Bleed From Within
Bleed From Within
The Liquid Rooms – Edinburgh
01/03/26
Review by Jon Deaux
The Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh. Sunday night. I’m in a room with a smell that’s a combination of ambition, IPA, and at least one person’s complicated history with deodorant.
Bleed From Within take the stage for the first night of their Dying Sun tour (and the first night of two sold-out shows in Edinburgh).
Suddenly, we’re not “standing awkwardly in a room, near a bar, pretending to look at phones,” we’re “OH, WE’RE DOING THIS!” Because ‘Zenith’ opens proceedings with a “here is your violence, sign for it, and have a great night!” kind of presence.
The dude next to me on the left has lost the plot, but I think it’s great for the bloke. I mean, he’s a bloke who hasn’t even opened his mind to the idea of mindfulness apps throughout his entire life, and I think he’s doing all right.
‘Invisible Enemy’ is coming up behind me now, and I’m considering ringing my better half. Not because I’m worried about anything like that, just because I’m considering ringing her and saying, “I’m having a moment.’ But she won’t even ring me back because she’s too busy watching this true crime series and munching away on a Twirl, so I’m not going to disturb her with my epiphany concerning music just yet.
The thing about the Liquid Rooms, though, is that it’s shamelessly, proudly sticky. It’s underground in every way, every sense of the word. I swear, the ceiling’s never seen the light of day, and honestly, it probably doesn’t know any different, either. Maybe it’s healthier that way, too. There are actual pipes along the walls, just chillin’ for the most part. This evening, they’re humming along, vibrating because the bass is pumping, and honestly, some engineer out there probably has night sweats thinking about this place. For me, though, it’s like a religious experience.
It’s a basement, no question about it. The good kind, too. The kind where no one’s drinking Pinot Grigio and placing it artfully on a reclaimed-wood ledge. The floor’s seen decades of drinks spilled, nights gone wild, and has probably absorbed all that as some kind of energy. It’s basically come alive at this point, for all I know. The walls, of course, are black. Beige doesn’t stand a chance in this place, anyway; it’d probably just give up the ghost and turn transparent or something.
And the stage—well, you’re basically standing on it. There’s no gap, no buffer, nothing between you and the stage. The band’s right there with you, blasting music straight into your chest. Sometimes, it feels like your ribs aren’t even yours anymore. You don’t wear a waistcoat here, for crying out loud. This is the place where you lose your shoe and laugh about it.
I make a note to remind myself to check if the ceiling is even load-bearing before I forget I have a dentist appointment on Wednesday, then forget about that because the riff from ‘A Hope In Hell’ kicks in and I’m not even a grown adult with responsibilities; I’m just a neck. A happy, irresponsible neck.
‘Levitate’ comes in, and there has been some kind of physical commitment to hair-throwing from the woman to my left, which I can only assume has been a momentous decision for her. She’s probably just quit her job or something. Left someone on hold. Booked a one-way to Ibiza. Good for her, really. That’s exactly the kind of reaction you’d want to have.
Tonight was a very special night set wise with a number of deep cuts and tracks rarely performed. To make night one of two in Edinburgh even more special was a gender reveal (this was also a first for Bleed From Within) for a lovely couple (Sara and Steve) getting the news from frontman Scott Kennedy that they’re having a baby boy. All of us at Ever-Metal send our love to them and wish them all the best when the big day arrives. (Don’t forget, it would be frowned upon if you didn’t name him Scott)
Bleed From Within has accomplished something amazing. They’re not just an amazing metal band anymore; they’re actually a force of nature. That’s some next-level character development right there. Most bands spend years, even decades, with members coming and going and trying to get better. Bleed From Within? They went from ‘good band’ to ‘what the hell happened to my insides?!’
Oh, and they’re Scottish. That matters. I mean, something weird and amazing is going on with metal in Scotland right now, and nobody can really pinpoint why. Maybe it’s best if nobody tries to figure it out. That would probably break the spell. Scotland? Glasgow? Yeah, things get mystical around there. Not mystical in the ‘I feel the love and the light and the vibes and the whatever’ way, but the ‘I’m going to start believing in this band and this scene and this whole lifestyle again’ way. It’s like the time I had nachos so good I had to call them transcendental. I stand by that. I’ve made my peace with it. Edinburgh is like those nachos – ridiculously good and almost spiritual.
The Liquid Rooms? That’s not even fair to call it a venue anymore. It’s like it’s taken on a life of its own and developed opinions and feelings and can’t believe the guitars are this low. Monday morning? It doesn’t care. The ceiling is shaking and the pipes are talking back.
Scott Kennedy is up there making it look easy. He’s the guy whose job it is to make everybody in the venue feel like they could flip a car and then proceed to cry uncontrollably. Not everybody can do this. You’re either born with it or you’re not. Scott has it in spades.
There’s also ‘God Complex.’ I was pretty sure I was going to have an epiphany or question all my life choices and especially my work the next morning. Thankfully, it was the former – well, mostly.
‘Alive’ and ‘Violent Nature’ is where I lose a good fifteen minutes of my life and gain something that I can’t even begin to describe. I have no idea what is going on in these songs. I know I’m not alone. But I know I’m pretty much back in my body, a bit sweaty, a bit confused, but very content – a happiness so pure and unadulterated that even the most successful wellness influencer has been unable to bottle it and sell it online despite their very best efforts.
‘Levitate’ is where the guy in front of me loses his body. I mean, he simply loses it. He goes off and does his own thing, and then he comes back and he looks like a man who has seen something, but I don’t ask him what it was because some secrets are just too sacred to share.
‘A Depth’ and ‘I Am Damnation’ is the kind of one-two punch combination that really ought to come with a waiver and a pamphlet on what you’re getting yourself into. The Liquid Rooms isn’t a particularly large venue (700 capacity), but it FEELS large at the moment in the way that only occurs when a band is doing something genuine instead of something they’ve worked out in advance and figured was a good idea. It feels like the room has grown. It feels like the very city of Edinburgh – cold, magnificent, utterly unconcerned Edinburgh – has leaned slightly forward towards this building to have a listen and nodded slightly in approval.
And then ‘Halo’ wraps everything up with a bow and it’s the rare and precious thing: a true ending. Not an “alright, well, we’ve run out of songs and also our rider is getting cold.” A true ending. The kind where you stand there in the ringing silence after it’s finished and go “hm.” Just: hm.
Which, in my critical lexicon, is the highest possible rating.
The crowd pours out into the Edinburgh night, which is cold and wet and doing that thing where the wind is coming from all directions at once and also upwards, because it’s March, it’s Scotland and it’s legally bound to be doing something shitty and personal to you.
Everyone has that look of, “I came into this place a normal human being with a to-do list and I’m leaving looking slightly more animalistic and significantly more alive.” The look of people who made the right decision today, unlike all those poor souls stuck at home watching a property renovation show and wondering if they should get into sourdough.
They shouldn’t get into sourdough. They should be here.
I did ring the missus. She’d finished the Twirl.
SET LIST:
Zenith
The End of All We Know
Pathfinder
Alive
Violent Nature
A Hope in Hell
(Gender Reveal)
Invisible Enemy (Live debut)
Dying Sun
Levitate
Leech (First time since 2014)
God Complex (featuring frontman of Baest)
A Depth That No One Dares (Live debut)
I Am Damnation
In Place Of Your Halo
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Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Jon Deaux and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
