By Jase Walker
Another weekend on a jaunt off to Antwerp to see a tour I genuinely thought I was going to miss but decided to see about traveling to the next country over instead and here I am! Tonight’s show is one that I’ve followed through its trip around the ÜK via friends’ stories – and NOW it’s finally my turn! In tow for this stacked lineup is The Devil Wears Prada, Like Moths To Flame and Guilt Trip, all landing in Kavka Zappa tonight for an evening of raw, angry, mildly poppy metalcore.
Slightly late to the venue, I made it just in time to catch Guilt Trip opening up the show, so I’m happy about that considering the awful traffic on the way over to Belgium! Anyway, I got myself into the venue and it’s quite a fair bit bigger than I thought it’d be as I walk in and the room sprawls out in front of me. Guilt Trip sounds fantastic and fills the room with groovy riffs and aggressive energy although disappointingly the audience seems a bit nonplussed by them so far.
That being said there’s a pretty solid pit down the front with arms flying around so they’re getting a good response from those which is what really matters! Guilt Trip aren’t exactly my thing but seeing them break out of the ÜK so well is fantastic to watch, especially with doing a hefty tour like this! Despite only catching less than half of the set, Guilt Trip clearly put everything into this show, and fully sold it to the crowd by the end, a proper class act.
- Guilt Trip play this weekend’s Slam Dunk festivals in Hetfield on Saturday (25 May) and Leeds on Sunday (26 May). They then play the Dogtooth Stage at Download on Saturday 15 June, and headline their own European tour in October/November.
Second band tonight is one of my favourites for this evening, Like Moths To Flames and they’re about to drop some of the biggest bangers from their latest album! It’s clear from the start that these guys are not fucking about, I’ve been wanting to see these live for a real long time and they’re delivering right from the start. Raw vocals, rapid fire riffs, thunderous bass and drums, exactly what I wanted out of this! Once again I’m happy to see a metalcore band where the bass elements aren’t cut out, we’ve got a real strong sound that’s properly audible on all fronts. I feel the crowd is a little lukewarm so far but seem to be responding well to the singer directing them which is a good sign too.
As I figured people are getting a bit warmer as we start to see crowd surfers coming up and the front part of the crowd getting ever more mobile. Honestly given that few people put their hands up when the singer asked if anyone had heard of them before and then seeing the audience response grow bigger and bigger as the set went on has been brilliantly heartwarming to see. This set was exactly what I wanted to see for my first time seeing Like Moths To Flames!
After a short break it’s time for The Devil Wears Prada and to say they sound better than the last time I saw them is a pretty big understatement. They sound absolutely earth shattering, all the bass elements are there, the guitars are fully audible and balanced properly with the drums.
This is the show I knew The Devil Wears Prada are capable of delivering, this is outrageously good and I’m already blown away by how incredible they are tonight. It’s also worth noting that the balance is that good that you can properly gear the synths as well which is often a bit of a rarity with a lot of heavier bands. Genuinely, I’m overwhelmed by how good TDWP are sounding tonight, it’s a true testament that you can have an off day for whatever reason whether it’s the sound guy or technical issues or the band themselves just having a bad time.
The Devil Wears Prada have put on a real masterclass on how to deliver a good show tonight: visually and audibly brilliant.
- TDWP return to Europe for a run of headline shows next February.
Landmvrks opting for ‘Maniac’ is certainly a choice I can get on board with, banger! After a quick bit of rapid fire French rap, the band kicks in full force with a huge LED “V” behind them alongside a set of crazy powerful lights. Landmvrks has certainly upped their stage production game and this sort of thing really shows they’re finally leaning into the success that their tireless work has brought them. These guys conduct their live show befitting of a band that has brought themselves up through sheer hard work, this show is the culmination of that already.
Considering the first time I saw these guys was a dingy bar in Manchester playing to probably 100 people at the most and now they’ve packed this venue out on a headline tour is no miracle: Landmvrks have put in every single backbreaking moment to get here.
Crowd surfers have wasted zero time in getting stuck into the mania of the show, their singer has barely had to provoke them into it and people are already losing their minds. I can see the crowd down the front going wild as well, totally ignoring the gigantic pillar that’s almost right in the middle of it, no regard for it here, just going apeshit! I’d love to be able to sing along to most of ‘Visage’ but I barely can speak French let alone keep the speed to rap it. Landmvrks shows how to effortlessly weave moments of French rap with crushing riffs and catchy hooks without a moment to breathe over the course of their set, little wonder how they’ve been able to catch such a wide variety of fans. Well I say no breather just as they switch to a softer acoustic song so there’s that at least.
We’re at the end and it’s one massive song that no doubt everyone here has been waiting for as I have, ‘Lost In The Wave’, easily one of the most outrageous metalcore anthems of the last decade. And finally ending with ‘Self-Made Black Hole’ to finish off a fantastic set that’s shown the best sides of Landmvrks. I do feel it a little bit odd that more of the forthcoming album hadn’t been released prior to this show but I just hope this means another tour in direct support of it; or I could just go see Beartooth later this year instead.
What an immense show on parts of all the bands tonight. I wish the crowd energy was a bit better as it felt a bit lackluster on the whole but that didn’t do much to dampen how much I loved tonight’s show. If you haven’t heard the name of Landmvrks yet, consider this your notice to pay attention.
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