By Josh Bicknell
As the doors burst open, the venue hummed with quiet tension. Fans trickled in steadily, scanning the merch, sizing up the stage, and trading excited whispers about the night ahead. Even with the room only partially full, you could feel the energy building, a low thrumming anticipation that hinted this farewell show was going to be one for the history books.
Despite opening to a fairly small crowd, Calva Louise‘s sheer enthusiasm still made for a fun and energetic start to the evening. Jess Allanic impressed throughout, juggling lead vocals, guitar and keyboard simultaneously on ‘Hating Me,’ while the bassist bounced around the stage with infectious energy that quickly carried to the crowd. The band’s studio work leans heavily on production, and while some of that crispness was naturally harder to replicate live, they still sounded solid.
Their closing track, ‘Oportunista,’ was the exception, landing harder than anything earlier in the set and providing a final burst of energy that hinted at their full potential. Towards the end, Jess paused to express heartfelt gratitude for being part of the tour, a moment that felt genuine rather than obligatory. With a bit more focused crowd engagement they could have sparked a pit or two, but as openers, Calva Louise offered a strong, promising start to the evening, setting the tone for the heavier acts to follow.
Graphic Nature took the stage next, and it was immediately clear that the band had grown into a force capable of commanding larger venues. Having seen them three times previously, including in the intimate Pink Room at Yes Bar, this was a massive step up, but they absolutely demolished Academy One with their signature brand of industrial-infused hardcore. Throughout their set, Harvey’s frantic vocals tore through the mechanical guitar riffs of Pete Woolven and Matas Michailovskis, continually igniting the floor. From the opening moments of ‘Headstone’ to the final notes of ‘Fractured,’ the energy never let up, and the room continued to fill.
But it wasn’t just their ferocity that impressed. Harvey paused mid-set to speak on men’s mental health, urging openness and encouraging anyone struggling to reach out for help. It was a genuinely heartfelt moment that never diminished the intensity of the performance, instead adding an extra layer of purpose to the chaos on stage. By the end, the crowd had been completely rallied, singing, shouting, and moshing throughout the room, proving that Graphic Nature are one of the ÜK’s most energetic and dynamic hardcore bands.
If there was one support act that felt like a co-headliner, it was Alpha Wolf. This was my fourth time seeing them, and they somehow continue to level up with each tour.
With the release of ‘Half Living Things’ and only limited ÜK appearances since, this set felt particularly special. Hearing tracks like ‘Feign’ and ‘Mangekyō’ live for the first time was electrifying, translating to the stage with an intensity even the record can’t quite contain. A huge part of that evolution is the addition of their custom noise pedal, developed with Talon Electric. Instead of juggling layers of whammies and pitch-shifters, Sabian Lynch now summons that shrieking, banshee-on-helium tone with terrifying clarity, cutting straight through Mitch Fogarty’s drumming and Lochie Keogh’s vocals.
What truly set Alpha Wolf’s performance apart was how meticulously engineered their setlist felt. For all their humility in interviews, insisting they “just thrash around on stage,” the reality is that they treat live performance like a science. Every song is placed with purpose, engineered to trigger a specific reaction, and the flow is almost unnervingly precise. ‘Acid Romance’ arrived early as the perfect jump-track, its BPM deliberately calibrated to get the entire room bouncing in unison.
‘Sub-Zero’ still sits in the set after all these years for a reason, acting as a major ignition point guaranteeing a wall of death on command. Soon after comes ‘Mangekyō,’ a masterclass in pacing on its own, using three separate breakdowns to escalate the room from chaos to all-out war. The second breakdown on “oh but it’s a gunfight” blew the pit so wide it swallowed the entire floor. I left with a bloody eye and no regrets. Alpha Wolf don’t leave anything to chance; every moment is crafted, tested and optimised to absolutely detonate live.
From there, the band sprinted towards one of the most explosive closers in modern metalcore. ‘Akudama’ landed with the force of a detonation, with Lochie Keogh calling for “bodies over bodies” as crowd surfers poured over the barrier in an endless stream. Guitarists Sabian Lynch and Scottie Simpson locked in with bassist John Arnold to create that crushing low-end surge the song is known for, while drummer Mitch Fogarty hammered out the machine-tight groove that sent the room into complete meltdown. It was the perfect finale: violent, euphoric and utterly unhinged, proving once again why Alpha Wolf remain one of the most consistently devastating live bands on the planet.
Alpha Wolf have been my favourite band for years, and nights like this reaffirm exactly why. They were nothing short of phenomenal.
With Alpha Wolf’s echoes still rattling the walls, Stray From The Path strode onto the stage. The crowd surged forward, hearts racing with the knowledge that this was their penultimate chance to witness one of hardcore’s fiercest live acts.
Opening with ‘Kubrick Stare,’ vocalist Andrew Dijorio tore across the stage with spin-kicks harder than any normal mosher, almost as if he trained in Muay Thai (he is!), while guitarist Tom Williams, bassist Andy West, and drummer Craig Reynolds locked in, supporting him with machine-tight precision. The pace never let up: ‘III’ and ‘First World Problem Child’ kept the pit raging, while ‘Shot Caller’ and ‘Fuck Them All to Hell’ prompted a seemingly endless stream of crowd surfers. During the latter, Dijorio called for 300 bodies over the barrier, a goal that fans enthusiastically surpassed, with stats later confirming 373 total.
Mid-set tracks like ‘Can’t Help Myself’ and ‘Goodnight Alt-Right’ combined politically charged fury with devastating grooves, keeping the floor in near-constant motion. Reynolds’ drumming, especially during the breakdowns, was a spectacle, amplifying every riff from Williams and West. Even in quieter, more deliberate sections, the band maintained their intensity, balancing precision and raw chaos with remarkable control.
As the set approached its finale, Stray prepared to close out the night on some of their biggest hits. ‘Clockworked,’ ‘Guillotine,’ and ‘Fortune Teller’ transformed the Academy floor into one massive unified mosh pit. Each song escalated the chaos in waves, with Reynolds driving the relentless pace, Dijorio urging bodies forward with manic energy, and Williams and West delivering the crushing low-end that gave every moment its visceral punch. The interplay between members, from perfectly timed guitar attacks to the punishing rhythm section, turned the stage into a wall of sound that left no corner of the room untouched.
From first note to last, Stray From The Path refused to go quietly into the night. They demonstrated why they have remained one of hardcore’s most devastating acts, perfectly balancing intensity, theatrics, and raw emotion. It was a chaotic, euphoric farewell that no fan present will ever forget.
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