By Jase Walker

It’s quite useful living in such close proximity to different countries as when you have an issue such as a friend’s birthday party getting in the way of seeing a show you wanted to see, you can always pop over the border to Belgium or Germany instead. I decided to do just that with a trip to the lovely city of Antwerp for The Devil Wears Prada: a nice change of scenery.

Along for this tour package is a pretty solid bunch of bands in the form of Novelists, 156/Silence and Oversize, Nothing to sniff at for sure. Despite some pretty hairy traffic on the way to the venue, I’ve arrived just in time for Oversize to open the show.

Admittedly I find their sound a bit at odds with the rest of the bands on the lineup but the nu-metal/Deftones inspired vibe is a good example of what’s on the rise in the ÜK. They remind me a lot of the likes of Bleed, Wayside, Split Chain, all that new wave of bands that strongly echo that late ‘90s sound.

They’ve got a solid turnout for an opening act with somewhat early doors but crowd energy seems a little lacklustre to start. Not by any fault of the band though, just seemingly a bit of a cold response from people who’ve turned up for bands with a bit of a heavier sound. They do sound a bit aware of them being the odd ones out on this tour mind yet still humbly thankful that people at least gave them the time either way.

Still though it’s interesting to see that the movement of shoegazey metal is building up steam and I’m seeing more and more bands appearing on tours that strongly champion it. I quite enjoyed them despite the crowd energy being a bit lacking.

Now it’s time for a band I’ve been eager to see for a while, 156/Silence, and I’m ready to get my face blasted by some big riffs! Admittedly the sound is a bit weird to start with the bass drum echoing around behind me but I think that’s just a bit down to the venue more than anything. I’m getting exactly what I came for though, riffs. I don’t think I’ve heard a band use the ‘Resident Evil 2’ PS1 Police Station theme before in a random bit of between song music either.

I’m super pleased that these are giving every bit as much energy as I would have hoped. The crowd watching them clearly agrees with that now that crowd surfers are coming over the top and the centre front is bouncing around like their lives depend on it.

Genuinely, I feel a bit sad that this is just a 30-minute set but I’m holding out hope that after two solid support slots in the space of a year in Europe that it’ll warrant them returning with a headliner show of their own. I couldn’t think of anything better right now than getting boxed into a room with 156/Silence directing their own show of barely contained chaos.

Next up is Novelists, a big favourite of mine who I am totally not stalking through multiple countries now, promise. Every time I see them in their new era, I get a bigger appreciation for how they’ve evolved into such a fantastic form more than ever.

Novelists are a force to behold at this point, songs jumping between beautiful ballad moments and face-melting riffs. Whether it’s the virtuoso solos, the mixed vocals, atmospheric layering, Novelists have got all parts in heaps. Watching how they play live now though, they’re on the top of their game and it feels like they’re on a real path to going for the top.

You’d think there’d be a few more French speakers here in Belgium, despite being in Flanders so Camille’s ask for any speakers falls a bit flat but she takes it in good stride. These really are doing something amazing though, they sound fantastic and are on fire with their live shows now.

I think at this point I need to fully do away with the comparisons of their older iterations and it’s time to fully accept Novelists now as they are, a fantastic riffy metalcore band with real class.

Finally, it’s time for The Devil Wears Prada and oddly the second time I’ve seen them in this venue compared to the country I actually live in.

One thing that always stands out about a TDWP show is just how incredibly bright their shows are, whoever does that lighting clearly enjoys making a shower colourful display. Behind the band sits a large circular screen that initially shows a set of shapes that intermittently distorts in a glitchy manner.

It also says a lot about a band when the crowd loudly screams the words with current newest material too. If a band can bring out new material that provokes such a loud response from their audiences then they’re clearly doing something right. It’s somewhat confusing when I hear people say they don’t go as hard as they used to, especially with the sort of show they’re putting on tonight.

Yeah, there’s more synthy stuff in their sound recently but it’s incredible that people can say this when you see what they do live. They’re able to roll with the intense and heavy metalcore stuff every bit as much as any other band right now and the setlist they’re going through right now pays homage to their older and heavier material every bit as much as their newer sound.

The show sees a pretty constant stream of crowd surfers coming over the top and trying to get the band’s attention as they get close to the barrier. Looking around I barely see anyone who isn’t enthusiastically dancing along to their songs either, it may not be a crowd focused on going mental in a moshpit but it absolutely does not lack the incredible energy of a great audience.

Genuinely TDWP are an astounding band to watch, I feel like this is the last few shows of them playing club size venues before they start reaching for the sub-arena venues.

It’s a nice touch that they add in ‘Play The Old Shit’ as their first encore as a bit of a “fuck you” to the same people that lambast their new direction.

A show like this was absolutely worth the trip to Belgium to make sure I didn’t miss this tour.

What a phenomenal show from these and all the support acts. An incredible tour package that people will look back on years from now wishing that they made it or talk about with a nostalgic glow.

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