A bitter evening could never dampen the anticipation of the sell out crowd as they descended upon Newcastle’s arena en mass for arguably the biggest alternative band in the world right now Bring Me The Horizon. A stacked lineup of three support acts, Static Dress, Cassette and Bad Omens were there to heat up the eager fans. Some of whom had be queuing outside since the early hours to get their spot on the barrier for what they hoped would be the greatest evening their lives.
Modelled on nineties video games a woman’s face appeared on the screens to welcome us to the show, seconds later an eruption of confetti flew into the crowd followed swiftly by Oli Sykes and the rest of the band as the dove headfirst into “Darkside”. The stage was wall to wall screens providing a seamless backdrop of unlimited possibilities. For the opener and the next two tracks, “Empire” and “Mantra”, the stage was dressed as a church.
Following their recent summer of headlining festivals, Bring Me The Horizon’s performances and production has become a well known feature of their shows. The magnitude of the preparation and planning that must go into their shows has elevated them to the status of rock gods known only to a handful of bands.
Their most recent single “Kool-Aid” brought a raucous response from the crowd with circle pits spawning all over the standing crowd. Electrifying performances of “Obey” had streams of fire launching high towards the roof of the building bathing us with its heat. Whereas, “DiE4u” and “Kingslayer” were accompanied with dazzling displays of erratic lasers and spectacular visuals on a scale i’ve never seen before. An acoustic rendition of “Strangers” slowed the tempo and gave us time for a breather. With the band standing shoulder to shoulder in the middle of the stage this beautiful song brought a tear to many eyes as the whole arena held up their phones, lights glowing, to a gentle sway and heartfelt singing.
They even threw an oldie into mix with “Diamonds aren’t forever” alongside the newer tracks that catapulted them to stardom. Oli had to check in on the crowd a number of times throughout the night, his thick Yorkshire accent comforting the crowd as stewards and security made their way to the fans in need. As soon as he was able to do so the show continued in full force like the pauses had never happened.
As the evening drew to a close Oli jumped down off the stage to get face to face with his adorning fans. He lay back onto the barrier and let them wash over him. Holding onto a camera in his hands we could all see the screaming fans push closer towards their idol on the screens. With a few kisses planted on cheeks surely this moment was some of the happiest they’d ever felt.
The main part of the show concluded with “Can You Feel My Heart” but we knew an encore was going to happen. Ending with “Doomed”, “Lost” and finally the single that put the band on the map, “Throne”. From this performance its easy to see how Bring Me The Horizon have climbed to the top of the metal and alternative scene, but where do they go from here? I for one cannot wait to find out.
Article and Photos By Sam Wall
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