The Amity Affliction - live @ O2 Academy, Bristol 04/12/2016

The Amity Affliction treated the UK to an early Christmas present in the shape of a 6-date tour and Anthony Hunt Photography caught them  as they kicked things of  at Bristol’s O2 Academy.  Support came from fellow Aussies Northlane and the US based Wage War and Stray From The Path.

Evening openers Wage War  sonically pummelled the crowd from the offset with their sheer brutality. The energy these guys brought on stage was a great start for the night, the mass responded with welcoming circle pits that opened dead centre. There was a perfect mix of harsh, heavy shouts and crisp, clean vocals throughout the 30-minute set. The five-piece band from Ocala, Florida released their debut album last December and  the following they have gained is more than impressive.

Wage War

Carrying on with the US hardcore theme was New York quartet Stray From The Path. The intensity from Drew (York) the minute he entered was incredible. Opening with ‘Outbreak’ definitely got fans pumped but the biggest reaction came after Drew voiced his feelings on artists that use their status as a means to abuse female fans, “Fuck Ian Watkins” was met with thunderous cheers, yells and applause.

Stray From The Path

Nic (Pettersen) took up position behind the drums whilst the intro track for Northlane played, this lasted for some time, and built a huge amount of atmosphere throughout the venue. The absolute killer of a track ‘Rot’ was the first song to be played once the rest of the band hit the stage. Working through a great mix of tracks from old and new albums even saw Stray From The Path's Drew back on stage for ‘Masquerade’ and closing with the more recent ‘Obelisk’ made it very easy to see why Northlane are as big as they are.

Northlane

Headliners The Amity Affliction were greeted on stage by ear-splitting screams and yells. Confetti and smoke cannons blasted into the air during ‘Open Letter’ however this didn't entirely distract from the somewhat lack of interaction with fans but it’s more than understandable after Ryan (Burt) is forced to drop out from the U.K. leg of the tour due to mental health issues.

The Amity Affliction

Closing with ‘This Could Be Heartbreak’ caused a wave of crowd surfers to heave themselves toward the stage, seeing an emotional end to what looked to be a great leg of the tour for all 4 bands on the bill. We wish Ryan all the best and hope that he is able to make it back over here with the rest of TAA very soon.