On Sunday 23rd February 2014, I went to see alternative four-piece Cause of Denial headline The Hop in Sheffield.

Sunday Mass at The Hop is a free event where unsigned bands from the local area show off their talents. With its intimate feel, the venue gives performers the opportunity to connect with the crowd. It is a great chance for music fans to watch up and coming bands to see what the local music scene has to offer.

The first band of the evening were ‘Regulus’. With their stoner rock image, the Sheffield four piece opened the show in style. At smaller gigs, it is often the case that the first couple of bands are not up to the standard of the rest of the bill. However, this was not the case tonight and despite a couple of technical difficulties during their performance, ‘Regulus’ played a strong and entertaining 25 minute set to kick things off.

‘Day Old Hate’ were next on stage at The Hop. The five piece hailing from across Yorkshire released their debut EP ‘Distances’ in March last year and their set included a number of tracks from this EP. The alternative rockers concluded with ‘One Eye Open’, a catchy song with memorable lyrics and that really highlighted the lyricism of the young band.

The most energetic performance of the night came from the final support band, Borders.  Proclaiming they wanted to “bring a bit of metal here tonight”, the Lincoln based metal band didn’t disappoint. Lead singer Luke  Clawson was rarely contained by the tight stage, patrolling around the room as he passionately sang and screamed his lyrics.

The main event of the evening was Cause of Denial, an alternative four piece band consisting of Dan Denial (lead vocals, guitar), Steve Church (backing vocals, guitar), Lee Carnall (bass) and Will Beauchamp (drums). The band name cleverly incorporates the surname of the frontman and after originally forming in 2007, the group took a year absence before returning in 2010 better than ever.

‘Severance’ kicked off a superb 35-minute set that showed off the talent of tonight’s headliners. The harmonies between the angsty vocals of Denial and cleaner singing from Church worked excellently, which alongside some heavy riffs and powerful drumming from  Beauchamp created a dynamic sound. I particularly liked the switches between the loud and quieter sections of songs, something that really added an extra dimension to the music of Cause of Denial.

It was an entertaining night at The Hop with four good quality bands who put on good performances, offering a small taste of what the Sheffield music scene has to offer.

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