Underoath at the O2 Ritz, Manchester.

By Soph Ditchfield.

It was another packed out show for the O2 Ritz in Manchester on Thursday night, hosting Underoath and

their supporters, Static Dress. I personally was particularly excited for this show, having seen the openers

twice before already and being blown away by their performance both times.

Tonight was no exception and they kicked off the evening perfectly. I was quite glad that Static Dress

were the only support act and that their brilliance was not lost in a sea of acts as I felt their sound

complimented Underoath’s very well.

SUPPORT FROM STATIC DRESS

It was obvious that this band is well-loved with people hanging over the barrier, wearing their merch and roaring along to every word. Proving my own personal opinion that they could, and should, be headlining venues of this size.

Static Dress’ set was alive with clean vocals from lead, Olli Appleyard, and tremendous breakdowns from

guitarist, Contrast, who prefers to remain anonymous and donned a new mask for the performance. By

the fourth song there were none-stop crowd surfers scrambling above our heads, to the point you’d have thought people had attended solely for this set.

The band ended on a high with Clean., opening a giant pit and asking for crowd surfers over the barrier.

The crowd was wild during this last track and security looked visibly worried, to the point when Static

Dress left the stage more staff piled into the venue in anticipation of Underoath’s entrance.

The event everyone had gathered for fast approached and the crowd buzzed in anticipation, ready to

continue the pandemonium. Underoath exploded onto the stage and were greeted by a rowdy reception.

With it being the 20th anniversary of album ‘They’re Only Chasing Safety’, the band were playing it in full

for the packed out venue. Despite not being a sold out show, it was incredibly warm and both standing

and the balcony were packed.

It was obvious that being the final date of the UK tour had them giving it their all, and as such seasoned

performers, meant going the extra mile is their standard distance.

Lead, Spencer Chamberlain, delivered clean, powerful vocals and was backed from behind the drumkit

by Aaron Gillespie, holding an immense talent of playing ferociously and singing simultaneously.

The album play-through came to an end and the crowd were treated to an acoustic rendition of ‘Some Will Seek Forgiveness, Others Escape’ from Aaron and guitarist, Timmy McTague, before plunging into their vast catalogue of work and continuing on with fan favourites.

As their parting gift, the band announced the completion of a new record before promising to visit our British isle again soon after their 7 years away from us. And with that they plunged into the last of their set and closed with the classic ‘Writing on The Walls’.