Gallows

21^st Century Appearances: 2010 Lock Up Secret Set, 2009 NME Stage, 2008 Lock Up Headliner, 2007 Lock Up

The Defining Reading Moment: The site of a wheel chair bound festival goer crowd surfing during the Gallows utterly insane 2010 secret set.

If you have been to Reading or Leeds Festivals within the last few years then chances are Gallows would have been playing a stage somewhere at some point. In their short time as a band they have become a live ‘must see’ at festivals due to their high octane shows and cracking tunes.

After forming in 2005 Gallows spearheaded a UK Hardcore revival that saw the music become highly popular, even gaining airplay on mainstream radio stations. Releasing their debut album Orchestra Of Wolves in 2007 got them a Lock Up Stage slot and by the following year they were headlining the stage. 2009 saw a change, a move to the larger NME tent, as the band stepped up playing beneath Lost Prophets and AFI where they drew an impressive crowd.

After gracing the festival for 3 consecutive years Gallows were not billed in 2010 but in one of the worst kept secret sets of recent years they returned to play a mid afternoon Lock up set under the guise of ‘The Rats’. With the word getting out weeks before the festival even started it came as no surprise that a complete behemoth of a crowd turned out as the band launched into one of the most ferocious sets of the weekend.

Unfortunately it’s unlikely that anyone will get to see the original band line up again as front man Frank parted company with the rest of the guys earlier this year and has now been replaced by former Alexisonfire guitarist Wade McNeil. It will now be interesting to see if the new look Gallows can provide us with some of those electric moments from past festivals if they return to play Reading and Leeds in the future. Lewis Lowe

Gallows live performance has become something close to legendary. Frank Carter of course has recently left, and there’s no telling what they’ll be like with new front man Wade MacNeil, formerly of Alexisonfire.

As far as punk bands go for me, Gallows are one of the best; and that’s not just for this century either. As far as live performances go, the outfit I saw gave some of the most incredible, energetic and aggressive shows you’re ever likely to see. A highlight of mine being a local show in a dingy, dirty club, ‘The Crypt’ that seemed as though it hadn’t been cleaned in the 30 years it had been around. Gallows performed not long after the release of the second album Grey Britain, but still played to a crowd of around just 400 people, executing a gig that I will never forget. The aforementioned energy and aggression was unmatched by any band I’d seen previously, or have since seen. Frank Carter gave an almost perfect performance that, I’m more than glad to say, I witnessed before he left.

There’s no doubting that Gallows live reputation has been completely deserved, thus earning them such a high place in the top 100. Who knows how they’ll be with MacNeil fronting them from now on, but from the sounds of their short song ‘True Colours’, they’re just as, if not even more, insane than before. Kyle Prangnell