By Jase Walker
After one of the worst travelling experiences I’ve had yet successfully made, I’m back in Tilburg at 013 for my final show of the year, Landmvrks! Not just that but a plethora of bands in support beginning with metalcore stalwarts, Underoath, hardcore outfit, Pain Of Truth and finally openers in the form of ÜK nu-metal upstarts, Split Chain! It’s pretty heavy tonight and 013 is gonna inevitably see some violence tonight to see off 2025!
Despite all of the issues getting here I still managed to arrive before the opening act so I’ll count myself fortunate this time because it’s not always played out as well as that.
It’s time for Split Chain to kick things off for the evening, as two TV screens glow in the darkness with flashing static before a huge screen behind the band lights up the room. They get things started and sure as hell, the nu-metal vibe hits immediately with that signature heavy yet shimmering guitar tone that echoes the likes of Spineshank, Deftones and the like. It’s notable that the vocals are somewhat subdued but it seems this new wave of nu-metal pulls in a significant influence from shoegaze as this seems to be the case with bands such as Tetrarch, Bleed and newer Static Dress.
The venue is steadily filling up and people are milling through to be greeted probably by a band not quite sounding like they expected considering what’s to come later tonight. This nu-metal revival still seems to be somewhat in its infancy but Split Chain quite happily play the role of flag bearer for the return of baggy jeans and backwards caps as if the turn of the millennium hasn’t happened yet.
They’re acutely aware of the fact that probably nobody in the room has any idea who they are but it’s not stopping them hammering out song after song and doing what they can to try and get the crowd on side. I imagine some people in the room probably hear a bit of resignation in the singer’s voice but I can assure them that’s just him being painfully British and he’s probably having a lovely time. Finishing it up with provoking the night’s first wall of death to see their set off in style, Split Chain stepped up to the plate and put out exactly what they needed to in order to win over an unknowing crowd. Real solid work from these, they can rest assured they smashed it.
As you’d expect with so many bands on, a speedy changeover and an actually slightly early start for once, Pain Of Truth gets stuck into the crowd who are now very obviously awake and going nuts from the outset. A void in the middle of the room spreads almost entirely to either side of the place with people on the edges cautiously leaning their heads back as people practice their moshpit ninja skills with jumping spinkicks, the odd flip and the good old “If you come near me it’s your fault you got hurt” arm windmills, classic.
Look, I’m not a hardcore guy, this sort of music genuinely does absolutely nothing for me barring a few exceptions but I’m always somewhat fascinated by how active the crowds are for this sort of stuff. The singer’s already thrown himself at the front and is jamming his microphone into people’s faces for people to scream themselves hoarse into, meanwhile the chaos behind the front rows has people holding up a selection of various clothing items for the world’s most violent flea market. Also gotta hand it to them, flinging the microphone from the stage to some random dude to scream the words in the crowd and then catching it being lobbed back while still on stage is some world class antics.
Pain Of Truth sound absolutely gigantic though, the bass repeatedly seems to be trying to dictate my heartbeat and their bass drops seem to be trying to do the same to my digestive tract. The crowds for these sorts of shows are consistently the most “up for it” crowds ever, one moment the singer collars someone in the pit and demands they lead the crowd on how to two-step and the moment that snare hits, a solid 70 odd people immediately join in. I may not be a fan of the music but I am absolutely a fan of the pure antics.
Next up is Underoath who I’m actually seeing for the second time this year following from their headliner set at RADAR festival in Manchester. Kicking off nice and loud and seemingly have their own array of lighting production of pillars of light that mimic a sine wave across the stage. The initial lukewarm start from the crowd picks up after the band prod the beast a few more times and the activity picks up fast after others finally get stuck in.
It’s great seeing Underoath really properly getting stuck into touring so often again and although they’ve suffered some setbacks in terms of building their audience, they’ve clearly hit on something with the younger crowds in Europe. Seasoned veterans of the metalcore scene who knock it out of the park every time I’ve seen them and hopefully this European jaunt supporting the likes of Landmvrks should do well to give them even further reach with younger crowds across the continent. Every member of the band is properly animated, there’s no room for standing around like a statue in Underoath, they’re here to visibly play as aggressively as they sound.
Underoath’s lengthy back catalogue still sounds incredibly fresh even now, clearly way ahead of their time when they first made their splash onto the international scene. The other huge part of their live show is just how unbelievably effortless they make it all look, all of them constantly animated while playing and not missing a beat or even looking slightly gassed.
I do feel like it’s a shame that the set is overall somewhat short at 40 minutes, especially considering my last two run ins with Underoath were headliner sets but they do hint that they’ll be back soonish so I’ll have another shot. Overall though it’s great seeing Underoath ramping things up so much recently, they’re a cracking live band that I think anyone into metalcore or post-hardcore owes it to themselves to see them do their thing live.
And finally, the last band of the show and of 2025 for me, Landmvrks. Their growth is absolutely stunning considering the last time they were at this venue was opening for Beartooth and wasn’t actually that long ago either! To say they’ve ramped up their live production is a bit of a bloody understatement though, this is a band that I first saw opening up for Novelists at Rebellion in Manchester years ago, a band that has truly put in days, months, years of hard graft to get this point and it’s properly paying off for them. They’re greeted with pints flying through the air, the pit going at it like their lives depend on it and rapturous screams from the second they start. Fully produced video graphics to accompany their songs, insanely intense lighting that blasts from every possible angle!
‘Creature’ and ‘Death’ fully ramps up the energy to dizzying levels and were literally only just getting started. They bait the crowd to bring some surfers up over the top and the response is pure fucking unadulterated chaos, I’ve only ever seen this sort of response matched by While She Sleeps so the security staff down the front have their work cut out for them to say the least!
And like Moses parting the Red Sea, the throngs of people create one of the widest pits I’ve seen in this venue almost immediately and with a brief Dutch signature chant of “Hey! Hey! Hey!” as it builds, all flood into the centre with absolutely zero fear. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a live show that’s had a live graffiti session break in the middle of it either, that’s definitely a new one for me! Reaching a bit further into their history with ‘Scars’, I’m super buzzed to hear their older stuff still gets its chance to shine and that hook is still every bit as much of an earworm as it was the first time I heard it!
Sadly again as this is a late running show on more or less the other side of the country, I’ve only got time to stick around for a bit of ‘Lost In A Wave’ before having to run off to the train station again. I’m bummed but no real choice here unfortunately!
Ultimately though, this has without a doubt been the absolute best I have ever seen Landmvrks, they are truly at the top of their game right now and are unapologetically so. The incredible production, the outstanding performance, the staggering delivery of it all leaves me in complete awe of their progression over the years. This brings me back to a point that I labour over constantly and a hill I will absolutely choose to die on every time, you don’t know when the support acts of today will become the giants of tomorrow and Landmvrks have made their first steps into becoming the latter. What started as a small band from Marseille supporting Novelists so many years ago have then gone on to show the world that they are worthy of reverence. What a fucking incredible show to wrap up 2025 on.
I’m so tired, but so ready to do this all over again in 2026!
- Photo courtesy of Landmvrks.