Live Review: Thrown – Manchester

The Academy 2 in Manchester, or the old Debating Hall as it was previously known, holds many memories for me, some old and some new. It was the first place I ever stage dived on the day I left school, many, many years ago watching Mordred, it’s where I saw Fugazi, and more recently a spellbinding set from Zeal & Ardor, so tonight’s trip to see Swedish metalcore band Thrown, was another to add to that long list.

Now, I’m not the biggest metalcore fan, but was intrigued enough by Thrown, to go along and see what I’ve been missing. The venue was packed out, and with rising British stars of the nu metalcore scene Graphic Nature up first, vocalist Harvey Freeman was keen to thank everyone for turning up early to see them. They ripped through their energetic set, starting with “Headstone” and “Locked In” with the rest of the band in their now customary hoods down look.

I saw these last year supporting Skindred in Liverpool, and they’ve clearly improved since then, as Freeman gets the crowd moving with first of many invitations to “spin this shit Manchester”. Their mix of heavy metal riffs and big breakdowns fire up an enthusiastic crowd with “Sour”, “N.F.A.” and the excellent “Killing Floor” a song dedicated to encouraging young men to share their emotions. “White Noise” is loud, brash and abrasive and gets bodies moving. “Where are my two steppers? Where are my dancers at?” asks Freeman as they rip into final song “Fractured” a pulsating track, as they leave to good applause.

I know absolutely nothing about Texan nutters UnityTX, but by the end, I was smiling , as they impressed me A LOT!!! With a snorting bulldog on their backdrop, the Dallas quartet bound onto stage with frontman Jay Webster bouncing like a Tasmanian Devil as he wants the crowd to “open this muthufucka up” as they begin with “World of Malice” The riff is heavy, the vocal a mix of rap/screaming/hardcore and it just works so damn well. “Playing Favourites” is a stunning song and followed by the aggressive “Cross Me”.

When asked by Webster, not many had seen them before, and after “Heinous” we get the “appreciate y’all”. With guitarist Ricky Cova rapping alongside the frontman, they treat us to “Bang Sh!t” before the fingers are in the air for high energy “Hail Mary”. Webster encourages the “ladies to dance down the front, guys make some room for them” before” Diamond Diez”. A quick talk about the scene being inclusive goes down well as they end with “Ruckus” and the brilliant “Roc Sh!t” to finish a damn fine set. I look forward to their return to these shores.

Next up was Crystal Lake, another new one for me. The 5-piece entered after a rendition of “Sweet Caroline” on the house PA, and with a rumbling, vocalist John Robert Centarrino wants Manchester to “get this fucker up, right to left, lets go” as they start with “Bludgod” and “Disobey”. The drummer is machine gun rapid, and the rest are all crazy headbangers. The songs are heavy and hit hard, and with “Hail to the Fire” and “Six Feet Under” the crowd are encouraged to “split this place, front to back” and it goes off.

Centarrino does a brilliant job of whipping the crowd into a frenzy and the band are musically very tight, as the crowd goes nuts when Thrown frontman Marcus Lundqvist joins them for “Mephisto”. With a crazy sound bouncing off the walls, “Denial” goes off before “We are Crystal Lake and welcome to our Rebirth”, which is soul crushingly heavy. Even heavier yet is “Lost in Forever” which sees the first crowd surfer emerge, before we are all encouraged to “get off our feet like Peter Pan” for the chaotic finale “Apollo”. Time for a breather after that.

As headliners Thrown crank up the drum and bass sound, people file back into the venue to witness a short, 35-minute set, that was full of madness, chaos and bedlam, With “Backfire” kicking things off, Lundqvist wants the crowd to “get the fuck up”. Of course, they duly oblige, with flashing and blinding stage lights, before “Nights” is blasted through rapidly.

“We released an album last year and this is off that record, lets have some fun, this is called Look at Me” says Lundqvist and it sees so many camera phones thrust into the air. You can see why Ghost and other bands are banning phones for this very reason, but it’s a good song, and followed by the excellent “Parasite” and the pounding drums and bass that are form “Bloodsucker”. Next up is “a song about air conditioning” as the more intense “Vent” gets the crowd really moving. The slower section is brutal and so bloody good, before “Dislike” is ripped through.

They don’t hang about on stage, and it’s relentless from start to finish, as Lundqvist says “this is the first time we’ve headlined here, so thank you for that, here’s an old one, so show me what you got” as they run into “New Low” and the excellent “Guilt”, which sees the crowd surfers emerge and the crowd go nuts. There’s the eerie intro to “Bitter Friend” and it’s followed by “Dwell” and then the huge song that is “On The Verge”, with massive drops, that sees heads bopping and bodies moving.

“Two more songs then we are So Done” sees surfers galore and then the last song, “if you know the words, then help me out” and lets be honest, I’m probably the only one who doesn’t know them as the crowd responds to his request to sing “Grayout” word for word, bringing an end to a night of fast and furious music, enjoyed by all.