Tonight’s headliners, Novelists, have undergone a recent changeup with Camille Contreras replacing Tobias Rische as vocalist. The four tracks recently released with Camille as singer have been impressive, and match the excitement the band have portrayed through social media. This European and UK tour is where many of us long-term fans can get a true feel for the songs, new and old, with this fresh line-up.

Ashen are first up and I finally get to see these guys live after first hearing about them in an interview with tonight’s headliners back at Tech Fest 2022 (HERE). This is the Parisians’ first European tour, but they demonstrate a confidence in delivering their modern melodic metalcore that is infectious. The vocals are spot on note perfect from start to finish, both harsh and clean, superbly and balance aggression with delicious smoothness. There’s that mid-scoop nu-metal sound to the guitars and actually the whole sound makes me think of the new nu-metal wave of bands we’re now seeing. That’s not a bad thing, and reminds me of some of the best elements of Union Underground and more recently Wage War and Thornhill. There’s plenty of futuristic lighting and outfits, and at points the music and staging take me away to the best of Eurovision. They unleash their Orgy-esque cover of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ which gets the heads nodding that bit more. They’re really catchy, slick and enthusiastic, and with the current popularity of this branch of metal there’s no reason that they can’t quickly build up a decent UK fanbase.

Elwood Stray have a bombastic lighting and rumbling bass intro as they take to the stage. The Germans from Essen put on an energetic modern metalcore/hardcore show. They mix elements of hardcore and metalcore in a similar fashion to Landmvrks, and have the same bounce and swagger. They also lean heavily into the hardcore element more making me think of Beartooth and Comeback Kid as well. The sweet clean vocals don’t necessarily always hit the spot, but there’s not let up in the energy and foot to the floor attitude from the whole band. The guitar tone is very While She Sleeps which sits really well with those clean vocals in particular. They finish with the anthemic earworm ‘Uncertain Me’, and leave the crowd ready for more.

The Word Alive immediately have the crowd in the palm of their hands with their experienced and well-crafted metalcore. The instrumental elements aren’t as distinct, but the holistic sounds is spot on and cohesive. Their live sound tonight is very drum and vocals heavy, but when the vocals are this enjoyable it’s a pleasure. It’s clear that these guys are veterans of tours like these, and plenty of the crowd are obviously here to see them, especially as this is their first UK tour in five years. Even if much of the excitement manifests as nodding heads and bobbing shoulders more than a vibrant pit, the love for this Arizona band is clear. There’s plenty of Normandie, Siamese and Northlane style music here to keep everyone invested, ‘New Reality’ being a standout track, and it’s a mega professional tour de force from start to finish.

Finally, we have the headliners Novelists with their tech-metalcore that has streaks of hardcore running through it, juicy djenty tones, catchy anthemic choruses, and technically spectacular guitar solos. They hit hard and confidently from the start, opening with newer track ‘Prisoners’. Florestan Durand and Pierre Danel are amazing on guitar from the off, with Nico Delestrade thundering away on his bass, and Amael Durand driving expertly on the drums. New vocalist Camille Contreras whom takes the old songs in her stride i simply superb. The biggest compliment is that they sound exactly like they were made for her. She puts her slant on them perfectly, and you can see why the rest of the band were so excited to work with her. She’s the complete package - soaring cleans, chatting, harsh, dancing, and charismatically working the crowd throughout. ‘Heretic’ is a perfect example of her exceeding all expectations. Elsewhere on stage, there really are few better sights than witnessing Florestan rocking back, bending his knees and flashing through a solo. He’s my favourite guitarist to watch live – no argument. Pierre is however a close second and, when not doing his own solos, is constantly a smiling and bubbly personality on stage. Nico adds some deliciously atmospheric vocals to the crowd pleaser ‘Smoke Signals’, before the band close out with the shape of things to come in ‘Mourning the Dawn’. The dawn of a new era of Novelists, and what an era it promises to be.