LIVE: Fit For An Autopsy, Sylosis, Darkest Hour, Heriot
Fit For An Autopsy, Sylosis, Darkest Hour, Heriot
O2 Ritz, Manchester
26/11/2024
Live Review by Oli Gonzalez
2024. It’s been a wild year for music. Whether that’s on an individual level, for the industry, or for the quadrant of acts rolling into town for this dosage of midweek Manchester metalcore madness! For you see, North America’s Fit For An Autopsy (FFAA) and Darkest Hour, alongside Heriot and Sylosis from the UK all have stylistic ties as well as sharing one more thing in common; brand new releases this calendar year! All four descended onto the city on a night that was surely going to bring nothing but deadly breakdowns, thunderous riffs, and voracious circle pits that will surely have led the O2 Ritz to reinforce its walls for the oncoming onslaught!
First thoughts upon arriving; the upstairs balcony was closed. This meant perhaps it hadn’t sold as well as they had hoped? Maybe Sleep Token stole some crowd (I saw some fans walking through the city centre in their merch on the way down). In either case, we were where we wanted to be; in the ‘safe’ zone away from the inevitable circle pits. First up, Heriot.
Heriot
One of the brightest rising stars of the UK Metal scene, it seems like the Bristol based quartet can do no wrong right now! The band’s signing to Century Media and subsequent debut album release “Devoured by the Mouth of Hell” was met with critical acclaim this year. On a personal level, it was almost 3 years to the day when I first came across Heriot, roughly 10 minutes’ walk away at YES, Manchester. I had an idea of what to expect.
6.30pm on a weeknight is a graveyard slot for any band. Still, there were a few hundred eyeballs on Heriot here. Debbie’s wailing banshee style shrieks have always been central to the band’s sound, whilst Jake’s lower growls are underrated and just as crucial. The thunderous and uncompromising heaviness of each riff in the live setting has always been a draw for me. Once the riff’s were flowing, Debbie ordered the pit to open. It did. Sort of. It took a while for movement, once the beers started to flow probably, but before we knew it there were plenty of fists and feet flying in that newly opened circle pit. All whilst we watched it from the safe zone. All in all, a solid opening set.
Darkest Hour
A new entity to me, the North American act has been described as somewhere between Melodic Death and Metalcore. From scrolling social media, I had seen positive reviews of their set with some reporting that they had wished for a longer set. Is there a bigger compliment for a band?
It’s nice to keep some surprises from yourself and discover a band organically right there in the flesh, isn’t it? That’s what I got tonight from Darkest Hour. In the form of some glorious guitar driven Metalcore that’s a nod to and wonderful throwback to the early 00s era of Killswitch Engage, Threat Signal and Unearth. Though the ferocity of the additional Thrash elements was a much welcomed extra. I was sold. As was the crowd who showed their admiration through the medium of circle pits and headbanging. There were some absolute blazing guitar solos too, that will ensure I give this band’s back catalogue a more thorough examination.
Sylosis
“Conclusion Of An Age” was on my regular rotation as a 16 year old, and 16 years later I still have the utmost admiration and respect for this album. Though Sylosis may have steered away from that Thrash oriented sound in recent efforts that include “The Path” of this year, they still remain one of Britain’s finest Metal exports.
The place was filling up nicely and whereas the circle pit was the size of Loch Ness earlier, now it was the size of a backyard pond! I was advised of Sylosis’s excellent live sound prior to tonight, but I didn’t think the mix would be so supreme! Honestly. You could feel every bone crunching hit of the drums, every bowel shaking rumble from the bass, and the majestic tone of the guitars. The crowd felt it too. There was carnage in that pit, with the most action coming during ‘I Sever’, with our first wall of death of the evening. My highlight came during the middle of the set. Whereas the newer material appeased many in the crowd, I had my fanboy moment upon hearing the title track to “Conclusion Of An Age” and “Teras”, with the guitar solos for each being as blazing and as intense as they were on record. Something I never thought 16 year old me would ever have the opportunity to see and hear live. Thank you Sylosis!
Fit For An Autopsy
The headline act, Fit For An Autopsy wasted no time in charging towards the stage with venomous intent. No cinematic introductions. Nope, just straight into the bone crunching, teeth breaking Deathcore infused intensity that has earned them the right to be top of the pile for tonight’s bill. This was the moment many had been waiting for as many charged their way through to the action in the centre of the portal to hell! We saw crowd surfers take to the air like chocolate bars caught in a strong wind.
For me, this was a set of two halves. At first, I just simply didn’t get it. After nearly 3 hours of breakdowns and chug-tastic riffs, there’s only so much you can stomach before things become a little stale. That, and the fact the sound just felt off, and things were a little muddy. However, the set got better. The sound became clearer, and brighter, and we began to see the more Progressive and Technical side to the band. This was better. Much better. I started to really understand what the band were all about. Whilst this was my introduction to the band, I could see others around me with arms outstretched singing along to every word vocalist Joe bellowed out, signalling this was a special moment. A solid way to wrap up this evening’s shenanigans. Whilst some had suggested Sylosis would have been a better headliner, let’s just celebrate the fact that we’ve had the opportunity, nay PRIVILEGE to have been here tonight.
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