aaamusic | On 18, Nov 2014

Saturday 15th November, Manchester

Tonight the queue is stretched out as the attendees slowly trail into the student union building, all clad in their band merchandise and shaking from the cold, waiting anxiously to get into the warmth of the venue.

First on tonight I bear witness to Fort Hope, having unfortunately missed Moose Blood due to a mix up with scheduling. The spontaneous onset of watching a band I had never seen or heard of before was interesting. The band themselves weren’t all that riveting to me, very much like bands that had risen up before such as We Are The Ocean, with Fort Hope’s lead vocalist sounding very reminiscent of the WATO singer; if anything can be said of their performance, it’s that the vocals had the most impact on me.

Next up were Frank Iero And The Celebration, stylised Frnkiero Andthe Cellabration, and the crowd, I think, were all too aware of from his “past life”, and I use those words quite pertinently. For many years, My Chemical Romance were an act that stirred much pandemonium, but with that said Frank’s endeavours to pursue a musical career with a new direction are commendable, and a band that is packaged and sold with his name is a bold statement just in itself. Musically, though, they come across quite childlike, with not much to it, because essentially Frank seems to use his instrument more as a tool to provide a backbone to vocals,for the lack of being able to sing very well. It would have made much more sense had Frank formed a new band with a lead vocalist because his voice is about as frantic as the Celebration’s music. Unfortunately this reviewer leaves what could have been something exciting rather disappointed.

Finally, we have Mallory Knox, who take to the stage, but not before the anticipation is raised to maximal levels! Having climbed through the ranks, and quite rightly so, it’s their work ethic that has gotten the band the reception that they see before them tonight at this soldout Manchester Academy 2. The band burst onto the stage and the crowd scream as the stage lights up like a firework, with colours washing the crowd, dancing around the room. It looks more like a spectacle than any old band on stage, as Mallory Knox cusp the crowds’ energy into a ball and with every decibel that the audience get louder, so does the band. Musically they are tight, playing their instruments with a careful but aggressive style. From the look on their faces, they were overjoyed with this response, looking like kings as they marched to the beat of their crowd and their instruments. Nice one lads!

Joe Sheridan