LIVE REVIEW: Bury Tomorrow @ The Ritz, Manchester

BURY TOMORROW are widely acclaimed as being one of the most successful and original metalcore bands to come out of the UK in recent years. Their 2016 release Earthbound propelled them into even greater success, touring with ARCHITECTS and PARKWAY DRIVE in the UK before announcing their headline tour for 2017 with guests CROSSFAITH, BLACK PEAKS and ANY GIVEN DAY.

 [NOTE: Due to issues with press pass collection our review team did not see the opening band ANY GIVEN DAY]

The choice of BLACK PEAKS as second support for BURY TOMORROW comes as a surprising but not entirely unwelcome idea, as whilst their sound is very far from the headliners, they are certainly a band that deserves more recognition on the UK rock and metal scene. The room was far from full when BLACK PEAKS came on stage, but this did nothing to quell the band’s energy, with a select number of their fans in the audience starting a small moshpit and screaming the lyrics back at vocalist Will Gardner. The rest of the crowd in The Ritz seemed to enjoy the bass-laden grooves of BLACK PEAKS, nodding along whilst the band rocked out to their alternative and progressive style of hard rock, not dissimilar from the sounds of bands like MASTODON and BIFFY CLYRO. A brave and energetic performance, but perhaps the wrong crowd.

Rating: 7/10

The contrast in crowd size and enthusiasm between BLACK PEAKS and CROSSFAITH was extremely noticeable, as the room nearly filled up for the Japanese metalcore stars. With CROSSFAITH having only made a name for themselves in the UK and Europe since their 2013 album Apocalyze, the majority of songs ranged from that album onwards to their new album, New Age Warriors. Older songs resonated more powerfully with the crowd, with the sprung wooden dancefloor in the o2 Ritz bouncing along with 500 people at the front. A high point of their set was their cover of THE PRODIGY’s song Omen, which guaranteed a singalong from even those who were not familiar with CROSSFAITH’s catalogue. Their energetic mix of metalcore and electronic dance music got the crowd perfectly warmed up for the chaos of BURY TOMORROW, and was undoubtedly a great choice of main support for their headline tour.

Rating: 8/10

BURY TOMORROW certainly set the bar of expectations high from their performances supporting ARCHITECTS and PARKWAY DRIVE, and their headline set did not disappoint. An interesting choice of setlist meant that the band opened with the first track from Earthbound, The Eternal. Whilst the heaviness of this song compared to older hits got the moshpit going, it may have left the fans on the barrier a little disappointed that they had little to sing along to at the start. However, the band soon got into their stride, with highlights from the first half of their set coming from sing-along favourites Memories and An Honourable Reign. The bouncing floor of the venue came into its own once more throughout the show, as BURY TOMORROW proved that metalcore doesn’t necessarily require headbanging or moshpits – the order of the day seemed to be bouncing and crowdsurfing.

One thing of note is that the choice of songs and the emphasis on choruses seemed to show that BURY TOMORROW were aiming for a less heavy show than they delivered with their previous shows supporting Earthbound, performing with other very heavy supports like THY ART IS MURDER. The breakdowns in some songs seemed understated, and could possibly have been given more limelight. However, the set ended triumphantly with an encore comprising of two of the band’s most popular songs – Man on Fire and Lionheart. Both vocalists’ performances on this tour were the strongest they’ve been in years, and this was confirmed by vocalist Dani Winter-Bates’ on stage comments; that this was the first time in their career that the band have felt they’ve given all they can on tour.

Overall, this was a triumphant show for the UK metalcore titans and was undoubtedly an example of the fact that the genre is still alive and kicking in 2017. The next few years can only be onwards and upwards for BURY TOMORROW.

Rating: 9/10

Check out our photo gallery from Christopher Ryan Photography here: