Live Review: Fit For An Autopsy - O2 Ritz, Manchester
Support: Sylosis, Darkest Hour, Heriot
26th November 2024
Words: Dan Barnes
Photos: Tim Finch
It’s been an autumn of great touring packages, with Anthrax and Kreator laying waste to the theatres of the land and the memories of Arch Enemy and In Flames still fresh, it shows no signs of stopping as Fit for an Autopsy bring their The Nothing That Is tour into Manchester, with a mouthwatering supporting bill.
It’s a UK vs US situation, with both locations suppling two of their finest in an epic battle: it’s the Old world vs the New; the Colonisers vs the Colonised; the Limeys vs the Yanks. But who will prevail? Let the games begin.
The opening salvos are fired by Swindon Metalcore and Post-Everything quartet, Heriot, who’ve been searing stages and ripping faces for a decade now, but with the support of Church Road Records and the release of the debut full-length, Devoured by the Mouth of Hell, back in September, the band appear to have all their ducks in a row.
Naturally, a good half of Heriot’s set is dedicated to the new record, beginning with the dissonant opening and oozing, pestilent vocals of Foul Void, the heavy, but slowly pace of Siege Lord and At the Fortress Gate, and the vast scope of Mourn. Near Vision and Enter the Flesh, from the Profound Morality EP blister and grind, while Demure closes the short show with a power and passion that is probably still reverberating through the foundations of the Ritz as I write. A strong start from the Home Team.
DC Metalcore exponents, Darkest Hour have been going for nearly three decades and have been releasing albums for quarter of a century, right up to this year’s Perpetual / Terminal record. Unsurprisingly, that new plater makes up the bulk of the set, with only Sadist Nation and With a Thousand Words to Say But One coming from other work. The title track suggests Darkest Hour are here to claw back some of the glory sieged by Heriot, Amor Fati and Love Is Fear follow close behind and the closing blast of Goddess of War, Give Me Something to Die For is spewed from a fog-enveloped stage, marking the band as mere shades, backlit by harsh spots.
It's only when you directly compare Sylosis’ Bloodstock set from August, with tonight’s show that you fully appreciate the technical contribution of Joss Middleton’s virtuoso moments. At Catton Park, Sylosis were victims of technical issues which robbed the band of Josh’s guitar; the set was excellent as was, but the Reading quartet missed that X-factor that make them who they are creatively.
Tonight, with the Gods in their corner, no such technical hiccups are present, and Sylosis can set about proving to everyone in the Ritz that they are one of the leading lights in the UK’s modern metal scene.
Not that the Ritz need that lesson as there’s Sylosis shirts every which way you turn. But there’s nothing wrong with reminding the masses of this fact; and, while many of tonight’s tunes come from the A Sign of Things to Come album, Sylosis are keen to remind all of their glorious past by paying visits to five of their historic albums.
Empty Prophets and I Sever surround newbie, Pariah, at the start of the show, with the lighting being as harsh on the eyes as the music is on the ears. Josh tells the crowd that The Path is about how much he loves heavy music and goes about its business with a massive low end. The two from the Conclusion of an Age debut, Teras and the title track, are greeted like long lost friends, as is the anthemic Servitude, the trashing Calcified and the wall of death inducing, crowd-surfing extravaganza of Deadwood. Advantage UK.
It's a quick turnaround for Fit For an Autopsy and their set starts with a bang with Lower Purpose, full of heavy, heavy beats and a multitude of tempo changes. Theirs’ is a more melodic approach to deathcore, when compared to a Whitechapel or a Suicide Silence et al and allows the range of FFAA’s style to come to the fore. A Higher Level of Hate comes with calls for a divided room and the first of many circle pit requisitions; the stage is bathed in crimson light for a ferocious Red Horizon, and there’s something a little jazzy about parts of Black Mammoth.
Joe Badolato is as engaging a frontman as you could ask, breaking from the usual dour deathcore vocalist to bring some humour and humanity to the set; the band are air-tight in their execution and pin-point accurate in their delivery. The Sea of Tragic Beast is introduced through a series of guitar squeals before becoming a sound akin to Cannibal Corpse; Warfare carries its intent in its title, and doesn’t fail to see it through, while set highlight, Pandora, sees everything about Fit For an Autopsy purring along in perfect precision.
Hellions, Far From Heaven and Hostage take us up to the set finale of Two Towers and the clash of continents is brought to an end. The winner? It’s anyone’s guess, but I’m going to say we won because… well, I never claimed I would be unbiased. It was close though!
It hardly matters one way or the other, because this show proved the main winner was the punter with the ticket in his or her hand
Photo Credits: Tim Finch Photography
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