Bring Me The Horizon Brings Massive Tour To Packed Armory

Wednesday was one of those days where I just felt like I couldn’t catch my breath. Between work and getting ready for my bestie’s wedding this weekend, it was just go go go and the only thing that really kept me going was knowing I was going to get my face rocked off at the show once everything was said and done.

Unfortunately, my nail appointment went long so it was a frantic rush weaving between traffic to make it to The Armory in time to catch the opening act Siiickbrain. Thankfully, I made it in just in time to see the end of their set. Although their music wasn’t quite for me at first as I had walked in during one of their slower tracks, their energy was just what I needed to get what was probably my thirty-second wind of the day. Siiickbrain, aka Caroline Miner, has a unique style in which she blends a million different genres to create a sound that can only be called Siiickbrain. There were moments that felt a bit like commercialized rock and others that had a very nu-metal sound. I may have walked in during the wrong song to really hook me but by the last two tracks, Siiickbran had me hooked. It was unique and a hell of a way to start the night off.

grandson was the one act of the night that I was dying to see live. I got super hooked on grandson’s unique sound over the shutdown. I’m not sure why it took a pandemic for me to catch onto this twenty-eight-year-old musician but it lit a fire in me and I had been dreaming of the day I would finally get to see him live. Although his set was ridiculously short at just six songs, I absolutely got what I wanted from his set. The energy, the sounds, it was all exactly what I had imagined and then some. This particular tour package seemed to be an interesting choice for grandson and I fear that affected the way the audience responded to his audience. It felt as if he was struggling to get the energy he wanted from the audience but that didn’t stop him from giving the audience all he had. Although an interesting choice for the tour package, it oddly fit as grandson and his band, like Siiickbrain, blends so many different genres to create a super unique sound. A little reggae, a little hip-hop, a little commercialized rock, a little metal– he may have stood out on the line-up but, to me, it was for all of the right reasons.

Although I was selfishly at the show on Wednesday night to cross grandson off of my bucket list, it was Knocked Loose that stole the show for me. Hailing from Kentucky, Knocked Loose is a hardcore band that has been around since 2013. I love this band because, although they have a classic hardcore vibe and style, there’s something modern and fresh about the way they deliver it and that was definitely put in the spotlight on Wednesday night. My vantage point of the audience wasn’t great at any point during the show due to the fact that I didn’t want to risk breaking anything (including a nail) just a few days before a wedding but I could tell that things were intense during Knocked Loose. From the guy that walked past me holding his nose with blood running down his arms after just half a song to the few times the medics rushed passed me to help someone out, I knew what was happening and I loved it. Knocked Loose is one of those bands that I feel doesn’t quite get the recognition they deserve. They only have two albums out and a smattering of EPs and singles but this band is so much more than just their recordings. They are one of those bands that has a live show that is to die for and they proved that on Wednesday night. The amount of energy and power they have is straight-up stupid amazing and I truly urge you to go see them live when you get a chance.

I got put on blast a little bit the last time I covered Bring Me The Horizon. It was February of 2019 and they had the unfortunate job of following Fever 333 when they came to The Armory. Fever 333 had stolen that show and run away with it and, by the time BMTH took the stage that night, I was pretty checked out. I’m not saying that any of the openers on Wednesday were bad because they were all great but I was finally able to give BMTH the attention they deserved and I was completely blown away.

BMTH is a metalcore band from England. Fronted by vocalist Oli Sykes, BMTH is one of those bands that you may show your friend when trying to explain what metalcore music is. Although each of their six albums comes with a different vibe, they all revert back to BMTH’s signature sound and Oli’s distinct and super-talented vocals. Personally, my favorite album is ‘Sempiternal’ from 2013. I felt like that had such a different sound and vibe when compared to the other albums. Unfortunately, I only got a few songs from that album on Wednesday but I loved that the band went as far back as their 2008 album ‘Suicide Season’ (my second favorite album from them) to play “Diamonds Aren’t Forever” with the help of vocalist Bryan Garris from Knocked Loose. Regardless of the song the band was playing throughout their fifteen-song set, there was an endless amount of energy radiating from the band to the audience and back the other way.

The night was not without its flaws. Although all of the bands performed flawlessly, there were starts and stops during the final two sets of the night. A cord seemed to have gotten knocked loose during Knocked Loose’s set (see what I did there?) cutting power to the stage and leaving the speakers silent for over five minutes. Although it made me anxious that they wouldn’t be able to get through all of the songs they wanted to play, a joke from the bartender behind me about how “maybe his throat just hurts” and that was the reason for the pause, and the fact that the band wasted no time and jumped right back into the set after the issue was fixed made the pause fly by.

Unfortunately, the second pause of the night did not fly by. After just two songs, Oli Sykes halted BMTH’s set after he noticed someone struggling in the audience. As mentioned, my sightlines through the show weren’t great so I can only speculate as to what was happening but it took a solid ten or fifteen minutes for staff and medics to get to the person who needed help with a stretcher and bring them out to safety. The venue was pretty silent throughout the break and the band essentially took a knee as they do in soccer games as they waited for the all-clear that the person in distress had been helped. Whether it was someone who passed out from the heat or someone who just couldn’t get the air needed being that the crowd was smashed up to the front of the band like sardines, I just truly hope they are okay. Why am I telling you about this small snippet of such an epic tour package and night? Because it shows you where BMTH’s alliances lie and that’s with their fans. They didn’t care that they may have to cut a few songs due to the delay or anything like that. They just wanted to make sure everyone was safe and having a good time throughout their set. If I may be so bold, I think I’ll go ahead and say mission accomplished because even those being pushed out of the audience in wheelchairs after passing out had giant smiles on their faces.