“I chose the distance.”
Words by Maximo David, photography by Dave Curtis, contact Dave prior to any image use.
Last week, metalcore veterans The Devil Wears Prada descended upon the capital for their first headline set in the city in almost nine years. A lot has happened for the band in that time, as their mid-2010s affairs Space and Transit Blues saw the band commit to fully shedding their scenecore skin in exchange for something… new. Something more artistically aligned with how they felt at the time, and that pushed their sound forward, whilst also acknowledging their prior strengths as musicians.
Now, nine years on, the Ohio stalwarts are just as big a driving force than ever. With two more LPs and an EP down since, the band seem to have struck a chord once more with the wider, and far different metalcore audience of today. This was evidenced on Thursday night, as a sold out crowd filled up the O2 Academy Islington, and TDWP, alongside some stellar supports, set the room ablaze with energy, and returned to the capital in style (and ready to party).
German post-hardcore outfit SENNA kicked off the show with an impressive display of melodic, riffy goodness. Feeling at times like a more subdued (and far less silly) take on the Swancore sound of bands like Dance Gavin Dance, SENNA’s opening performance, which kicked off just 15 minutes after doors, set a great tone for the night with an offering of infectious melodies and grooves. I wasn’t all too familiar with their material going into the show, but as a lot of their set was comprised of brand new singles from an upcoming LP, Stranger To Love, they’re now certainly a band I’ll be keeping my eye on.
What followed was where the party truly began, though. Australia’s Ocean Grove are a band I’m more than familiar with, having seen them now three times in completely different incarnations. Having recently returned to a majority of their original line-up in studio (but not live, interestingly), the band primarily showcased material from their newly released LP with that line-up, titled ODDWORLD, and from the moment the set kicked off, it was clear that this material was written to be experienced in a room like this. The band’s penchant for grooving swagger only feels amplified when it’s being performed with as much energy as this, as vocalist Dale Tanner jumped and danced his way across the stage throughout the whole set. As the band leaves the stage, they promise to come back soon with a longer set, which hopefully indicates a headline tour on the horizon – could we get some Black Label and Rhapsody Tapes material in that case?
Cali natives Kingdom of Giants were next to the stage, providing a blistering 40-minute set primarily composed of the band’s biggest and heaviest tracks from their last two records, Passenger and Bleeding Star. The set choice was stellar, as the band seems to understand the importance of playing your bangers, with my personal highlights in “Blue Dream” and “Night Shift” sending the energy in the room to the stratosphere. They played a majority of the material off of Bleeding Star, and much like the energy Ocean Grove put forward, it’s clear these tracks were crafted with precision for live play. The pit was open wide throughout their entire set, and this was only set off even harder when vocalist Dana Willax climbed onto the barricade to rile up even more energy from the audience toward the end of the set. A stellar choice for a main support, and one that one can only hope are the future headliners of a venue such as this, Kingdom of Giants were an absolute pleasure to finally catch.
Of course, the main event was still yet to come, and as TDWP entered the stage, the energy came to a head and did not cease for the entire evening. Playing a career-spanning set of beloved singles and fantastically hand-picked deep cuts, the band’s first London headline set in years truly felt as though no expense was spared and not a single moment was wasted, as their hour-plus stage went by in a breeze. Classics like “Dez Moines”, “Danger: Wildman” and “Mammoth” were obvious highlights for OGs, but the band’s clear strength in writing infectious hooks became apparent as they rattled off material from their most recent LP, Color Decay, to a roaring crowd, which sought to scream every single word back. Unfortunately, due to travel restrictions, I was forced to leave the set a few tracks before its conclusion, but as “Dez Moines” wrapped up around the time I left, I yearned for more.
The band promise on stage that new material is coming in the next few months, and one can only hope that their next headliner across the UK won’t be such a long wait this time, and that they will return in full force supporting said material. After such a stellar performance, too, their return both to the studio and to the stage truly cannot come soon enough. Catch up on our coverage for these bands at Boolin Tunes including classic reviews of The Devil Wears Prada‘s Color Decay, ZII, and our interview with Mike Hranica. Check out our takes on the studio work of Kingdom of Giants and Ocean Grove.