The Amity Affliction Perform Cutthroat Set At O2 Ritz Manchester

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The Amity Affliction brought their new album “House Of Cards” to the O2 Ritz Manchester on the 10th of October, alongside guests Orthodox, Varials & Silent Planet.

First up for the night, we have Orthodox, A monstrous Death/Metalcore band out of Nashville, Tennessee. The five piece have an unmistakable sound that once you hear it your body just wants to move, opening their set with one of their hit songs ”Sacred Place”, those harmonics rang through the Ritz as crowd surfers flew over the barricade one after another. This set a hopeful precedent for the night as the crowd were ready to give it their all for the first of 4 bands on the bill. The band were later joined by the lead singer of Varials, Skyler Condor, on the song “Commit To Consequence" alongside the band's lead singer Adam Easterling, before leaving the stage to prepare for a set of his own. Closing the set they played their other hit song “Cave In”, once again with those harmonics of doom that hypnotise the crowd.

Second up we have Varials, another Metalcore band who blend Nu Metal with Hardcore influences, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One member who wasn’t a stranger to the stage for the evening was their singer, who has possible one of the most energetic sets i’ve ever seen, the man did not stop moving around the stage, two stepping, head banging and much more while absolutely tearing it up on vocals alongside the rest of his band mates laying down the foundations of what was to be a very energetic and heavy set from the band. Playing songs like “Your Soul Feeds”, “Empire Of Dirt” featuring the lead singer from orthodox this time, and finishing the set off with “I’ll Find The Dark”. Another set that left it’s mark, and really had the crowd amped up ready for more

Silent Planet took to the stage, and the final support act and penultimate band for the evening. An experimental metalcore band this time from the west coast of Azusa, California. This band had such a different vibe around them than the rest of the bands on offer, but in such a good way, a poppy refreshing sound that still had fans breaking their necks from time to time with disgusting breakdowns and thick guitar riffs and beautiful choruses. Playing tracks like “Offwolder”, “Collider” & their hit song from their “SUPERBLOOM” Album, “Antimatter”. Such an interesting band, a massive noise from a four piece, and one that I can see definitely getting bigger as they have had this sound for such a long time now and it is finally their time to shine. On top of an awesome set, it was good fun helping band members load off the support act drum kit to make way for the headliner, The Amity Affliction.

Last but not least, we have The Amity Affliction, with no introduction needed, these metalcore pioneers took to the stage after teasing the crowd with “Numb” by Linking Park playing which had the whole crowd singing, with some intermissions that teased the band’s arrival. As the lights dimmed, and the LED panels on each side lit up with the bands logo, each member came out one by one and blasted straight into their massive hit song “Pittsburg”, as a massive fan of the band I just couldn’t help but join the crown in singing along the whole night, from this classic to their next song “Drag The Lake”, my personal favourite track from the band. As Joel, the band’s screamer, shouts the iconic “KICK IT” lyrics, the song exploded into a wall of sound that had many fans ecstatic for the night to come, with tears of happiness, sadness and everything in between shed from concert goers throughout the Ritz.

After those two monstrous tracks back to back, the band calmed down a little with a deeper cut of “Like Love”, a song hidden in the band’s single release “Somewhere Beyond the Blue”. A powerhouse track that is heavily overlooked but was loved by the crowd. Swiftly proceeded with a few new tracks, “Bleed” & “Heaven Sent”, from their new album “House Of Cards”. It was amazing to hear these new songs live as it is the first album the band has written without previous singer and bassist Ahren Stringer, with Jonny Reeves taking the place of Ahren, he had big boots to fill but he has went a step further and started working with the band to shape his own identity with the band while still belting old tracks with force.

A few songs later, fans were given the choice to pick between “Open Letter” or “Chasing Ghosts”, two great songs but I personally think the crowd chose correctly with “Open Letter”, a beautifully written song that is against suicidal thoughts, that comes from the soul of Joel Birch. Another one of my favourite tracks of the night.

As the set sadly came to a close, we heard songs like “Afterlife”, once again joined by skyler Condor of Varials, “All That I Remember” and “Death’s Hands”, before the encore which left fans in anticipation. As they took back to the stage, the fans were treated to “Soak Me In Bleach" , a newer song in comparison to their lengthy discography. A beautiful way to close out an amazing evening of music from a bunch of talented people, from the punchy early hardcore influence metalcore up and commers, to the giants of the genre that are The Amity Affliction, the night had it all and I am anxious to see this band again, even if it isn’t with a camera in hand!