I arrived at The Carling Academy two hours before the doors opened and was amazed to see the queue already stretching along Dale End. MUCC and Story of the Year had signing slots prior to the start of the gig, and their fans were keen to make the most of this. The gig was going to be a long one with five bands on show, all who are top acts in their genre and respective countries and the show was set up in a way that it got heavier through the night with Atreyu as headliners on last which was good as they are capable of playing it heavy as well as light. By the time the room darkened the sell out crowd were in the mood for what promised to be an evening of musical mayhem.


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MUCC followed Horse The Band, and although I admit to not understanding a word they were singing as they sang in Japanese but the rocking tunes were sufficient for the audience to enjoy them. This highly popular Japanese band who have released eight albums so far rocked their heavily painted faces off with their catchy tunes, while front man Tatsuro demonstrated high levels of animation in his actions, which were almost feline in style. The band mixed things up with great use of strings and their huge experience over the past ten years came to fruition with their act proving very popular with the audience who gave them some warm cheers at the end of the set, this is the second time MUCC have toured Europe and they really seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Mel Flavell


Horse the band review & photos
MUCC review & photos
Story of the year review & photos
As I Lay Dying review & photos
Atreyu review & photos