LIVE REVIEW: Chaosbay @ Rough Trade, Bristol
CHAOSBAY have been making serious rumblings across Europe for the last few years. Having only hit UK shores twice before – most recently supporting SIAMESE – it’s no surprise they’ve come back for their own headline run at last. After their explosive showing earlier this year, expectations tonight are sky-high, and honestly, the buzz in the room at Rough Trade in Bristol says it all. The crowd’s already stacked before the first band even starts, drinks in hand and chatter ricocheting around the venue. There’s a genuine sense of curiosity, the kind that hangs in the air when a band’s reputation precedes them.
MANDRAGORA open the night with a bang. Their sound is a collision of melody and muscle, packed with groove-laden riffs and ferocious vocals. The dual dynamic between the clean and unclean vocals adds real bite to their performance. There’s no gimmick here, just a band hungry to make their mark. It’s also refreshing to see more women in heavy music stepping into the spotlight without compromise. The scene’s been overdue for this kind of diversity, and MANDRAGORA are proof you can go heavy as hell while staying true to who you are. There’s power in that, and the crowd knows it. A killer opener, even if the much-teased “tea” didn’t quite spill like promised.
Rating: 8/10
DOWNPOUR follow up with a dose of pop-punk meets hardcore energy, bringing in a bit of a genre curveball. It’s upbeat, angsty, and familiar in that “Warped Tour in a basement venue” kind of way. Frontman Rich Lardner works the crowd with plenty of motion and charisma, though midway through the set, the lights dip to near darkness – whether a technical slip or an artistic choice, it doesn’t exactly help the vibe. They play solidly, but it’s hard not to feel like they’re swimming in an already crowded pool of similar-sounding acts. There’s potential, but they’ll need to carve out something that screams them if they want to truly break through.
Rating: 6/10
Then comes the main event. When CHAOSBAY finally hit the stage, the energy spikes instantly. The band explode into their set with precision and intensity – the kind of tightness that only comes from musicians who genuinely live and breathe their craft. Their mix of progressive metal, melodic hooks, and emotional depth hits like a freight train, with frontman Jan Listing leading the charge like a man possessed. The riffs are razor-sharp, the vocals soar, and the drums pound with mechanical precision.
What’s especially cool about this tour is that it’s not tied to a new album. Instead, the setlist feels like a love letter to the fans – a deep dive into their catalogue, peppered with requests and long-forgotten gems. When 2 Billion drops, the band admit it was a challenge to relearn for the live set – but it sounds absolutely flawless. CHAOSBAY prove their versatility too, balancing brutality with melody in a way that keeps the crowd fully locked in. Tracks like What Is War and MANIAC IN THE MIRROR bring the biggest reactions of the night – arms in the air, heads banging, the kind of collective catharsis that live music is built for. Between songs, there’s genuine warmth and banter from the band, a sense that they’re as stoked to be here as the fans are to see them.
By the time the final song ARE YOU AFRAID? fades out, the room is electric – sweaty, smiling, and satisfied. You can tell everyone’s thinking the same thing: these guys need a bigger stage. CHAOSBAY feel like a band on the cusp of something huge. If tonight’s anything to go by, it won’t be long before they’re playing venues where their sound – and energy – can truly stretch its legs.
If you missed this run, fix that next time. Because CHAOSBAY aren’t just a band to watch, they’re one to experience.
Rating: 10/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Bristol from Serena Hill Photography here:
Like CHAOSBAY on Facebook.