Live Review: Sylosis - O2 Ritz, Manchester
21st February 2025
Support: Revocation, Distant and Life Cycles
Words : Oli Gonzalez
Photos: Tom Atkin
Saturday 21st February 2026. A perfect storm in Manchester. We’re not talking about the biblical levels of rain either! No, a number of high profile gigs were taking place on this night, including headline sets from Crowbar, and Between The Buried And Me ensuring that fans of heavy music would be spoiled for choice tonight! Though 1400 or so metalheads chose to spend their Saturday night at the O2 Ritz for a different occasion.
British thrash-metalcore standouts Sylosis had been touring the UK and Europe, with venues on the continent selling out and many more coming damn close to! They would return to the O2 Ritz for the first time since November 2024, when they were in support of Fit For An Autopsy. Now one place higher on what the band had described as their biggest headline tour yet. All in the name of promoting “The New Flesh” which had released one day prior, and had already begun to accumulate respectable reviews from the likes of ourselves, Kerrang and Decibel magazine, amongst other publications. This alongside a stacked undercard featuring Life Cycles, Distant, and Revocation ensured all the ingredients were there for a special night…
45 minutes after 6pm doors, Life Cycles made their way to the stage. No fancy cinematic entrances. Just a simple walk on. Though the hyping up the crowd had begun before a single note had been played. See, normally it's the opening band's job to warm the crowd up. Life Cycles seemed hellbent on starting a raging inferno and unhinged frenzy! The Manchester crowd were primed and ready on this Saturday night and absorbed their infectious energy. A style rooted in thrash and hardcore (think Municipal Waste) fronted by the super energetic Jeremy Cuevas was enough to open up the pit two songs in and ensured the night would begin early for the security staff when we saw our first crowd surfers! Even slower yet bruising encounters like 'The End Remains' kept the energy flowing. An introduction to the band for many tonight, and a mighty fine introduction at night. Whoever was next, good luck!
Anybody within a one mile radius of the Ritz between 19.30-20.00 may have heard a series of deafening earth shaking rumbles! This was not an earthquake though. No, this was due to the unparalleled heaviness of Dutch deathcore destroyers Distant! This was no place for refined technical passages nor sophisticated song writing. No melody nor light could possibly shine through this cavernously dense mix designed to cause maximum unhinged carnage. Vocalist and front man Alan Grnja was leading the charge, ordering the largest circle pit of the night up until this point and ensuring security had earned their wages with more going airborne. Those not in the pit were ordered to crouch down and leap up on his signal at the beginning of the final song, ensuring everybody was part of the show. Investment in a more refined lighting and overall visual display would have maximised this feeling of engagement and immersion though it must be said. Nonetheless, this felt like a step up in quality and 30 minutes felt too short for a band of this calibre. Conversely, this also ensured the old energy reserves could be saved for the next band.
Deep into the night now and time for Revocation. Another band riding the momentum of a recent and critically acclaimed album with "New Gods New Masters" dropping in late 2025. Whereas Distant represented the more primitive and brutal side of metal, Revocation offered a vastly more technical and aesthetic taste of thrash. Think of the early Bay Area scene sound but with a more modern and polished edge. Frontman David Davidson delivered a solid vocal performance though bassist Alex Weber proved to be a more than adequate deputy. David barely needed to say anything to keep this white hot crowd engaged. Though security were kept more than busy with the ante upped considerably, something the band acknowledged and thanked them for. Sadly, pleas for one more song could not be satisfied due to the time constraints of the schedule. Is there a greater compliment for a band to hear a crowd shout those sacred three words?
With all the support slots finished, the shared backline could now be swept away from the stage. This meant that the sophisticated lighting rig, towering drum riser, and other tools Sylosis would need for a highly produced headline set could be unveiled. Survivor’s timeless classic ‘Eye Of The Tiger’ played over the PA to get everybody in the mood for a sing along. Then, the lights went down. The roar from the crowd became deafening. A cinematic and dramatic walk on followed, and then straight into ‘Erased’. Then it began!
Let's be clear. I’ve seen some carnage at this very venue in recent times. Being right at the front for both Igorrr and Jinjer’s headline sets offered the optimal vantage point to see this first hand. What we saw on this night for Sylosis definitely ranks up there with those most chaotic of scenes. Especially with a circle pit that threatened to swallow the entire O2 Ritz, and a seemingly never ending stream of bodies going over the barrier!
Though it’s not all about the brutal breakdowns and neck snapping riffs. Believe me, there were plenty. Especially during ‘Heavy Is The Crown’. See, Josh Middleton spoke of his intention to write songs that are heavy but anthemic too on “The New Flesh”. Take ‘Lacerations’ for instance.
“Are you alive? Living with a sinking feeling”
Look in any direction and you could see legions of fans echoing the infectious chorus back to the band. With it still being unheard to many, give it a few more years and you can guarantee every single person in a venue of this size will be singing along! That’s if Sylosis haven’t outgrown venues like the O2 Ritz. Scenes like this paint a picture of a band who have forged a special connection with a fiercely devoted fanbase which will surely be the driving force in the band's continuing upward trajectory. They hadn’t forgotten about their older fans either, and still made room for older classics like ‘Teras’ and from their early “Conclusion Of An Age” days! Speaking to a deep respect that Sylosis have for their fans.
Seventy five minutes felt like the optimal time for a closing set. At 22:45, the Manchester collective had clearly reached their limit and an encore may have pushed them over that.
Some may have doubted Sylosis’ ability to handle the pressure that comes with a headline tour like this. Though after tonight, those doubts surely should be erased as they made this seamless transition when the lights were on bright.
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
