Mastiff bill themselves as being “A Miserable Band From A Miserable Town” which makes sense being from Hull (I’ve seen Hull beat Widnes way too many times in the Rugby, so let me have this one lads, it’s only fair). Rugby League rivalries aside, Mastiff are a fantastic blend of Sludge and Hardcore, a combination that may seem out of place on this night, a celebration of everything grandiose & theatrical given the headliners. Mastiff however are about as far from pomp and circumstance as you can get and instead deal in the lyrically grounded and the visceral. This may not do it for some folks in attendance, but I absolutely lapped them up. Vocalist Jim Hodge is a vocal powerhouse and provides absolute authenticity when conveying his anecdotes of life in a small northern town.

All too often you see bands write about a life that they have probably only seen from the outside looking in, but Mastiff give off the impression that these songs were born on the mean streets of Hull. You can’t bullshit energy and passion, and Mastiff had this in absolute spades. Musically, Mastiff were like taking a ground and pound beating. You had no time to stop and collect your thoughts as they instead decided to barrage through their songs without room to breathe, compose and collect your thoughts. It was aggressive and violent, and it was only once they’d left the stage could you pick yourself off, pat yourself down and move on. It may have been too much for some, but I thought it was sublime.

Mastiff at the Academy in Manchester on February 18th 2023 ©Joh

Veil of Maya continue this impressive music with their mixture of Tech & Metalcore. On record, Veil of Maya are very much a “Me” band. I’m a sucker for uses of sampling and a good clean chorus however live, I found myself struggling to pick up these nuanced samples over the mix, which is a shame as they add a sense of genuine depth and atmosphere to their sound. There were a few other technical hitches throughout the set that caused a somewhat stop-start sense to this set. When running smoothly however, it was full steam ahead and Veil of Maya produced a technically sound, vocally impressive performance.

Vocalist Lukas Magyar is a genuine dual threat, providing heavy, sweeping screams, complimented by some exceptional, at times almost beautiful clean vocals. Many bands rely on having two vocalists to produce this blend of vocal styles, but if you can do both then a second vocalist is redundant. As well as some quality chops on the mic, the rest of the band were equally as impressive – if not somewhat muted in parts. The drums and bass seemed to have most of the mix to themselves and they shone crystal clear through the speakers with their technically impressive and tight grooves to add the ferocity needed to create such a heavy sound. The same however couldn’t be said about the guitars. Watching Guitarist Marc Okubu, you could see he was playing some pretty impressive shit, however the fruits of his labour got completely lost and you couldn’t decipher much of what he was playing. Whether or not this was an issue on the night remains to be seen, however he did also leave the stage towards the end of the set temporarily, which, as mentioned halted proceedings.

It was a shame really, as after listening to Veil of Maya in the hours after their performance, these technical guitar segments were pivotal to creating such a unique noise which would’ve elevated this performance ten-fold. In the end though, Veil of Maya made the best of a bad situation, and I was left with enough to get on board with them and their music. Maybe one day our paths will cross again, and if next time we meet, the sound works itself out, I'll probably have my head blown off with how good they could be.

Veil Of Maya at the Academy in Manchester on February 18th 2023

Avatar aren’t a band that do things by halves. Over the past 20 years they’ve made a name for themselves through their grandiose heavy metal circus act. They aren’t afraid to not take themselves seriously and as a result have a far stretching fanbase that encompasses all parts of society. Tonights show in Manchester was their first chance to debut songs from their latest album, “Dance Devil Dance”, as well as provide an impressive showing of their greatest hits.

Opening with the title track from their latest offering, Avatar get off to a fast start, displaying both their individual skills as musicians, as well as an impressive visual production that is seldom seen at Academy level. The band make use of Sparklers, Confetti Cannons, Balloon Animals and Rammstein-esque doors at the back of the stage that band members use to exit the stage when they’re not required on stage. The beauty of Avatar’s production was that it was impressive yet not excessive. It was used sparingly enough that I was not wondering what the set piece of each song would be (something I have admittedly done each time I've seen Rammstein). They gave us little teases here and there but the night, primarily, was about their display as musicians.

Avatar’s back catalogue is nothing short of impressive. Over the 20 year span of being a band, they have constantly changed and evolved their sound to create a niche that is not often seen in Metal. You can’t put them under one umbrella. They go from ‘Puppet Show’, which I can only describe as batshit crazy heavy metal carnival music, to the beautifully intricate ‘Tower’, to the absolutely destructive final act, ‘Hail The Apocalypse’. Like I said, Avatar don’t do things by halves.

As a frontman, Johannes Eckerstrom is about as captivating as it comes. He spends the entirety of the set strutting round with his trademark Makeup and Cane like some sort of Clownish Freddie Mercury. He has mastered the art of keeping the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand and every single person inside this admittedly half full Manchester Academy was taking in every last movement and word. It was an incredible sight to behold, and he can go down as one of the most enigmatic, outright entertaining frontmen I've seen in quite a long time.

To put it simply, Avatar had it all tonight. They had the songs, they had the showmanship, the look, the presence, the visuals. They were absolutely stunning. This was one of them shows in which I was every now and then checking the time on my watch, not because I wanted it to end, but instead because I wanted to know how much time we had left with Avatar as I simply didn’t want them to go off stage. I could’ve happily watched another few hours of this. I was completely sucked into their world and didn’t want to be let go from it. It was absolutely perfect in every aspect of the word.