Madina Lake at Corporation, Sheffield

Madina Lake made their return to Sheffield as part of their UK tour on Monday. It was the first UK tour for the band since Matthew Leone’s life threatening accident and it left an excellent feeling knowing the support he has.

The first band up were Super Happy Fun Club - 6/10
They put on a good, although nowhere near as ‘fun’ as their name implies which is a little disappointing. The music was good but some of the vocals seemed weak, however these are nice guys and deserve support, also have some of the best merch around.

The main support for the night came from My Passion - 9.5/10
This was a superb performance, having seen them play a few years ago the band now has a heavier sound that they pull off to an exceptional standard. The only thing I could complain about was Laurence’s sunglasses when he came on stage, thankfully he took them off after a couple of songs.

Madina Lake 8/10
This seemed like a slow start but once it got it was superb. The Chicago four piece blast out the likes of ‘Never take us alive’ and ‘let’s get outta here’ along with songs from their new album ‘World War III’. Occasionally it became emotion as Nathan Leone referred back to the life threatening accident his brother had and its good to see him back doing what he truly enjoys. Overall this was a great night, even if you aren’t sure about Madina Lake its still worth going.

Madina Lake at The Corporation, Sheffield

Madina Lake celebrated the release of their new album ‘Attics to Eden’ with a gig at Sheffield’s Corporation on Monday. With Kill Hannah pulling out of the main support slot, the crowd welcomed their replacements The Audition who themselves had a new album released on that day.

Yashin start off the night followed by Flood Of Red, both are good young bands and are well received, Yashin a little more so than Flood Of Red. However, due a long queue and slow entry a lot of people missed one or both of these bands.

The Audition really step up the atmosphere coming on stage and straight into ‘Warm Me Up’, a great song that starts up the mosh pit which continued all night long. The Audition’s songs, even if you don’t know them, are very catchy, great pop/rock hooks and some great Bass playing from Timothy Klepek. The only downside was that Danny Stevens’ vocals were difficult to hear and make out from the rest of the noise.

Madina Lake appear on stage to a huge reception of clapping, cheering and general excitement. Fans had the chance earlier in the day to meet the band at an album signing, which shows how far they have come in such a short time, since forming in 2005.

The atmosphere, as Madina Lake plays through songs such as ‘One Last Kiss’ and ‘Let’s Get Outta Here’ was amazing. Nathan Leone leaping into the audience got everything going as the mosh pit grew in size and energy from one song to another. People who arrived to see what all the fuss over Madina Lake was about may not have liked the music but it doesn’t matter, the feeling of having a great time dragged all in. Three or four large balloons provide another high point, especially when guitarist Mateo Camargo swung his guitar head at one popping it and sending tickertape everywhere.

Recent release ‘Never Take Us Alive’ is a huge high with the whole audience jumping up and down. The night ends with a quick encore of ‘Me Vs. The World’ which the crowd loved. Madina Lake may not musically be to everyone’s tastes, but going to one of their gigs is a great experience that anyone can appreciate.




Damon Fowler
Comfort in Sound

Song of the Week: Madina Lake - Never Take Us Alive

This weeks song, 'Never Take Us Alive' comes from Madina Lake's second studio album, the soon to be released 'Attics To Eden'. The seriously catchy song is the first single to be taken from the album. If you hadn't heard of Madina Lake before now then you're very likely to soon as this song is everywhere.

For those new to the Chicago based four piece Madina Lake are made up of Mateo Camargo (guitar), Dan Torelli (drums) and the Leone twins, Nathan (vocals) and Matthew (bass). The twins took part on a special edition of Twin Fear Factor where they won $50,000, this money then went straight into the band to pay for recordings and their first demo in 2006.

Madina Lake are currently on tour in the UK with the Audition and Flood of Red, promoting their new album which is released on Monday the 4th of May. Just go to our MySpace page to hear the song.

Damon Fowler
Comfort in Sound