Heading upstairs with a decent craft ale to the attic-like stage area, the room was already filled with eager rockers awaiting the first support of the night. Tonight’s show had two extra supporting bands sharing the stage alongside our headliners Defences to give us a jam-packed night filled with heavy, alternative rock.
First up was 5-piece metal fusion band Alchemize who kicked off their set with such high energy in their performance. They had the crowd jumping from the get-go. Their music was a solid mix of genres, with a lead vocalist who was well-practised in controlling a room. A short, but room-shaking set later, they finished up to huge applause and a full crowd in agreement that we will be seeing Alchemize on a lot more line-ups in the future.
The next Manchester-only support came from hardcore Leeds lads The Mechanist and they certainly brought the heavy for the night. With small comedic insights into each song from their lead vocalist, The Mechanist burst into their set with electronic backings, heavy guitar riffs and gutturals that had the crowd enthralled and headbanging with every breakdown.
Up next was the main support of the tour ; hometown heroes Crushed by Waves. Having opened Download Festival on the “Boardie Takeover” in 2023, like Defences who did this in 2022, these gritty alternative rockers crashed onto the stage with a cathartic blend of melodic verses and power-house breakdowns. At one point I thought we were all going through the floorboards into the bar downstairs as they had the crowd bouncing for the entire set. Diving into the crowd for the final song, Arran (vocals) finished up by dancing and singing along with everyone whether they knew the words or not. Finishing off with a selfie with the crowd, Tom (drums) trying to find a spot decided to simply fall from the stage into the arms of their fans new and old. Everybody was officially warmed up, energised and ready for their headliners.
Setting up the stage with their own mood lighting, an arrangement of candles and stunning white roses to match the gothic-horror aesthetic of singer Cherry Duesbury’s gorgeous look. We were straight into the dark-pop atmospheric sound with beautiful, room-filling vocals from Cherry, heavy instrumental slabs from guitarist Calum, crazy drum beats from Kyle, all mixed together with the screams of vocalist and keyboard player William. Celebrating their signing with Long Branch Records and the November release of their album “Shadowlight” we were given a mix of new and old songs that had the crowd singing, headbanging and pulling out their phone flashlights, whenever a song gave us a slow minute to catch our breaths. Cherry thanked the crowd for their participation and spoke vaguely on the issues of the world right now. She then gave us some understanding behind the new album, looking into ourselves, accepting our inner darkness, but most importantly, coming together as similar entities to share in this melancholy (and enjoy some damn good music while we’re at it).
Defences finished up their set with a bang, immediately turning into a small rave as the “Nintendo Wii dance remix” came over the speakers and Cherry jumped into the crowd to join in the fun, ending the night on the chaotic and energetic high it started with. We can guarantee with stage presence and musical talent as good as this, we’re going to see Defences do incredible this year.
Words: Laura Hughes
Photos: James Smith
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