A quick lateral flow test and half an hour of submitting various results can mean only one thing, a big band in town – and at the moment there aren’t much bigger in the UK than Bring Me The Horizon, a band that have grown from metalcore upstarts into full on arena pop rock icons. But before we get to Oli Sykes and the boys there’s the small matter of support band You Me At Six to address.
BMTH must be absolutely oozing confidence in their live performance with having such a heavyweight support act on before them. It wasn’t so long ago that You Me At Six were headlining this very arena themselves, and that shows as the band command the stage from the off. They begin their lively set with Nice To Me and the majority of this sellout crowd are already eager to party. But it’s when Suckapunch is delivered that the assembled fully remember why they love this band, as the whole room bounce in unison. Ending with the epic Beautiful Way, the days of headlining this arena will surely be back very soon.
And so onto the main act. Bring Me The Horizon take the stage to the growling bassline that powers Teardrops and the Motorpoint duly obliges with dancing and moshing erupting in equal measure. An impressive looking graphics screen accompanies House Of Wolves, although unfortunately it can only be seen by people stood dead centre of the stage.
The next bout of moshing insanity erupts when they hit the Motorpoint crowd with a double whammy of Parasite Eve and Shadow Moses. With the crowd absolutely going bananas, frontman Sykes has the audience in the palm of his hand, demanding the crowd sing along and “go crazy” on cue, like a mad puppeteer. The encore kicks off with Obey, the track that saw them collaborate with Yungblud – who conveniently pops oton the screen to accompany the band – and it’s not long before Sykes pulls those strings again, this time demanding the biggest circle pit he’s ever seen for Throne.
Once again, Cardiff proves to be more than willing, splitting the room in half and allowing the kids to do their thing. They may divide a lot of music fans, but there’s no doubting that in the live arena, Bring Me The Horizon are an absolute force.
Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Wed 22 Sept
words CHRIS ANDREWS photos TIM ALBAN