BAND – Killakoi Star And Garter, Manchester

VENUE – Star And Garter, Manchester

DATE – 24th November 2024

Words and Photographs-Graeme Wright

REVIEW

Sometimes there comes the occasion when a few of you are watching a band that is totally new to the group and as one you look at each other and just say “Holy Shit- how good are these?” That was the case tonight with Killakoi, the second band of the evening that originate from North Carolina (there must be something in the water up there.) Tight as a drum, a huge stage presence, a dynamic frontman with a great voice and above all big songs that have the crowd with them from the opening minutes of their all too short set.

Opening song ‘Not For Nothing’ is the opening track from the bands 2022 album and it’s a super heavy yet still immediate opener that has the crowd banging their heads straight from the off. Front man Jordan prowls the stage and Kelly and Sam on guitar and bass respectively provide dynamic support, while Robbie on the drums thrashes the kit to within an inch of its life. This all results in a fantastic start to the proceedings . ‘Better Off Dead’ is full-on Alternative Metal and almost leaves the listener out of breath. The band have made it clear that a lot of their songs come from personal life trials and tribulations and this clearly fuels the intensity that this band are displaying tonight.

‘Down’ is one of the bands earlier songs and it starts with a roaring Black Sabbath style bass opening before changing gear to a highly melodic and heartfelt middle section. It’s such a great song but to be fair the same could be said about the bands entire set this evening. ‘Ripple’ continues in the same vein and proves to me that this band are great songwriters because everything we are hearing tonight is so immediate and melodic while still retaining an inherent modern and heavy aura that for everyone in the room is amazingly impressive. ‘Hollow Eyes’ slows things down a touch as it possesses a huge heavy “fat” sound that has the speakers near to me shaking in fear, while ‘Hurt Again’ is the newest song on display with an almost 80’s Synth Pop opening and if this is the direction the band are taking I can’t wait to hear their next album.

‘Bad For You’ continues with the new material and the bands career arc reminds me of the UK band Black Lakes in the fact that both of these bands should be huge based on their recent recordings. The set closes out with ‘Wasted’ which is clearly a crowd favourite and a lot of people in the room know the song word for word.

I can’t quite get the message across in a short review how great this band actually were tonight. Even technical issues didn’t stop the proceedings as Jordan led the crowd with an impromptu rendition of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ while members of Lansdowne entered the stage to sort the errant equipment. The frontman laughed at the end of the show when I told him how great they were, even referring to the technical issues as “a bit of a shitshow”, but I can assure the entire band that they were the best new band (new to me anyway) that I’ve heard all year. Our group duly bought the CD and T-Shirts from the merch stand which is always a sign of a bands quality. A superb outfit with massive songs and high quality musicianship from every band member all combined to contribute to a great night for everyone involved, both on and off the stage. Hopefully we will see them again in the UK before too long as they deserve the widest possible audience.

Band

Jordan Mattacchione – Vocals

Kelly Flusk – Guitar

Sam Ocheltree – Bass

Robbie Reimer – Drums

SETLIST

1. Not For Nothing

2. Better Off Dead

3. Down

4. Ripple

5. Hollow Eyes

6. Hurt Again

7. Bad For You

8. Wasted