Cancer Bats - Manchester Academy 3 23.01.2016

The night opens with Phoenix metal heads Incite. Starting only 15 odd minutes after doors they end up playing to a sadly lacking audience. Which is a serious shame as the band feel fresh in their approach. In a genre that has many bands adopting the same sound, Incite break away from the genres restraints and deliver with their songs. Lead singer Richie displaying a strong vocal range. His harsh vocals and growls feeling perfectly in place with the chugging riffs and tones courtesy of "Dru Tang" Rome and Christopher "EL" .

Next up is Palm Reader. Who are an extremly interesting band to witness. It's hard to really pinpoint where they sit on the genre list. Part Metalcore, part Screamo, part Spoken Word. As a band, musically they are all over the place. But very much in a good way. Lead Singer Josh commands the room. His combination of singing, growling and strong spoken word resonates. I hadn't heard of these guys previous to tonights show, but I now have every intention of downloading their albums. Their music needs to be heard by many and I can see great things for these guys.

Now we have Lord Dying. A band for me that should of been the nights openers. They're not by any means bad. In fact their combination of mixed time signatures and soaring riffs are amazing to listen to. The problem is it grows tiring quickly and frankly would of been far suited to begin the night. For me at least it feels like the nights momentum came to a screeching holt. Incredibly inpressive guitar playing, just not the right slot on the bill.

Finally we have Cancer Bats. A band I have wanted to see live for a very long time. And in no way do they disappoint. Always welcome in the UK tonight they play one of many sold out shows on this tour. A band that could quite comfortably play larger venues, they often opt for smaller Academy shows. Ones that are usually minus the barrier (a fact noted by lead singer Liam).

Not that this minor hindrance holds the band back from blistering through an incredibly strong set. Focusing on songs new and old the crowd go insane, with mosh pits and crowd surfers a plenty.

By the time they are closing the night with their last song I am absolutley exhausted from what I've just witnessed. It took several years to finally see them live and it was well worth the wait.