By Dan Tsourekas
The O2 Ritz has always been a staple venue in Manchester due to its ease of viewing from any given position, its bouncy floors and excellent sound and PA. This notably makes it a perfect venue for metal gigs, especially the more progressive subgenres. After all it comes as no surprise that the venue has seen bands the likes of Bad Omens, Amity Affliction, and as of recent, TesseracT with Unprocessed and the fantastic mathcore upcomers The Callous Daoboys.
In what was a night of utter chaotic guitar techniques, polyrhythmic tempos, and vocalists that nail not only the screaming but also the melodic elements in their songs, each band had their moment to shine, as the bill featured quality over quantity.
The Callous Daoboys are difficult to explain as a band. Following their excellent 2022 album Celebrity Therapist, and their first ever ÜK performance on the Radar Festival 2023 lineup, the Atlanta-based six piece never failed to fascinate each passing minute, interacting with the band in mysterious ways, whether that being through trying to find the tallest person in the venue, asking what the highest number ever is, or jumping straight into chaotic riffs following Vengaboys and Neil Diamond warmups.
Performance wise, they are a band that everyone should aim to see at least once, taking the listener on a wild rollercoaster ride through fascinating and brutal breakdowns, and beautiful melodic choruses. The feature of their violin makes everything feel more organic, and while the band produce chaos, there has never been more harmony between them than when performing on stage. Truly a highlight of the night, it is safe to say that The Callous Daoboys were the true headliner of the night.
Following the spectacle of the previous band, German masterminds Unprocessed continued to show the world that they might just have the most talented and technical guitar players in the world right now. Manuel Gardner Fernandes can quite literally only be described as a wizard on the strings, creating sounds, tempos, and fret combinations that the best guitar players could only dream of. While it feels as if the main selling point of the band is the technicality, they do in fact have the catchy melodic choruses and fascinating screaming techniques to give them more character than they are credited, and that deserves applause.
TesseracT have honed their craft over the years, and showed that with their incredible performance and cinematic lighting and pyro show, giving their audience undivided commitment through crystal clear sound, ambient lighting and just an overall spectacle to witness. They are as tightly knit as ever, demanding equal concentration and passion from their audience, whether that be through their newer tracks recently released on their brilliant ‘War of Being’ album, or through fan favourites that keep the setlist feeling fresh and exciting.
This is the biggest crowd they have had in Manchester and it has been well deserved, considering there is no fault whatsoever musically throughout this night. If 2024 features more lineups like this one, we are truly in for an amazing treat.
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