I do love a bit of doom music (and especially the of the Finnish variety, as most of my favourite doom outfits are from Finland!) so when it was announced that Solothus were coming to Manchester, I knew I had to go and check them out, and get acquainted with their music – and what a great night it turned out to be as a whole!
Opening up the night was Repulsive, who were playing their debut show in the city, and it was an absolutely awesome performance from the band. The music was great to bang your head along to and there was a good atmosphere in the room as frontman Elliot frequently interacted with the gig-goers, joking with them as well as constantly telling everyone to come closer – all whilst moving about the room! This is a band that certainly puts on a great show; if they’re gigging near you then make sure you check them out!
Up next was Decrepid and whilst Repulsive’s strong start to the evening left a hard act to follow, the band stepped up to the gauntlet well and gave a powerful performance with plenty of kickass songs to contend with. Although at times the music seemed to blend together a little, it was still a musically solid show from them and a very enjoyable performance.
There was no doubting the crowd was onside for third act Seprevation, who brought some more energetic death/thrash to proceedings, and although they weren’t my cup of tea musically, the reception they got was great and it was a highly engaging and interesting performance as a result. It’s always nice when the crowd is so onside, as it gives an extra boost to the band and you can’t help but enjoy them!
Admittedly, when Live Burial took to the stage, I was flagging somewhat after being awake since 3am but I did my best to keep focused and thankfully their energy was pretty infectious, given that there was a lot of energy both on and off the stage (bassist Lee and frontman Jamie spent near enough the whole show in the crowd area!)! It was a very strong performance that again had some good involvement from the crowd and it was a nice leadup into the final performance of the night.
Finally it was time for Solothus to take to the stage and it was a mighty and emotive performance from the Finns. The music was crushingly heavy, hitting you like a tonne of bricks, and you felt it with your heart as the band progressed through a powerful collection of tracks. The saying ‘slow and steady wins the race’ couldn’t feel more apt for Solothus’ performance, with the band really taking their time over everything in order to make the show special. Everything just flowed well from one song to the next and the performance as a whole packed a real punch. Solothus just put on a special show and I’m still getting goosebumps thinking about how awesome it was!
Although all four support bands were good, with five bands on the lineup it did feel a little crowded, but as a whole the night was pretty damn fantastic with some awesome music and awesome people. Great stuff!
8/10
