Whenever a new band makes their debut it’s something of an occasion, but when that band is made up of members of past popular bands, some of whom haven’t been seen on stage in quite some time, the sense of occasion escalates even further, and that was certainly the case at The Vault in St Peter Port, Guernsey on Friday 31st May 2024 as Pillars (or Pi||ars as they’ve chosen to style it) took to the stage to open for the island’s current metal standouts, Apothis.
As Pi||ars kicked off the venue was already busy with many faces familiar from gigs past, continuing to show the sense of anticipation, and they certainly weren’t disappointed.
Made up of Jack Fletcher on vocals and Liam Bewey on bass (who most recently worked together in uber-hip rock ‘n’ rollers Of Empires) and Bobby Battle on guitar and Dan Garnham on drums (who’s most recent work together was in To The Woods), Pi||ars made an impressive and hard hitting sound from the off, certainly combining the sounds of their aforementioned past bands but with something of a new twist.
It took a couple of songs for the four-piece to overcome the inevitable first show nerves, but once they did there were plenty of points where it felt like I was watching a potential new favourite band.
Jack and Bobby lead a defiantly ‘alt’ charge that combined alt-rock, indie and grunge with hints of everything from rock ‘n’ roll to nu-metal and metalcore, but all with a solidly accessible feel with hooks and grooves aplenty and surprisingly singalong lyrics to boot – I even found myself singing along on a few occasions despite this being the first time I’d heard these songs.
While it was clear this was Pi||ars’ first show so it wasn’t perfect (what show ever really is), it wasn’t far off and I can’t wait to see them again as they get more used to working together on stage.
Added to which it was great to hear Jack adding some screams and growls back into his repertoire in a way we’ve not heard since the days of She Haunts The Roads and, particularly, MyLastVictory (who were the top of the island’s young metal scene a generation ago, giving a strangely appropriate feel to this night’s line up).
Following up their stand out set at The Last Post on Liberation Day, Apothis returned to their more familiar stomping grounds with a real sense of confidence and swagger and a dedicated group of fans lining the front of the stage even before they were finished setting up.
Unfortunately, compared to their last few shows, the five piece felt a little more on the scrappy side with them really having to work to maintain their energy, particularly as the audience weren’t quite as raucous as they often are for the band’s particularly brand of extreme tinged metal.
As the set went on though their hard work paid off as the crowd did start to move and, as they did, it was clear the band, and frontman Zav in particular, really began to feed off their energy.
By the last couple of songs the energy in the (very warm) venue was reaching a high with the band firing on all cylinders as an encore was called for and came in the form of Machine Head’s Davidian which made for a great way to end the night.
Tommy Girard 
Leave a comment