LIVE REVIEW: The Cremation Party – Ithaca @ O2 Academy Islington, London
There’s nothing like a cremation party. So said ITHACA on 2022’s landmark album They Fear Us, and tonight it’s particularly apt as they mark the end of the band with their final ever headline show. It’s both funeral and party, with DJ sets opening the night as well as between bands, but ITHACA’s set is set to be an emotional affair.
Openers FORLORN are riding high on the announcement of their debut album Aether, out March 28th on Church Road Records. Their blend of pagan influences and seething post-metal has matured in the past few years, and their stage presence has grown with it. Vocalist Megan Jenkins commands the ritual circle, outfitted with a flower crown and black robes as she both sings haunting melody and delivers caustic screams. There’s vocal backing from her band members too, those screams becoming cavernous at times. There’s something primal about their songs that’s heightened live, particularly recent singles Creatress and Funeral Pyre. It’s as if they’re coalescing the very elements themselves through ritual into a captivating live set, one that reminds everyone why FORLORN are ones to watch in the UK’s burgeoning scene.
Rating: 8/10
KNIFE BRIDE are an altogether different beast, fusing alt metal and some nu metal bounce in their guitars. Vocalist Mollie Clack is a whirlwind of energy, the likes of MELANCHOLIA becoming grooving anthems that get bodies moving. With only a smattering of singles and an EP to their name so far, that they’ve become so talked about is testament not only to their huge tracks but their tight, energetic live shows. Tonight is no different, the four piece peeling off big riffs and earworm hooks like it’s nothing, electronic elements occasionally offering some respite before a mammoth breakdown. In a moment of fantastic set list design, an arresting, emotional Territory follows an unreleased, extra-heavy track they don’t name but promise is out next month. It’s their first show this year and a full circle moment as they note it’s the first venue they ever played, making this a particularly special occasion. They send it off with a towering Fang Dummy whose colossal riffs and chorus ensure it’s one to remember.
Rating: 8/10
ITHACA are a special band – an exceptional one, even. That they’re calling it a day is tremendously sad, but tonight is just as much about celebrating them as mourning. “Welcome to the cremation party,” guitarist Sam Chetan-Welsh grins as they file on in all black before a ferocious Cremation Party causes the floor to erupt in a mass of bodies. Djamila Azzouz is on imperious form, visceral screams cutting through the thunderous riffs. In the Way veers from its breakneck, whiplash-inducing verses to serene chorus, the pit well and truly feral by this point. “Holy shit,” she grins, “did you know this is our final show?” before an explosive The Future Says Thank You.
While the early part of the set is dedicated to their landmark second album They Fear Us, they delve into the back catalogue to air a few tracks from their EPs for those that’ve been with them since the earliest days, sounding even more urgent with tonight’s beefy mix. They even bring out their original bass player Drew Haycock during their first ever released song Ashes, who they laud as integral to their journey, in a full circle moment. Their onstage energy is just as high as the crowd’s, instruments held aloft during panic chord breakdowns, and between songs they’re clearly emotional, particularly as chants of “ITHACA!” ring out.
Playing a set culled from their earliest to the brand-new song they’ve penned as a parting gift, it’s another example of how they’ve always done things purely on their own terms, including a late cover of DEFTONES’ My Own Summer (Shove It) before They Fear Us detonates just as much as ever. The pervading atmosphere all night is a mixture of sadness and gratitude, for everyone involved. It’s devastating to see a band this good calling it a day, but it’s on their own terms. ITHACA is dead. Long live ITHACA.
Rating: 11 (10)/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from Anne Pfalzgraf here:
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