Words & Pictures: Ange Cobham / Cobspix Photography
My first gig of 2023 and what a huge one to kick off with! A triple bill of blistering heavy metal that was guaranteed the peel the paint off the walls, trigger a sea of crowd surfers and pound the brains of the unsuspecting. Personally I couldn’t wait, with these 3 power houses sure to keep me busy!
Malevolence
Opening up the night, from Sheffield, we saw metal 5-piece Malevolence enter the stage, and it was at that moment I was happy to be in front of the security barrier as the crowd immediately went ballistic. The love for this band was very apparent and the guys, in turn, gave the audience a show to remember. I had heard reports that these guys had the crowd going at Bloodstock, starting mosh pits off, so I had a good idea of what was to come, but was still not fully prepared for the energy and chaos that unfolded around me! Alex Taylor paced around the stage and had the crowd on side from the off, even going to the barrier to get in with the crowd quite literally as the wired fans upfront were diving on him! He tore himself away and was back on stage announcing this was their best ever Manchester gig! Way to go Warehouse crowd!
Highlight songs of the set were “Higher Place” and “Keep Your Distance”, both of which were very clearly very beloved tunes. “Higher Place” gave us a massive crescendo of a ballad that made for an excellent sing-along anthem. “Keep Your Distance” gave us the polar opposite with a brutal beat-down of a tune that got the pit opened up. I was stood at the side of the stage recovering after a mad but busy first three songs, just watching in awe as a sea of people just poured over the top as they crowd surfed to security. I’ve never seen so many being pulled out. The fans were loving it!
“On Broken Glass” ended their short but powerful, punchy set which got the crowd warmed up for the heavy night ahead. I recommend you experience this majestic musical collective, they are a force to be reckoned with on the UK metal scene.
Heaven Shall Burn
Next up, the immense German outfit, Heaven Shall Burn, who have been around now for nearly three decades bringing their own unique brand of music to the metal world. Their mix of hardcore, thrash and groove metal is really something to behold. If you’ve never had a chance to see them, I would highly encourage it.
They played a well-put-together set and the crowd were into it getting even louder than they did for Malevolence! Whilst they seemed to have a slight technical hitch with the lead mic sound part way through, they still held it together and smashed it out of the park!!
If you’re a fan of the band it was great hearing a range of songs from their lengthy career over such a short space of time. If you’re new to the band this was a great crash course in the band’s discography. With tracks like “Übermacht” from their latest album “Of Truth & Sacrifice” and from their 2002 “Whatever it may Take” album “Behind a Wall of Silence” we were delivered a real treat.
The band looked like they were having a great time in Manchester. The energetic guitarists running from left to right shredding as they went, and main man Marcus Bischoff jumping up onto the platform keeping the crowd going. I got up close with my camera and earned a fist pump from Maik Weichert (highlight of my evening). They sure had fire and they unleashed it upon the crowd.
The great thing about Victoria Warehouse is there is so much floor space that multiple mosh pits can happen at the same time. It was then Heaven Shall Burn looked out proclaiming “it’s not good enough” as they commanded that the floor open up. It was an intense atmosphere and it was lapped up by the buzzing lively crowd. Closing the set on a cover of Edge Of Sanity’s “Black Tears” and their massive hit “Endzeit” was enough to call this an excellent set.
Trivium
Topping off a night of awesome metal mayhem, it’s the headliners Trivium.
A huge curtain covered the front of the stage and an intro of Maiden’s “Run To The Hills” blasted around the venue, with the fans joining in with the song at the top of their collective voice. When the PA dropped, so did the curtain, causing the tightly packed crowd to go wild.
Trivium’s set hit hard from the outset. They had a big balancing act to do and I think it was managed pretty well. Frontman Matt Heafy had his rock star poses going from the off, mainly the tongue pose, I think every photographer grabbed a shot of that! He encouraged the Manchester crowd to be even more riotous than they previously were and unsurprisingly there were no arguments from those assembled. The energy in the place was frantic, if I hadn’t been worried before about a boot to my head, I was at that point! As anticipated, we kept being moved aside by the security team (who were excellent all night may I add) as they were about to pull another body from the crowd. I had to be on my game tracking the band around the stage. [NB: We were later informed by the band’s publicist that the event broke the venue’s crowd surfing record. A feat and a half indeed!]
I think some serious credit has to go to Alex Bent on the drums. He kept the set chugging along and never missed a step, this along with the thrashing guitars, pummeling bass and Heafy’s melodic vocals made for an amazing set.
The set list was pretty strong (as you can see below), and there was a great mix of old and new material to keep all fans happy. With songs from their 9th full length album – “What The Dead Men Say” included prime cuts like “Amongst The Shadows & The Stones” and the title track, it was a real pleasure to hear them live, especially as I have been listening to this band for a while now. Live, the roar of the guitar and the slap of bass that comes with those tracks really hit home. A big surprise in the set was hearing “To The Rats” from the album “The Crusade”, giving the die-hard fans what they wanted by reaching down into their back catalogue for that one. It was just an overwhelming set that brought all of the best aspects of the band, full force, to life, closing out with two truly brilliant songs. “The Hate From Your Heart” got the Manchester crowd singing at the tops of their lungs. The atmosphere for this track was so on point and Heafy conducted the crowd with passion then they swiftly moved into “Shogun”. For those who have never experienced that song live it’s a mind-melting tune and something you really need to experience in the flesh as words just do not do it justice.
Without much of a break, they moved into the encore. The instrumental building up of “Capsizing The Sea” played as the anticipation grew. The collective scream of the intro to their titanic hit “In Waves” blasted, with everyone in the Manchester audience shouting as loud as possible. It’s easy to understand why this song is such a crowd-pleaser, it just allows the audience to participate in every way possible. The show came to a close with the beloved song “Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr” and the night was done.
An absolutely brilliant set, that I think every person in that place would agree shows a band still in their prime. It’s hard to believe that it’s 20 years on from their humble beginnings and these guys are still as tight and powerful as the band that emerged as Florida’s most influential metal act. A must see live performance!
SETLIST
Rain
Like Light to the Flies
Betrayer
Throes of Perdition
Like a Sword Over Damocles
Strife
Amongst the Shadows & the Stones
Drowned and Torn Asunder (with Josh Baines of Malevolence)
IX (Taped Intro – First Half of Track)
What the Dead Men Say
To the Rats
The Heart From Your Hate
Shogun
Capsizing the Sea
In Waves
Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr
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