The Ocean // This Will Destroy You – Live Review
The Ocean, This Will Destroy You
Academy 2, Manchester
07/10/2023
Live Review by Oli Gonzalez
The Ocean, and This Will Destroy You (TWDY). Two leading bands in the post rock/metal genre at the moment. In all honesty, I had only listened to them both a few weeks prior to tonight and booked tickets on a whim when I had seen that both were touring and visiting Manchester. This was a chance for me to check out something different from the usual blood and guts, Doom and Death metal that regularly assaults my ear drums. Will it be a worthwhile gamble on something new?
The venue. Sadly I need to start off on a negative note and address this. Originally scheduled for Gorilla, Manchester, I and other ticket holders were informed of a venue change 48 hours earlier via email. Which is valid. Stuff happens. However, this could have been handled and communicated so much better. The event was listed on both Gorilla and The Academy’s pages. It was confusing. Was the email sent in error? No update on Gorilla’s social media to reinforce/confirm the change. Which would have been the bare minimum. Venues. Do better! With that out the way, onto the actual review.
I arrived at the venue late due to heavy traffic and missed the majority of the opening act, Nathan Fake’s DJ set, so unfortunately nothing really to write about. I didn’t even know there was a support act to be honest as this could have been promoted more clearly. Maybe it was a last-minute addition owing to the venue change.
In either case, this was my first time in Academy 2. A bit smaller than I had anticipated, but nonetheless this place is designed for live music! Blackout walls enhance the visual experience and acoustic dream, it’s easy to see why this is so in demand for bands wishing to ply their trade. The first of which being TWDY.
No crazy overdramatic walk on, the USA experimental rock group calmly made their way onto the stage and set up their instruments. When the lights went down, they wasted no time getting straight into arguably their most famous piece. ‘The Mighty Rio Grande’ is a nice and chilled composition on record. In a live setting, it’s an absolute juggernaut! They can be so quiet and ambient, to the point where you could hear a pin drop. Then it suddenly becomes mind-blowingly crushing as easily as turning on a light switch! I could feel the music, waves of sound shaking my trousers and the subwoofers pounding on my chest.
They’re certainly built for live music. Much like most post-rock bands are. Some things you just can’t capture in the studio, especially the stunning live show which enhances the atmospheric experience ten fold!
An instrumental act, TWDY hardly if ever interacted with the crowd. Maybe it’s their style to just let their music do the talking?
My only little gripe is that my favourite song “The World Is Our ___” didn’t make it into the setlist. Can’t have everything though. Onto the next one!
Headliners for the evening, the German post-metallers were something else! Whoever was in charge of producing that near-perfect live mix deserves a serious raise. This was one of those occasions were the band is better live than on record. Similar to TWDY, some things just can’t be replicated or experienced while listening at home.
On an individual level, The Ocean are masters of their craft. In particular vocalist Loïc Rossetti, who was simply phenomenal! He has a rather unique vocal tone, and sounded absolutely pristine live. He’s also capable of using much harsher mid-range growls, demonstrating his talent and versatility. He was definitely not shy either, taking the opportunity to do a cheeky crowd surf mid set. And why not?
If TWDY’s live show was good, The Ocean’s was simply next level! It seemed to start off fairly minimalist but slowly increased in complexity as the show progressed, with strobe lighting perfectly in sync with the music and enhancing the visual spectacle. It seemed that many tracks were from their latest album, Holocene, which I highly encourage you to check out. This set had everything and it was glorious for all the senses to behold.
Despite an early panic with the venue change and arriving late, this really was a night to remember. A bit of a stab in the dark, but a good one at that. One that’s worked out for me on this occasion as it really did exceed my expectations. I’d love to see either one or both again, and will delve deeper into the post rock genre.
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