dramatic and nostalgic excitement was enough to get the crowd full of energy for the set ahead. But, for me it was a shame to see because I knew that if that room was full, the response would have been wild with bodies flying left, right and centre.

The rest of the set was full of energy and it almost felt like the room was packed out because of this. The intense sounding riffs, rapped vocals and dreaded beatdowns resonated throughout the room, along with the brimming charisma and attitude-it was exciting seeing a new band playing in Birmingham and refreshing to see how well they came across both on and off stage.

That night I witnessed hardcore in the flesh and it made me leave the gig feeling positive and with a new band to listen to. If you get the chance to see Drowning in the UK soon, I recommend you do. You wont regret it.

You can listen to the new Drowning album below:

By Sam Hennerley