Live Review : Holding Absence + Thornhill + Dark Divine @ O2 Ritz, Manchester on November 22nd 2023

Arriving fashionably late as usual… what can I say I’ve only been back from Australia a week and jetlag has been kicking my ass… Dark Divine are already on stage and a small crowd are here to witness what this hard rock quintet has to offer. Visiting these shores all the way from Orlando Florida, Dark Divine formed in 2021, have recently toured with the likes of VV and Black Veil Brides and released their debut album “Deadly Fun” in September this year. With their Halloween face paint, I do an internal groan and wonder if they have anything different to offer or if I am about to be bored to tears… The bass is a bit overpowering and while singer Anthony Martinez warms up the audience, he seems to be carrying the rest of the band who appear to be there to just look cool. He gives it his all and the growing crowd seem to like them, with arms swaying and encouraging them to “make some noise for yourselves” but I’m not wowed. Still, as always, before I write them off I’ll give them another listen and see what I make of their album.

A brief interlude and our next support act foursome Thornhill loudly take to the stage. The place is pretty packed by now and I try to find a good position upstairs. With a better view of the crowd, I can see while there are a few of us older ones dotted about, much of the audience, and not surprisingly given the headliners tonight, are a strong contingent of students and some very young and quite young whippersnappers, and I use that phrase deliberately to show my age. They are adults, but they are much younger than me and the Tool t-shirt I am wearing tonight (though I do recommend notching up another year in the sunnier climes of Australia as I have recently done). And funnily enough, heavy metal act Thornhill have also ventured from down under as they are all the way from Melbourne. Formed in 2015 they have two studio albums and blast through their songs with a warm welcome from the crowd. This is possibly in part due to having only recently appeared in Manchester at Radar Festival (side note - fellow Aussie’s Caligula’s Horse also played and I saw them supporting Devin Townsend in Sydney, they’re worth checking out). They are clearly happy to be back and deliver a tight, atmospheric, and impressive set culminating with a rousing performance of ‘Where We Go When We Die’.  However, it would not really matter what they were playing tonight as you can tell they just love being on stage and that enthusiasm spreads through the room. They are definitely ones to watch. 

And so, we get to our main act, Holding Absence, and given how much effort went into getting myself out of the house this evening it doesn’t take too long before I am grateful that I did come along. I might be flying solo, which I think feels worse tonight after my two recent gigs in Sydney with my family, but my isolation is soon forgotten as I immerse myself into the melodies and pathos of Lucas Woodlands’ lyrics, feeling the emotion behind every word he sings. Formed in Cardiff in 2015, after many line-up changes the current band have been in place since 2021. I first heard them probably around 2019 when they released “Like A Shadow” and managed to catch some of their acoustic set when they played the Doghouse at Download 2022. 

Tonight, Lucas is like a whirling dervish, and I feel tired just watching him but accompanying his air punches and high kicks are his soaring vocals, which captivate the audience throughout the entire set. He is ably assisted by Ashley Green who I have a great view of from upstairs, giving his all on the drums, Scott Carey on guitar and providing a range of gentle to growly backing vocals, and most recent addition to the band Benjamin Elliott on bass. We are wowed by a 12-track setlist which includes most of the recently released album “The Noble Art of Self Destruction, that came out in August.

They are noticeably excitable at being here and talk about how the last time they played in Manchester they were playing venues half this size. The first time they played Manchester was in 2018 at the Star and Garter and they show immense gratitude for the journey they have been on and the support of their fans. From where I am stood their outfits look like they are speckled in paint, like they have just been decorating their nan’s living room and I honestly think these guys are so sweet that is exactly the kind of people they are. They are humble, and you just get a sense from Lucas’ chatter with the audience, their performance and the emotion that goes into every lyric and note that they are very sincere. I would, without hesitation, state that this is their formula for success and why they are headed for lofty heights. Their music just works, and it works well, it is powerful and creates a strong sense of belonging and a connection to what it truly means to be human. And I’m here for it. 

It is great to hear recent single ‘A Crooked Melody’ early in the set, but it is with their third song that the energy among the crowd reaches fever pitch as Lucas asks them to open up the circle pit and they deliver a stunning rendition of ‘Gravity’. They power through a few more songs before Ashley and Benjamin exit the stage to leave Lucas and Scott to perform a beautiful and spine-tingling acoustic version of ‘Like A Shadow’. The audience of diehard fans dutifully sing along (as they have been doing all night) and Lucas tells everyone to keep it up as they are singing better than him. 

A few songs later and they all exit the stage. It seems to soon for an encore but after “Celebration Song” Lucas tells the crowd they only have two more songs and apologises profusely. He tells us he was ill and lost his voice earlier in the tour and wants to carry on but can’t. Sadly, they don’t play “Coffin”, but their penultimate song is my personal highlight of the night, the heart rendering “Afterlife”, followed by another song from the new album ‘The Angel in The Marble’ and with that it’s all over. If you have yet to witness Holding Absence live, I would urge you to do so and do so soon as they really are going to be huge. I will be watching closely, and I wish them every ounce of success, as they truly deserve it. 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Holding Absence, Thornhill, Dark Divine