The British are coming! The British are coming! Well, Friday night (12 April) at Qudos Bank Arena (in Sydney) was more of a Commonwealth carnival really, and an epic one at that.
UK metalcore masters Bring Me The Horizon stepped out onto the stage for the Sydney stretch of their First Love tour, their fellow countrymen You Me At Six, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and our very own Trophy Eyes ready for a music bonanza like no other.
And yeah, you read that right – 2019 is the year Newcastle’s Trophy Eyes were featured on the same bill as so many other huge names in the biz, holding their own as they tore through popular bangers like ‘Lavender Bay’, ‘More Like You’, and ‘Friday Forever’.
Trophy Eyes - image © Ashley Mar
The arena floor was pretty filled throughout Trophy Eyes' half-hour set and the boys did really well to get the crowd pumped up.
Click here for more photos from the show.
As Frank Carter lead his Rattlesnakes through another (albeit more tumultuous) half-hour set, one thing became very clear – the age old adage about gingers having no soul isn’t at all true.
In fact, if gingers have no soul it’s because of Carter who (because of his love, laughter, passion and drive) seemingly harbours the soul of every ginger out there. It’s all bottled up within one skinny, little ginger Londoner whose banter was boisterously met by an emphatic crowd, and whose brave crowd surfing and handstand on one supportive fan was met with laughter and undulated love.
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes - image © Ashley Mar
The music was pretty epic, too, and Carter & The Rattlesnakes no doubt left the stage with more fans than when they began.
Despite the nostalgia and enthusiasm being present for You Me At Six, their performance was a disappointing set in some ways.
With sensational sounds coursing through classics like ‘Underdog’, ‘Room To Breathe’ and the cheesy, yet fun ‘3AM’ (from their latest album 'VI'), perhaps the ambitious range of vocal melodies in those songs were the reason frontman Josh Franceschi couldn’t perform too well, choosing instead to rely on the crowd to deliver some of the the lyrics.
You Me At Six - image © Ashley Mar
Heck, even BMTH’s Oli Sykes joined YMAS on stage to ramp up the aggression on ‘Bite My Tongue’.
Nevertheless, it’s still a sight to behold to watch thousands of people sing louder than the band; while there’s also a particular energy to You Me At Six that renders them still untouchable.
And as for Bring Me The Horizon... well, let’s put to bed any misconceptions right now that fans, old and new, might have that the band have gone soft.
Breaking open with ‘Mantra’ from their latest (and best if you’re biased) album, 'amo', Bring Me wasted no time in throwing the party of their lives!
Bring Me The Horizon - image © Ashley Mar
Doused by streamers and smoke machines from the word go, frontman Oli Sykes ricocheted about the stage and in and out of the faces of fans (and security guards – hilarious to see him making “bezzy mates” with them).
Sykes’ constant riling of the crowd to put on the best mosh pits he’d ever seen were met with a dedication you’ve never seen. Like taking fire to an ants nest, no less than three circles erupted with members of the audience scattering about the place.
Honestly, more time was put on focusing on the madness and mayhem occurring than on the music itself.
But through ‘Happy Song’, ‘Mother Tongue’, ‘Follow You’, ‘Antivisit’ and many more, Bring Me proved over and over they’ve lost nothing in releasing an album with a change of direction.
Bring Me The Horizon - image © Ashley Mar
At the end of a three-song encore, Oli launched himself once more into the arms of his adoring fans, one last blast of streamers and smoke marking the end of a magnificent conquest of Sydney.
