Architects may have caused some distaste among fans for appearing on Radio One’s daytime playlist, but tonight’s set shows why they don’t care about criticism. They have enough fans who love what they’re doing. Launching straight into Day in, Day out from the new album, it’s clear they love playing the new stuff live.
Sam Carter has a real connection with the crowd constantly talking to them and making everyone engage with him fully, making everyone wave their arms side to side. Not what an Architects gig would have looked like in 2007.
Heartache sounded like a ballad but was a real celebratory moment when the crowd sang along in unison. They may have swapped brutal metal for beautiful melodies, but they still know how to put on an engaging show. The guitarist looks out to the crowd with confidence, proving this is a band comfortable in their new found skin. Even those clearly waiting for the headliners take the time to watch the whole set.
At one point Sam asks everyone to sit on someone’s shoulders, and quite comically even the men do it.But they don’t alienate the old fans completely, and conclude the set with heavier songs, Hollow Crown and Early Grave, which certainly puts a few smiles on people’s faces.
They may have gone for a more mellow sound these days, but the same can’t be said for their ambition.
The Parkway Drive boys are clearly gaining more recognition, proved when loud cheers erupt before they even come on stage. There’s a roar of excitement when the melodic intro starts and everyone looks more than ready to get involved. But Parkway Drive fans rarely stand there looking pretty and within seconds moshing and barging into people begins. Unfortunately the momentum of the circle pits never seem to last and front man Winston McCall had to keep shouting at the crowd to ‘pick it up’. But with more heavy breakdowns, the crowd finally show Rock City what they’ve got. With a mix of hardcore and metal it can be quite comical watching fans in the pit, with some doing windmills while others simply want to push you as hard as possible.
Having mainly played tracks from the last two albums throughout the set, it was a nice surprise to hear Romance is Dead off the band’s debut album. The great thing about Parkway Drive is that the new stuff goes down just as well as the old, proving that working with producer Joe Barresi has paid off. It was a short set and didn’t have as much variation of material as seen at their headlining shows but highlights included Sleepwalker and Boneyards.
There are no egos in this band. Instead, constant smiles in between songs show this band is loving every minute. The fans even sing along to the riffs in Carrion, a slower song which always gets a massive sing along. Once again, Parkway Drive killed it.
With a black curtain covering the stage, it was clear from the offset that Bring Me The Horizon were planning to do something a bit special. As soon as they came on, the curtain dropped and smoke filled the stage as they launched into It Never Ends from their latest album.
The crowd jumps in unison to track Fuck while Oli Sykes comically makes a wanking motion with his hands. Showing his fans mean everything to him, he puts his hand out to them before running to the far left of the stage to sing to a group of girls. There’s an obvious difference between the bands new and old material. At first it almost feels like a different band when they play tracks off Suicide Season but songs like Alligator Blood combine the two styles. Live favourites Diamonds Aren’t Forever and Chelsea Smile show how much the band’s sound has evolved on the new album.
Oli then took the moment to ask the crowd what song they wanted to hear next. After a few minutes of inaudible shouting they play Pray for Plagues off their debut album.
Whatever you think of Oli, his captivating command on stage cannot be denied. When he shouts circle pit, that’s exactly what happens. Surprisingly they actually look more brutal than the pits seen for Parkway Drive.
Architects vocalist, Sam Carter, joins Oli on stage for The Sadness Will Never End, a track they recorded together on Suicide Season. They make a great duo and it’s one of the highlights of the set.
The crowd then proceed to put their lighters up for Blessed With A Curse followed by a dozen black balloons dropping down from the ceiling. The band’s name then lights up in huge letters. This may be egoistical to some but its proof the band is starting to take their shows seriously.
Above all, it’s clear Oli is glad to be here. He puts a peace sign up to a fan before hitting the balloons back into the crowd with a smile on his face.
At one point the whole crowd copy the illuminati symbol showing that the fans will do pretty much anything Oli tells them to.
The great thing about the band is their ability to create different moods within minutes. Oli dedicates Suicide Season to lost family and friends but it doesn’t take him long to put people in a good mood again. Making a comical reference to the pissing on a fan controversy in 2007, Oli says: “You guys have been so good, I want to piss on all of you.”
Despite the set being almost over, Oli increases momentum as though he has just come on stage, demanding wall of deaths and circle pits before stage diving into the crowd.
The encore ends with Oli making everyone sit down, even people stood at the back behind the sound desk. They may have had bad press and divided people with their emo-shouting metalcore before, but tonight they were a different band. Even if you’re not really a fan, they certainly put on a memorable show.
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