No fans are more enthusiastic than those of hardcore/heavy bands. It’s a big statement to make, but it’s true. Within no other genre do the devotees consistently exert all their energy, during every single song, at every single show.
Bring Me The Horizon’s headlining performance at Festival Hall was no exception to this, the crowd already covered in sweat hours before the Brit act hit the stage, thanks to support from Japan’s Crossfaith and California’s Of Mice & Men.
Unknown to many, the Sheffield-formed headliners have been around for almost a decade. Sure they’ve got supporters who’ve been with them from the start, but surprisingly more than most bands do, with each album they’ve released Bring Me The Horizon have increased their fan base enormously.
With four albums now to their name, the UK act are continuously moving from bigger to bigger venues, so it’s no wonder they were able to sell out Festival Hall with haste.
Darkness filled the room and five white silhouettes were lit up on stage, confetti cannons blew thousand of tiny pieces of white paper into the air and on to the crowd. Bring Me The Horizon sure know how to gain attention and open a show, the suspense for them to begin now rising through the roof.
They exploded into latest single ‘Can You Feel My Heart’, and with it emerged hundreds of smartphones from within the adoring audience, set on capturing every second of the song – an annoying habit many have taken on in the last decade.
The mass of moshing enthusiasts sang the intro to ‘Shadow Moses’ as frontman Oli Sykes expectedly stirred the multitude of doting fan girls with a cheeky grin. Matthew Nicholls’ exceptional drum skills were on full display throughout, you could feel the double kicks through the vibrations in the floor.
Bring Me The Horizon are known for their destructive mosh pits, so it came as no surprise to see several girls being carried out of the pit just two songs in to the lengthy hour and 40 minute set.
Shoes and shirts were thrown on stage, circle pits ensued, there were constant waves of people pushing forwards and backwards, yet surprisingly, there was no wall of death throughout the entire performance.
The typical swaying of lighters surfaced as Sykes donned a mike stand for slower track ‘And The Snakes Start To Sing’, but back into the fist-filled frenzy the crowd returned for ‘Empire (Let Them Sing)’.
“Don’t be a pussy” declared the singer, explaining to the crowd he currently held the world record for the most high-fives from an audience to a front man, as he invited them to break the record by getting on someone’s shoulders to move forward or by crowd surfing towards him. The security weren’t too fond of this idea but with the announcement “If you get on stage, I’ll give you a blowjob,” a swarm of fans headed for Sykes.
Throughout the mayhem ‘It Never Ends’ was still performed with outstanding precision and an undeniable energy.
Bonus track ‘Deathbeds’ off their latest album, 2013’s Sempiternal, appeared as some kind of intermission for punters, the slower, less heavy track, mesmerising the audience in a way. Sykes’ surprisingly impressive clean vocals were something to be marveled, however, as with every other time the screamer had sung clean in this show, the vocals were too quiet. Clearly the microphone had been set for the loud and confronting scream sections that make up the majority of the songs, and were not to be adjusted for the cleans.
With a repertoire that mostly included tracks off Sempiternal, the quintet closed with older number ‘Chelsea Smile’, before returning for a two-song encore after an incessant “One more song!” chant from the crowd.
A cloud of smoke invited the band back to the stage, with synth sections from new band member Jordan Fish evolving into ‘Blessed With A Curse’.
“Even a One Direction crowd can do this,” shouted Sykes, reigniting the energy in the room. Foam poured out from above and again confetti cannons fired into the air as the obvious crowd pleaser ‘Sleepwalking’ closed the set.
Despite Sykes’ clean vocals being impressive throughout earlier tracks in the night, by the end of the performance it was clear the screaming was taking a toll on his voice, the clean singing in the final number being not so up to scratch.
Bring Me The Horizon consistently put on incredible shows, their musicianship reaching incomparable standards every time. This performance was indeed no exception, leaving Festival Hall with a horde of satisfied sweaty fans.
Bring Me The Horizon Setlist
‘Can You Feel My Heart’,
‘Shadow Moses’
‘Diamonds Aren’t Forever’
‘The House Of Wolves’,
‘Go To Hell, For Heaven’s Sake’
‘And The Snakes start To Sing’
‘Empire (Let Them Sing)’
‘It Never Ends’
‘Deathbeds’
‘Chelsea Smile’
Antivist
Encore:
‘Blessed With A Curse’
‘Sleepwalking’
