By Josh Bicknell
Under the eerie glow of a crescent moon, Manchester’s O2 Ritz was transformed into a haven for heavy music, boasting one of the year’s most bone-crushing lineups.
As the doors opened, the stage was already bathed in red light, and it was not long before the night’s openers Heriot confidently stepped out onto the stage. From start to finish, their performance was nothing short of electrifying, with my one and only complaint being that more people did not arrive early enough to witness it.
Despite only playing eight tracks, Heriot pulled material from both of their full-length albums to deliver countless punishing riffs. The standout moment of their performance was their live rendition of ‘At the Fortress Gate,’ where vocalist and guitarist Debbie Gough seemed responsible for half of the song’s breakdown, delivering frightening high screams alongside her shrieking guitar tone. Their live show featured several other epic moments, with one or two highlights including the opening of ‘Near Vision,’ though it is hard to choose just one, as to be honest every second of their set was brutally heavy.
Heriot’s performance was always going to be a tough one to follow, but the more established of the two supports, Darkest Hour, leveraged over two decades of gigging experience to deliver yet another killer set. Likely as a result of their veteran status, the five-piece from Washington brought a unique brand of melodic death metal that seemed to draw inspiration from glam and groove metal. Rather than churning out endless drop-tuned breakdowns, they showcased technical guitar solos and catchy grooves, also focusing on moving around the stage with swagger.
This approach really shone towards the end of their fourth track, ‘Love is Fear,’ where lead guitarist Nico Santora delivered a string-bend-filled solo atop Travis Orbin’s bass drum, as if he were Mick Mars in an alternate timeline. The unique nature of both supports had left the crowd perfectly warmed up for the two headline sets—an impressive feat on a cold Manchester night. After a brief changeover, the production team swiftly prepared for the larger-scale performances to come.
Together, both headliners felt like the perfect blend of the night’s supporting acts. Sylosis showcased the technical finesse of Darkest Hour, best exemplified by Josh Middleton’s crisp, precise guitar work, while Fit For An Autopsy matched Heriot’s pulverizing heaviness, featuring not the usual two but three crushing guitarists, perfectly complimenting Joe Badolato’s ferocious vocal performance.
First to the stage were Sylosis, who wasted no time launching into one of their best-known songs, ‘Empty Prophets.’ It was a smart choice to kick off their set, as the track’s opening guitar static gave the audience a brief moment to take in the upgraded lighting rig and added smoke machines. As the tension began to peak, Josh Middleton quickly defended his reputation as one of the genre’s most capable guitarists, wasting no time unleashing frenetic riffs alongside his signature gritty vocals.
Sylosis maintained this momentum, blitzing through a couple of fast-paced fan favourites from their two most recent records, ‘A Sign of Things to Come’ and ‘Cycle of Suffering,’ before transitioning into the titular track of their latest EP, ‘The Path‘. As one of the best releases of 2024, it was great to see ‘The Path’ on the setlist. However, not having Debbie Gough return to the stage to perform her feature felt like a missed opportunity. Given the EP’s freshness, it would have also been nice to hear more tracks from it, but this did not meaningfully detract from their live show given the strength of their discography.
Around the midpoint of their set, the Reading-based four-piece dug deep into their extensive back catalogue and played ‘Empyreal Part One,’ much to the crowd’s delight. Despite being released well over a decade ago, the track was as exciting as many of their more modern songs, a testament to Sylosis’ ability to stay ahead of the curve. Following a few more deep cuts, Sylosis returned to their most recent album, ‘Cycle of Suffering’, to close out their co-headline set. The final song, ‘Deadwood,’ had mosh pits swirling from beginning to end, with Sylosis soon leaving the stage in time for ‘Fit For An Autopsy’ to deliver one final bludgeoning.
After yet another atmospheric entrance, what was immediately striking about Fit For An Autopsy was just how exceptional their live mix sounded. While every band up until this point had sounded great thanks to the Ritz’s impressive sound system, it would not be surprising if Fit For An Autopsy’s own Will Putney spent some time with the sound engineers before the show. This is because, aside from his already impressive guitar work, Putney is one of the most accomplished and sought-after producers in the scene. And after experiencing the first few moments of ‘Lower Purpose,’ it was clear to see why.
Fit For An Autopsy’s latest release, ‘The Nothing That Is‘, has already made its way onto several shortlists for album of the year, so it was fantastic to hear four of its strongest tracks in their setlist. The downtuned, chugging riffs of ‘Hostage’ hit even harder live than on the studio recording, with the same intensity brought to tracks like ‘Red Horizon’ and ‘Lower Purpose.’ Much like Sylosis, Fit For An Autopsy have been in the game for a while, and are also still willing to dig deep into the past in the name of fan service. As the opening riffs to ‘Black Mammoth’ washed over the crowd the faces of, a few long-time fans lit up which is always great to see.
Before the night drew to a close, Fit For An Autopsy finished their set with none other than ‘Two Towers,’ an epic track that elegantly blends almost every subgenre of metal. Opening melodically, the track quickly transitions into a series of bouncy grooves, fostering the perfect conditions for one final mosh pit. Also featuring an extra thick bassline and a diverse range of mid to low-pitched screams, everyone had their moment to shine. It was the perfect way to close out an unforgettably heavy night.
The tour continues:
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