LIVE REVIEW: The Ghost Inside @ O2 Ritz, Manchester

Arriving at Manchester’s O2 Ritz with the sky above being light for the first time this year creates a sense of novelty and an air of change to attending a concert. This feeling of change from dark to light can certainly be applied to tonight’s headliners THE GHOST INSIDE who have overcome some of the toughest challenges in the business to return to this point, embarking on their first headline tour since 2015.

Leading the charge for the evening are Seattle metalcore outfit DRAGGED UNDER providing bundles of energy on stage and fast paced relentless riffs. Vocalist Anthony Cappocchi throws his arms and legs with reckless abandon as he covers the face of the stage, bouncing between gritty clean vocals and high screeching screams throughout. Perhaps the light sky has confused some fans to the time, as the volume of the crowd is lower than the band deserves but DRAGGED UNDER dutifully power through providing some light-hearted moments including guitarist Ryan Bruce encouraging the crowd to sway their arms during Weather with a cheeky grin. They end their time with Hypochondria to an impressive reception, getting people off their feet and bringing the first mosh pit of the evening. DRAGGED UNDER are a group who certainly have a lot of fun performing and for those fans who did make it down early, that feeling will surely have been mutual.

Rating: 7/10

Next up are SENSES FAIL, veterans of the stage who show their experience feeling undeniably at home in this scenario. They flow between post hardcore, pop-punk and more metalcore leaning tracks in the space of their eleven song setlist. Vocalist Buddy Nielsen is a flamboyant performer, moving extravagantly, even dropping for some one-armed press-ups during the breakdown in Wolves At The Door. They rattle through a hefty setlist, with twenty years of songs to pick from it is some feat to bind it all together but they do so with ease. With that depth of experience, SENSES FAIL truly understand the assignment of being main support, providing a monolithic mashup of songs during the bridge of set ender Bite To Break Skin, rattling through renditions of Chop Suey, Down With The Sickness, Break Stuff and Bulls On Parade to a justifiably joyous response. Could this perhaps be the best way to end a support slot? It’s certainly up there.

Rating: 8/10

As the room is at last packed out, THE GHOST INSIDE opt to emerge five minutes early to the recognisable opener of Avalanche, guitarist Chris Davies standing alone on stage left awaiting his bandmates. From the immediate crowd participation in the “hey” chants and sieging of the chorus melody it is quickly apparent that the band have been sorely missed. While traversing a few technical difficulties with the guitars after the first few songs, vocalist Jonathon Vigil allows himself to briefly reflect on how much they appreciate being able to be back in Manchester playing music. “We took for granted being able to come back”, he comments, and insists they “look at things with a newfound appreciation”.

Once Davies and fellow axe wielder Zach Johnson’s issues are averted, regular proceedings are continued with The Great Unknown relieving the crowd’s feet from the ground, followed by Vigil leading shouts of “Fuck This” in the chorus of Pressure Point. The gargantuan tracks are driven unilaterally from the back by drummer Andrew Tkacyzk, who’s monstrous sounding drums push the momentum of the outfit perpetually, with every groove and fill pummelling through your chest.

Their set is relentless as they display their unique mastery of the metalcore genre. Whether it be the chugging patterns of the rhythm section, mass participation in the breakdown calls of Vigil, or the ear worming hooks of bassist and clean vocalist Jim Riley, they show themselves as the true definition of what is so loved about the genre. What ties it all together though, is the connection between the band and the room. Their music emotes such hardship, but a great degree of hope that the fans latch onto, and no moment better exemplified this than by Vigil’s own admission the lesser performed track White Light, which he wrote about his younger brother who sadly passed away. Vigil takes a moment during the song to leave the stage to go to the barrier and hug a crying fan, in a moment that presents the band at their best. A means of catharsis for the whole room.

They close the whole night with fan favourite Engine 45 to a truly prodigious roar, with the repeated refrain at the end being the final moment of the night for the room to display their connection with the outfit. The group, Riley in particular, appear overcome by the response. During the set, Vigil had commented on how he didn’t want their accident to become what the band were known for, and through the course of the night, there will be no doubt that THE GHOST INSIDE mean so much more to people than that one moment.

Rating: 9/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Manchester from Jacob Kazara here:

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