French metalcore band Landmvrks joined forces with Ohio state metalcore rockers The Devil Wears Prada in an astounding 30-day run called the ‘Creature Tour’ that started off in Zurich and is set to end in Tilburg. The inspiration for this tour name comes from the recent single that Landmvrks released in January named ‘Creature’. Accompanying them on this stacked lineup is the Manchester 5-piece band Guilt Trip and another Ohio-originated group named Like Moths To Flames. On the 12th of May this year, the Creature Tour was brought to Manchester’s very own O2 Ritz, a favourable venue recently visited by other popular names in the scene such as; Bad Omens, Sleeping with Sirens and Holding Absence.
Before the gig is the most anticipating part… the queue is growing fast as 5:30PM came. People dressed in various band merch pieces scatter the queue, eagerly waiting for the doors to open at 6. First on is beatdown-hardcore punk band Guilt Trip, bringing their electrifying energy to the stage with a hometown performance. I have seen many openers over the years, but very few manage to bring as much movement to a crowd at 6:45 in the evening as Guilt Trip can. They open up their performance with the sound of the drums to ‘Surrounded By Pain’. Already the energy in the room is quickly emerging. Once this song is over, they move quickly onto their popular song ‘Sweet Dreams’ that features Landmvrks vocalist, Florent Salfati. During this song, Salfati comes on stage to join Guilt Trip’s lead, Jacob Valentine, getting the crowd hyped up for the main act for later on in the night. A few songs later and as anticipated, the Manchester hardcore band finish their act with hit track ‘Thin Ice’ that has racked up over 4.2 million Spotify streams. A strong circle pit forms to the breakdown, showing the crowd thoroughly enjoying themselves to Guilt Trip’s heavy riffs and fun use of pinch harmonics.
Next on are 2010s metalcore stars Like Moths To Flames, bringing their sound from America to the Manchester Ritz. The band recently released a new album on the 10th titled ‘The Cycles Of Trying To Cope’, this proved popular with the crowds reaction. With a whopping 600 thousand plus Spotify streams, the song ‘Angels Weep’ from this album set off as a bang when the band came on. The aggressive guitar riffs dance through the room as lead vocalist Christ Roetter brings strong vocal presence to songs: Kintsugi and The Anatomy of Evil. Throughout this set, the audience bangs heads, screams lyrics and gazes at the band on stage. In particular, I noticed the waving of arms and heartfelt lyric screaming to ‘Bury your pain’, the final song they ended on. People rushed as close to barricade as they could get to show their love for this one.
Already the room is sweltering hot with multiple comments heard from overheating members of the audience. The room is filled with tired yet exhilarated people, full of adrenaline ready for the next metalcore giants: The Devil Wears Prada. All the way from Ohio, this band is renowned for their roots in early metalcore. As I stood in the pit, I could feel the energy of the crowd pulsating around me, the grand entrance of the band got the crowd cheering as they took their places on stage. An unusual set-up for the group surprised me with Giuseppe Antonio Capolupo’s drumkit to stage right, unlike the typical center. It reminded me of the time I saw Bring me the Horizon and Idkhow perform with similar structure. Hitting off with a personal favourite ‘Watchtower’, the fast paced intro to the song really set the scene for the intensity of their set to come. A few songs later and the band fills the room with their latest song from March called ‘Ritual’. It had an effervescent impact on the crowd as they start jumping to the song and getting excited to sing the catchy lyrics to this headbanger of a tune. To wrap up their part of the insane show, TDWP finished with popular sing-along song ‘Sacrifice’, encouraging people to make the most of the last minutes with the band.
Typical for a show like this, people did not move between this set and Landmvrk’s. Everyone wanted the best possible place in the crowd to get a good view. The room was still sweltering but no one seemed to be bothered as the excitement for the French headliners was clear. They begun their magical performance with the origin of the tour title ‘Creature’. The fast paced rapping performed in French isolates the vocalist Florent for his talent, quickly followed by the heavy drop of speedy drumming and the iconic Landmvrks guitar sounds- if you are familiar with their music. Continuing their set, they played their snappy hit ‘Death’ featuring American singer DR€W ¥ORK and then ‘Blistering’. Later on, the band play another personal favourite ‘Scars’, electrifying the audience with their unique sound. This song got the crowd ecstatically bouncing off the wooden floor. No one seemed to care about how hot it was in there, the music was just too captivating. Following this, they performed ‘Suffocate’, which Florent announced they do not play much. Differing to the original version, the first half of this song was performed acoustically. It then progressed to Flo’s extremely impressive strong and high- pitched vocals within the song. Lastly, they move on to the powerful ‘Self-Made Black Hole’ that features Resolve, who recently also made a great performance in Manchester. Head bangs could be spotted throughout the sea of people as I watched from the balcony. Everyone was enjoying themselves to the max with this set. Intense flashing lights and sub bass fill the Ritz and build up for an exciting breakdown that forms a large push pit. It Is certain to say that this concert was a success, with people coming out at the end looking happily worn out and people discussing how it has been one of the best gigs of the year so far.
