While She Sleeps - O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester 07/12/2024

It has felt like a long time since While She Sleeps have been in Manchester, but following the huge success of their latest album ‘Self Hell’, the band have finally made their way back home to the U.K. to close out the year in the only way they know how. With support from Resolve, Thrown and Currents, it is set to be a big night.

First on tonight is Resolve. In recent years, there has been an increase in metalcore bands with strong stage presence coming out of France. Resolve are no different. From the very start, it’s all action on stage, giving a powerful performance which more than matched the energy of their songs. Musically, it is heavy but seems to take inspiration from other genres in the instrumentation, at times sounding similar to that of Normandie and at other times leaning closer to a sound similar to that of Wage War. Vocalist, Anthony Diliberto is a fantastic frontman for the band, with strong vocals, he commands the growing crowd with ease. Although Resolve are still fairly new to the scene (starting back in 2016), they give a performance which suggests they’ve been around for significantly longer, showing huge confidence throughout the duration of their half an hour set.

Second up is the mighty Thrown. This Swedish metalcore band have had a big year, playing multiple shows across the world and delivering their new album ‘Excessive Guilt’. Clocking in at just over 20 minutes, the album is a stand out this year and it’s always exciting to see the band take the energy of their music and pump it out into the crowd. As soon as the lights dim, there is a loud cheer from the crowd. Kicking their set off with ‘Guilt’, it's a fast-paced set that keeps the crowd on their toes. Their music hits like a punch to the face. It’s heavy, it's aggressive and vocalist Marcus Lundqvist only pushes this harder with the delivery of his vocals. You can almost feel the anger in his voice, and backed by crunching guitars and booming drums, it only adds to this. 

Thrown are also fairly new on the scene, but they’ve put in the work and this is evident in the crowd's reception of the band; amongst the crowd, it's all moshing and two stepping. Stand-out songs include, ‘On The Verge’, from the moment the now iconic intro starts, the crowd are moving and belting the words back. Interestingly, with Thrown, their music has rhythm and the vocals follow this rhythm. If you were to replace the instruments with a bassline and DJ, some of these songs would not sound out of place on a rap album. That's also not a bad thing and not a criticism as it feels like they have put their own spin on the hardcore genre, making them stand out from similar bands. As quickly as they started, their set is over, leaving a lasting impression on the crowd and giving them a quick breather before the next band takes to the stage.

Our penultimate band tonight is Currents. Having gained status, following the release of 2020 album ‘The Way it Ends’ the bad have continued to grow their fan base and push their sound further. This was proven by the huge success of 2023 album ‘The Death We Seek’. Taking to the stage under a red hue, the band start their set with an atmospheric play-through of ‘Never There’, with only vocalist Brian Wille lit up before diving head first into a blistering play through of ‘Monsters’. The crowd are whipped up into a frenzy of arms and legs as the circle pit opens up and the moshing begins. On stage, it’s also non-stop movement with bassist Christian Pulgarin spinning around and jumping across the stage. It's not just crunching guitars and thunderous drums, these guys are all extremely skilled with their instruments, never missing a beat or playing out of time as they work through an arrangement of complicated riffs and grooves.

Currents routinely writes songs which deal with an array of themes, from external issues to battles from within, but in a way that grabs the listeners attention and keeps them hooked. Their live set proves that it’s not just the music that is captivating but their onstage presence and the ability to command the crowd whilst never straying from what they believe in. As they bring their set to a close with ‘Guide Us Home’ they thank the crowd for their time before leaving the stage.

The moment has come, and it’s finally time for one of the hardest working British metalcore bands. Hailing from Sheffield, While She Sleeps have always put everything into the music they create. Having stepped away from a label, to do it on their own back in 2021, they have worked tirelessly to progress the band and continue to deliver music that not only the fans want to hear, but they themselves want to play without the external noise. Tonight’s show is a showcase of everything they have achieved since they started out as a band, and also a celebration of the release of their album ‘Self Hell’ which came out back in March of this year. 

After an atmospheric, introduction with ‘PEACE OF MIND’, the band jump into ‘LEAVE ME ALONE’ before heading into ’ANTI-SOCIAL’ giving the crowd their first taste of what the band are capable of. It's not long before the crowd surfers start to flow over the barrier and the circle pit is in full swing. While She Sleeps' vocalist, Loz Taylor, is a joy to watch on stage, not only are his vocals impressive, raw and truly emotive, but his ability to capture the audience’s attention and lead them in singalongs is truly exciting. ‘RAINBOWS’ is also an early stand-out with a full array of coloured lights lighting up the stage as the band stomp across the stage.

Back in 2023, when ‘SELF HELL’ (the first single from the album of the same name) was released, there was a bit of a mixed reception but it's clear the band knew what they were doing with this song. When performed live, it brings the whole room together into a sea of waving arms and jumping bodies. Although tonight's set features a lot of songs from the new album, that doesn’t stop the band throwing in fan-favourites like ‘Four Walls’ and ‘Hurricane’ which both have a huge reaction in their own right. Also included in tonight's set are ‘DOWN’ and ‘Silence Speaks’, both of which were recorded with guest vocalists. For tonight, Currents' vocalist Brian joins the band for a brutal play through of ‘DOWN’ whilst Resolve's vocalist Anthony takes Oli Sykes' role on the huge song ‘Silence Speaks’. As the set draws to a close, the band play the emotionally charged ‘TO THE FLOWERS’ during which Loz threw flowers to members in the audience before sending the crowd into one final frenzy with ‘SLEEPS SOCIETY’.

Tonight's show has been a non-stop thrill fest from all bands involved. Each displaying their own unique sounds, before While She Sleeps brought the room together with a sense of community that can only be found at their shows. Whilst songs like ‘This Is The Six’ would have been a welcome addition to the setlist, the crowd still pulled out all the stops on this huge show to give While She Sleeps a big welcome back to Manchester.