LIVE REVIEW: Unto Others @ The Star & Garter, Manchester

A last-minute announcement was made where the show was being hosted at The Star & Garter instead of Manchester Academy 3. Despite of this happening, it had not dampen the spirits of Portland’s gloomy goth quartet UNTO OTHERS and support from UK’s ZETRA from providing their own brand of ominous thrills to the warm Manchester atmosphere.

As a monument of screens was poised centre stage which resembled something from a bargain-basement apocalyptic film set, the London-based gothic shoegaze duo ZETRA exposed a slow-burning excursion of synths and metal wrapped tightly in darkness. While some of the deep rudiments didn’t blend well in a live setting, it was moments when Adam’s spurts of gentle pessimism were elevated by Jordan’s synth laden melodies, that held the packed crowd in just at the right setting. ZETRA’s tunes did contain the infrequent hit all while the dreamy soundscapes through sampled drum loops made way through the raspy guitars and angelic vocals. shaved off the organic feel. While there was no time to acknowledge their crowd, ZETRA had a very clever concept behind the mystery of their soundscapes, and we can confidently say that the sounds were charming and deserving of one’s time.

Rating: 7/10

Standing straight ahead on The Star & Garter’s arcane stage, UNTO OTHERS were a masterful presence fusing dark riffs that created a new realm of gloomy transformation in supporting their latest sounds from Strength. The spectral quartet wasted very little time and marched straight into Heroin, which proceeded with the darkened chugs by the blistering Give Me To The Night and the shadowy smooth No Children Laughing Now. As the set progressed, it has become clear that lead Gabriel Franco was playing to the renewed Mancunian crowd as every word was sung brought much needed joy, and every grunt was imitated seamlessly. Through the ongoing doom of Nightfall, trailed along with the Ozzy Osbourne hue demonstrated with Downtown and Summer Lightning giving further groove into the set.

As Jackie hypnotised the crowd, it became apparent that the ability to carry distress, ire, and misery was poured through the dynamics of Sebastian Silva and Gabriel Franco’s dual guitar presence, the low-end bass lines from Brandon Hill allowed to give way to striking drumming from Colin Vranizan, resulting into a solid live performance. A short intermission was followed by lead single, When Will Gods Work Be Done to which was played with equal measures of grit and command. The crowd roars with UNTO OTHERS with their thumping cover of THE RAMONES’ Pet Cemetery which kept the tradition of blending the dark gothic rock with classic heavy metal music. As the night approaches to a successful close, the room full of smiles didn’t leave after the smooth tinges of It Doesn’t Really Matter and A Single Solemn Rose waltzed in with the heavy Dalmatian, along with the crowd’s favourite duo Instinct and Dragon, Why Do You Cry? rung off the walls with a triumphant cry from the crowd.

As the quartet walked offstage on Manchester’s rundown The Star & Garter‘s wooden floors, UNTO OTHERS were a strong presence who fused headbanging riffs and dark alchemy perfectly. Their ability to reveal uniqueness to their stage presence and overall sound was something that can almost be heard in every track being a highlight to their setlist.

Rating: 8/10

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