LIVE REVIEW: Split Chain @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester
SPLIT CHAIN embarked on their first UK Headline tour, with a stop at Manchester’s The Deaf Institute, following the release of their album Motionblur. This came with support from Las Vegas screamo outfit ROMAN CANDLE and UK hardcore mob FALSE REALITY. The band continues their eventful year after playing a packed out tent at 2000trees and fresh from supporting KITTIE on their UK tour last month.
Piper Ferrari, vocalist of ROMAN CANDLE, knows how to put her all into a gig and despite breaking her foot mid-show on one of their EU dates, this did not stop the band from delivering a powerful performance. This band are ones to watch as they deliver chugging riffs, heart-pounding drums and brutal vocals, with as much ease and expertise as the headline act. Delivering heavy-hitters from their debut album, Unadulterated, an album which draws from Piper’s own experiences and tackles intense themes, the ferocity and rawness in the vocals were felt to the core by everyone in the crowd. Encouraging moshing and pits regularly throughout, the Nevada-based band were the perfect choice of opening band for the night, getting people on their feet in the small, but already packed out venue.
Rating: 8/10
Next up was FALSE REALITY. The London-based hardcore band made sure to keep the room moving, through their unrelenting riffs and driving drum beats. The dynamic between the band members shone through in their performance, offering smiles between members and crowd alike, in stark contrast to the heavy beats and biting vocals. This along with brief moments of peace between songs where vocalist Rachel Rigby stated “everyone is welcome in hardcore”, brought a togetherness that drew the crowd in even more. FALSE REALITY have always been an inclusive band that never shy away from speaking on current issues, intermittently talking to the crowd between songs and inviting people to chat to them after at merch even if they weren’t able to buy anything, which drew the audience in even more who were already hooked from Rachel’s intense vocals. The band were operating at 100% throughout, the energy translating through to the audience who were relentless in the pit.
Rating: 9/10
“If you see someone, push them” announced SPLIT CHAIN vocalist Bert Martinez-Cowles to the packed out venue. It may have been a Sunday night but the band and crowd alike were not intending on resting any time soon, with high energy pulsing throughout the intimate venue. These upcomers in the scene bridge a gap between hardcore, nu-metal and shoegaze, with their debut album offering an unrelenting emotional depth which evidently the fans felt connected to, as the moment the band got to the stage the crowd surged forwards, needing little encouragement from the band to get everyone going despite the audience already putting seemingly all of their energy in for the supports.
The band played a wealth of tracks from their debut, including bringing out the support bands’ vocalists to perform their respective collab tracks, SPIT and Headway, but the clear crowd favourite of the night was bored.tired.torn which had the audience screaming the lyrics back from start to finish. Alongside this they brought out some early fan-loved tracks like Chalk and Future, as well as performing Untitled, a new song from the deluxe edition of their album.
The Bristol-based band unleashed their best upon Manchester for their first headline tour and are already building a strong reputation for themselves amongst the greats in the heavy music scene after touring with bands like KITTIE, and with a strong debut album backing them, they are proving they are definitely ones to watch in coming years.
Rating: 10/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Manchester from Libby Percival here:
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