Due to the terrible fire in Manchester Northern Quarter that caused extensive damage to the NQ Live venue, it meant that all the gigs scheduled to take place there subsequently had to be moved to various other venues around the city. Naturally The Black Dahlia Murder show was no exception to this, ending up at Band On The Wall for the venue’s first ever metal show!
Due to working a full 9-5 shift beforehand, and combined with terrible public transport issues during my journey from North Wales and an incredibly early door time, this meant that I missed the two support acts Revocation and Aborted. (I promise to try and catch you guys soon!) Luckily I arrived just in time for Black Dahlia Murder to take the stage to a greeting of loud cheers, and the room just came alive.
To say that frontman Trevor knew how to work the crowd is a definite understatement because he had the crowd eating out of his hands within the first five seconds of the band coming onstage and by time the second track of the night, Goat Of Departure, began, there had already been several mosh pits, crowd surfers and crowd divers! It was clear this was a crowd ready to party, all the more highlighted when one member of the audience took it upon themselves to climb up one of the ceiling supports!
A highlight of the set was Closed Casket Requiem. Whilst it’s already a great track on CD, it goes down even better live and gains a whole new dimension in a live environment. Magnificently gripping from start to finish, it was truly a sight to behold.
One of the most impressive things about this band was their drummer, Alan, who played all these complex riffs and fills at high speed whilst not even breaking a sweat doing so. You see a lot of drummers moving so fast that they can barely keep up with themselves, but Alan’s relaxed-looking style of playing was astounding – you really had to look close to match up his movements to the sound!
To say it blew me away doesn’t even give this incredible show justice. The Black Dahlia Murder are a band you really have to see live in order to fully appreciate, and it really helped that the crowd were so into it because it added so much to the atmosphere – you can be sure that there were a few aching necks and limbs the morning after from a large percentage of the crowd!
Simply breathtaking, to say the least. You must see this band live.
10/10
