Live Review: Catch Your Breath - Slay, Glasgow
Support: Until I Wake, Of Virtue
8th March 2024
Words & Photos: Laura Muraska-Ross
It was Glasgow, it was a rare sunny spring evening and the venue Slay had already started filling up with eager metal music fans, for what was sure to be a good gig. It was an all-American line-up, with alt-rock band Catch Your Breath headlining and support coming from post-hardcore band Until I Wake and four-piece metal core band Of Virtue.
The venue was packed from the barrier in front of the stage, all the way back to the exit, and I knew it was going to be a good night.
First to take the stage were, Of Virtue, a band I’ll be honest, I hadn’t heard of before. However, the band have been around since 2008, cementing themselves quickly in the meltacore scene back home in Michigan, US and going on to release Multiple albums and singles, so I’m not sure how they slipped by me.
The band came to the stage with a hefty burst of energy. Lead singer Tyler Ennis was instantly engaging with the crowd, spinning and jumping around the stage, his enthusiasm was contagious and it wasn’t long before the crowd reciprocated.
Only a few songs in an he was already asking the crowd to part ways and start a pit, although he said he couldn’t say the exact words (not sure if this is a venue rule around Mosh pits) but he said ‘you know what I mean, let’s get this thing going’. I was surprised to see the sometimes hard to please Glasgow crowd joining in so quickly but they did and it was magic.
There was also a brief moment where the crowd got there torches out, which we see a lot at concerts now, but it never fails to be breathtaking and always makes it feel warm and more like a community coming together as one when it happens.
All in all, Of Virtue were great both musically and at warming up the crowd, an excellent choice for the line-up and one to watch especially with hits like their single ‘Sinner’ already under their belt and a recent collaboration called ‘Bad Dreams’ with Alt-rock female band Conquer Divide who also recently graced the stage at Slay. Could we possibly see a little tour coming soon with these two awesome bands on the bill together, let’s wait and hope.
On to the second support of the night and the awesome metalcore , New York based band Until I Wake were next to entertain the crowd. They came to the stage with an air of professionalism that only comes from bands that have been there, done that, many times before. By this I mean they just knew what they wanted to achieve and how to achieve it. From the first guitar riffs, the crowd were jumping up and down, and screaming. Signaling that they definitely had few fans there to see them as well as the headliners.
Singer Cody Jamison was taking control of the stage as he walked back and forth belting out his vocals, while guitarist Niko Karras was giving out sick licks and high kicks in abundance.
Although, Until I Wake have only been going since 2019, they seem to be firmly inserting themselves into the US/UK metal scene already. I suspect we are going to see more from them in the coming years, whether that be at festivals or their own headline tour in the UK and Europe.
Finally, we get to the final act of the night and after keeping the crowd waiting in anticipation, Catch Your Breath took to the stage. The band entered first, the music started and singer Josh Mowery came on from stage right to a screaming crowd and singing the opening lines of their song ‘Ghost inside The Shell’.
The band, from Austin Texas, have a familiar and easy sound, it’s a perfect mix of electronic, heavy riffs and melodic vocals. Making quite the impact, with some fans in the front singing every lyric to ever song.
One of the stand out moments for me was when they played ‘Good in Goodbye’ it was a complete switch up in the set, and was a song that clearly moved people as I looked around the crowd. I also really enjoyed ‘Dial Tone’ which sounded a lot heavier in person than the previous versions I had heard online.
I thoroughly enjoyed their set and the gig as a whole. I can see why they have a loyal fan base over here already and would go see them again if I saw them on the line-up at a festival or playing near me.
Photo Credits: Laura Muraska-Ross
Be the first to comment