LIVE REVIEW: Ne Obliviscaris @ Rebellion, Manchester

NE OBLIVISCARIS are one of the hottest bands in progressive metal. Since making big waves with their sophomore effort, 2014’s Citadel, the Australian sextet have undergone extensive touring across Europe and North America resulting in their momentum and popularity soaring. Now, on the back off last year’s Urn, the band have returned to our shores once more with ALLEGAEON and VIRVUM in tow. We caught the show in Manchester to see if the band can deliver once more.

VIRVUM have been enjoying a period in the spotlight. Storming onto the scene with 2016’s fabulous Illuminance, signing with the influential Season of Mist and performing a UK exclusive show at last year’s Tech-Fest, it’s fair to say there’s quite the buzz surrounding the Swiss quartet. Opening the proceedings for the night’s action, the band delivered a plethora of blistering double bass kicks and pummelling riffing from guitarists Nic Gruhn and Toby Koelman. It wasn’t all gut-busting action as VIRVUM are much more expansive than your typical death metal band and where they truly shone was in their melodic aspects to the guitarwork. The intricate and delicate introduction to Illuminance created a captivating atmosphere and the execution of the lead work in Ad Rigorem was simply breathtaking. Yet, it wasn’t a total sparkling performance. The real downfall to what would have been a stunning opening set was that the live mix felt off at times, which as a result, really hindered vocalist Bryan Berger‘s impact as often his guttural blasts felt lost in the chaotic sound. A disappointing aspect to their live sound, but on the whole, VIRVUM delivered and gave a performance that certainly would have turned some heads.

Rating: 7/10

For ALLEGAEON, their arrival on UK shores has been a long time coming. Despite being ten years into their existence and delivering albums of stunning technical death metal, this tour marks the very first time the band have ventured across the pond. So, it was fair to say that there was great anticipation surrounding their performance and ALLEGAEON more than delivered. Their live sound was pin-point precise in their execution of blistering death metal. Brandon Michael and Brandon Park kept the pace flowing in top gear and Riley McShane was a charismatic figure as he bounced across the stage with equally strong vocals to boot. Guitarists Michael Stancel and Greg Burgess delivered bout after bout of sharp riffing and breathtaking lead work that took centre-stage as ALLEGAEON showed their cutting edge. Speaking of Burgess, his execution in the live environment was simply stunning as he continuously demonstrated his prowess, with the opening shredding salvo of Proponent For Sentience III – The Extermination or the heavily melodic solo of 1.618 being just a glimpse of his expertise on stage. It was a set of sheer brilliance, and the inclusion of new song Extremophiles Part B sounding absolutely wonderful and hinting towards a new record on the horizon, ALLEGAEON can rest assured they are making a big impact on our side of the Atlantic.

Rating: 9/10

Riding a big wave of popularity and playing to a packed venue can be an intimidating task, but NE OBLIVISCARIS are a different beast. The Australians are riding high and boast a dedicated fanbase and they, once again, more than delivered the goods in Manchester. Technical wizardry, soaring strings and absolutely monolithic heaviness were the order of the day as NE OBLIVISCARIS blasted through an extensive headlining slot. Musically, the band were on point as the sextet combined and bounced off each other to create a brilliant live sound. Guitarists Matt Klavins and Benjamin Baret delivered an abundance of progressive and chugging riffing, Daniel Presland was a beast behind the drumkit keeping the pace flowing effortlessly and new kid Martino Garattoni gave a performance that showed he was right at home in the NE OBLIVISCARIS camp. In the vocal department, Xenoyr and Tim Charles bounced off each other with ease through their respective deliveries of harsh and clean vocals. This key dynamic lies at the core of their sound and live, it worked a treat with And Plague Flowers The Kaleidoscope demonstrating their vocal chemistry to the max. Tim Charles‘ utilisation of the violin was subtle at the best of times, rarely pushing itself to the forefront, with the exception of And Plague Flowers…, but, it was damn effective, effortlessly tugging at the heartstrings and adding an element of beauty to their chaotic brand of metal.

With the tour coming in support of their latest opus, Urn, it’s fair that the majority of their time on stage was devoted to performing new material and it sounded exceptional in the live environment. Tim Charles‘ soaring cleans in the chorus of Intra Venus raised the hairs on the back of the neck and the double whammy of Urn (Part I): And Within The Void We Are Breathless and Urn (Part II): As Embers Dance In Our Eyes was utterly emphatic in the set’s latter half. It was a lengthy and expansive performance, one which demonstrated the quality at the band’s disposal, and closing on the epic fan favourite Devour Me, Colossus (Part I): Blackholes ensured that NE OBLIVISCARIS finished with a flourish. They are a unique and fascinating band in modern progressive metal and based off their performance in Manchester, they will only continue enhance their glowing reputation in the months to come.

Rating: 9/10

Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in Manchester from Sabrina Ramdoyal Photography here: