Tonight’s gig is not only a masterclass in charismatic vocalists and virtuoso lead guitarists, but also in how to be an arena band, with all three bands nailing each of those elements perfectly. Grabbing my ticket and taking up my seat stage-side with the arena still filling up, we see openers Lorna Shore take to the stage. Hitting us straight off with their deliciously brutal onslaught, many of the crowd around me and even in the standing sections up close to the stage, seem taken aback by quite how extreme and heavy the New Jersey deathcore crew are. Their explosive rise since the release of single ‘To the Hellfire’ and the addition of Will Ramos as permanent vocalist has been phenomenal and deserved. Will is a dynamic front to the band, spending most of the time out front on one foot up on a little platform at the end of the runway into the crowd. He conducts proceedings perfectly with his distinctive blonde curly undercut hair moshing, delivering an impressive mix of guttural growls, high-end screams, jaw-dropping pig squeals and even animalistic snorting. Gradually a pit forms and gets bigger and bigger. In fact, the standing area fills up loads after only a couple of songs – a great sight for any opening act. Lorna Shore deliver a robust and tight sound, performing a very professionally slick set with loads of passion and technicality. The balance of the sound mixing is spot on too, with backing keys loud but still laying well, especially with the guitar. Speaking of which, Adam De Micco is stunning on lead guitar with intricacy and power in equal measure. The songs continually keep you on your toes - fast chaotic segments juxtaposed with sparse and heavy slower passages. ‘Sun//Eater’ is a great example of this, with anthemic guitars and blast-beats that drift into a chaotic and growling verse, then a stompy half-tempo beats breakdown. A band such as this will likely always remain fairly niche, but they can become successful in their own right, and there’s no doubt they are destined for big things. 

While She Sleeps are a band who are about to smash through into the big time any day now. Arguably they’ve already done that, with their latest announcement that they’ll be headlining Alexandra Palace in September 2023 (something they advertise with a banner over their stage exit at the end of the set). Tonight, Sheffield’s metalcore finest plough through hit after hit, each track demonstrating their fantastic ability to blend technical guitar melodies and crunching core metal riffs. Loz Taylor follows on from where Will Ramos left off – charisma, vocal shredding and energising banter in abundance gets the crowd into a fever. There are circle pits and moshing starting on command, and at a couple of points Loz climbs down from the runway, up onto the barrier and then out into the crowd…that’s walking out on top of the crowd. Yes, you heard me right, and quite the sight for an arena crowd to behold. His voice is sounding superb tonight too, with plenty of clarity to the furious singing. The sound balance isn’t maybe as good as for Lorna Shore, with the lead guitar very loud in mix, but you can’t complain too much when that affords the opportunity to really hear every little bit of Sean Long’s intelligent and unique guitar work and futuristic tone. It’s an immense show, and the band are clearly enjoying every second. The place erupts with crowd surfers for ‘You Are We’ and ‘Silence Speaks’ and, by the time triumphant closer ‘Systematic’ hits, the place is buzzing.

And so to the main event, the headliners, the long anticipated return of our Australian heroes Parkway Drive. Massive metal spikes adorn the two-levelled stage setup, and flaming torch-bearers carefully walk out to the digital black and white chasm backdrop. Almost solemnly the band walk onto the stage and through the torch-bearers, taking up positions before the lights drop completely and the torches go out. The stage lights fix on the metal stars and they smash into opener ‘Glitch’. We’re treated to a perfect mix of their catalogue, with highlights including ‘Prey’, ‘Vice Grip’ and ‘Ground Zero’. The band are all dressed in black modern metal attire except for frontman Winston McCall who’s in all white, with flak vest and combat pants. He’s almost like a metalcore Freddie Mercury. Not just the white outfit and confident strutting, but the manner in which the crowd are hanging on his every move and word, his vocal delivery is spot on with vicious aggression and he oozes even more engaging charm than ever. Like the bands before, Parkway Drive’s lead guitarist Jeff Ling is phenomenal and provides a second melody and focal point to every song. He is confident and precise, and at one point makes his way to the end of the runway which then rises up like a cherry picker for his solo. Fantastic. This visual element of the show is only outshone by the intensity and amount of pyrotechnics on display – massive high jets of flame, explosions and indoor fireworks. Winston makes a costume change later on, coming back out in his black gear and is accompanied by a string quartet. There’s a brilliant balance and fullness to the sound, and the crowd are going wild at the start of every song. Main set closer ‘Bottom Feeder’ sees the whole place go off, with the crowd singing along loud and proud the whole way through, and finishes with all the flames, explosions and fireworks going off. Or so we thought. Encore opener ‘Crushed’ has all the flames with the stage edges on fire, giant flamethrowers across the stage and explosions on the bang bang bangs. It is absolutely awesome and unforgettable. The show is closed out with a crowd-led ‘Wild Eyes’, with the band all starting the song at the end of the runway taking a bow before gradually moving back to position and into the song proper. It’s heavy, anthemic and feels like something bigger than we realise. A fantastic finish to what another step on this bands journey to the top. Parkway Drive are the real deal and it’s all theirs for the taking - viva the underdogs.