16-06-2015 The Fallen State

Venue: Cherry, Dublin (Ireland)
By: Aoife Towell

When I saw that The Fallen State were supporting Black Stone Cherry, I decided that they must be worth a look. Whoever is chosen by the Kings of the Bible Belt is instantly an indicator for me. As a band that have only formed in 2013, they are young and were potentially a bit green to open for what promised to be a great night from the headliners. BSC are always received well on Irish soil and the night generated a lot of buzz and a lot of ticket sales, so these UK rockers had a lot to prove on stage.

Listening to their three EPs which are admittedly well-produced, I was surprised to hear a refined and defined sense of musical direction which worked very well for a band with not so many years on their belt. In fact, the more they played, the more they had me convinced that they were worthy of the slot. Their strong and dominating vocal melodies combined with the intricacies of an almost heavy metal lead guitar made them not only a great match for Black Stone Cherry, but also affirmed them as a great five-piece in their own right. I would certainly imagine that fans of the headliners would walk away as fans of their supporting group as well.

Although the set was short, it was enough to please the crowd who by the end were suitably riled up and reciprocating enthusiasm. As they admitted that this was their first time in Dublin, they certainly took it to heart that first impressions are the most important. They put their all into every part of their experience, from the actual performance to inviting punters for drinks afterwards to catching people vacating the venue and charmingly flaunting their latest CD. These guys are hard workers and they are most certainly ones to watch as the years mature them.

My pick of their songs? The Journey, for sure. And they’re not even my choice genre. But this song has been starred on my Spotify and it’s going nowhere. As for the songs on the night, their messy energy was endearing, they loved the attention so much that one member fell over the drum kit (I can’t bring myself to say who), and yet they kept the technical aspects accurate. Not to mention them soaking up every drop of their attention glory train. And why wouldn’t they? They’ve got the looks to pull it off, or so I overheard almost every girl under 30 say when crawling onto the street later that night. As long as they keep the talent to match, I would be very interested to see these guys again in another 9-12 months and gauge a growth comparison. The Fallen State were a chance I’m glad I took!

Fallen State