Review: Alison Gustavson
Photography: Luke Petty

After an almost completely sold out seven-show Australian tour, Riverstage saw Bring Me the Horizon’s final show of the 2024 Down Under Tour. With support from none other than the masked geniuses themselves, Sleep Token, our very own heavy legends, Make Them Suffer, and the fun and unique, Daine, there was no doubt the night was going to be anything less than special.

Welcoming in the thousands of people still pouring in from the gates, Daine was up first. Her blend of pop and ‘almost Deftones’ elements, as she put it, certainly captivated the audience. It’s not often you hear auto-tune in a live setting when it comes to a metal gig, but it was an interesting change of pace – one that definitely worked in Daine’s favour.

On the back of their latest single release, ‘Epitaph’, Make Them Suffer did more than warm the crowd up. With vocalist Sean Harmanis’ high energy, the crowd didn’t stop moving – especially during ‘Ether’ which saw a sea of hands waving in the sky. Harmanis’ vocals themselves were nothing short of beastly live and paired with Alex Reade’s (keyboardist, vocalist), it was a powerful combination of cleans and screams. Hearing ‘Epitaph’ live, it was clear how tight Make Them Suffer are; the song was almost record perfect, and the crowd was hooked from the intro, with Harmanis encouraging everyone to clap along to the beat.

Their variety of songs from ‘Hollowed Heart’ and ‘Erase Me’ to ‘Doomswitch’ and ‘Ghost of Me’ meant there was something for the old and new fans alike, and no shortage of circle pits and moshing throughout. With their wave of new music blending their old and new styles together, it will be exciting to see what the future holds for Make Them Suffer.

It is no surprise that Sleep Token has taken the world by storm, so it should be no surprise that the moshpit was bursting at the seams with fans waiting in anticipation to see the mysterious masked Brits. The array of balloons that got dropped down on the crowd before the band took the stage was certainly a fun way to entertain the crowd. Opening with ‘The Offering’, the crowd got their first look at the one and only, Vessel. Undoubtedly, his stage presence is unmatched.

There is something truly unique about his movement and interactions with his fellow bandmates, not to mention his incredible vocals, that makes a Sleep Token performance so entertaining. Next up was ‘The Summoning’, which saw the entire moshpit push forward as everyone got off their feet. II is easily one of the biggest drummers in the metal scene at the moment, and for good reason – his solo in ‘The Summoning’ was an unbelievable display of his talent that captivated the almost ten thousand people audience.

The entire set was a testament to how talented the band is, with II and III providing one of the most consistent rhythm sections I have ever heard, IV’s screams and performance on guitar never missing a beat, the three female vocalists remaining pitch perfect, and Vessel improvising throughout, causing the crowd to cheer louder than humanly possible. The blend of softer moments in ‘Rain’ and heavier aspects of ‘Vore’ provided the perfect lead up to their closing track ‘Take Me Back To Eden’, which had one of the most beautiful light displays of the evening. It was truly special to hear how much emotion Vessel can convey in his voice alone, and I’m sure we all cannot wait until they next return.

At 7:50pm, the time had finally come – it was time for Bring Me the Horizon to rock our world. Opening with a video on the LED screens of an AI called Eve, who explained we would be part of an experiment, and this was our last night to live, the crowd erupted in a cheer as the band walked onstage to ‘Darkside’.

The set itself was incredible – almost floor to ceiling LED walls set to look like a church, platforms on stage for the band, pyro, and streamers. Immediately it became clear that frontman Oli Sykes’ vocals are still beyond impressive live. His ability to seamlessly switch between his cleans, screams, and telling the crowd they’re “losers if you don’t jump” was next level. Not just him, but the entire band performed flawlessly throughout the almost two-hour set.

The older Bring Me fans were definitely not forgotten, with the band playing the likes of ‘Empire (Let Them Sing)’, ‘Diamonds Aren’t Forever’, and ‘Antivist’. Throughout the tour, Sykes had brought a guest vocalist onstage for ‘Antivist’ and for the closing show of tour, it was no other than IV of Sleep Token, who wore a matching mask with Sykes. Both IV and Sykes’ vocal performance and energy levels were off the charts, and that song easily became one of the fan favorites of the night.

The storyline weaved throughout of Eve realising her projects were going rogue was a brilliant and extremely engaging idea, especially when the angel burst through the church during ‘Kool-Aid’. There was a really sweet moment in ‘Strangers’, which the band performed acoustically, where Sykes called for everyone to go up on someone’s shoulders so he could see “our lovely faces”. It was a very wholesome singalong, and it was surreal to see almost ten thousand people singing back every word, from the front of the barrier to the top of the hill. The same could be said for ‘Parasite Eve’, just with more moshing and circle pits.

‘Kingslayer’s production was one of the most impressive of the night, with a huge laser show intro and three new characters on the LED wall. ‘Shadow Moses’ was a close competitor, and had without a doubt one of the loudest crowds. The screens turned into a snowy wonderland, with lighting to match, and a huge red Sempiternal logo behind Sykes and his red flare. You could feel how much sentimental, or sempiternalmental value this song had to so many people the moment everyone screamed back “we’re going nowhere”.

‘Drown’ saw Sykes join the crowd, and share some special moments with fans on the barrier. He brought the fan cam with him, so everyone could catch the fan interactions – and the flamingo hat that popped its head up above Sykes at one point. ‘Can You Feel My Heart’ was the perfect way to send the band off before their encore, with everyone jumping and feeling like it was 2013 again.

The encore began with a video showcasing Bring Me The Horizon’s incredible 20 year journey as a band. From the music videos, to shows, to encounters with Linkin Park, their journey is something truly inspiring. This was the lead into ‘Doomed’, which they performed as the orchestral (live at the Royal Albert Hall) version. Looking around, there were not many dry eyes in sight; it’s special how a band can make so many feel so much less alone, and this song alone was evidence of how powerful Bring Me The Horizon’s music is.

Closing the evening and tour with ‘Throne’, the production levels were kicked up a notch with full pyro, confetti and a skull figure on the screen seeming to light the screens on fire. During the breakdown Sykes called for everyone to get down and asked those still standing to question “why am I such a loser?”. With the crowd erupting in laughter, it only added to the wholesome feeling of the night. The moment the final chorus kicked in, everyone was off their feet and the energy was unexplainable – it was something else.

As the band walked offstage, Eve once again came on screen to initiate the death of us all. Only that she is a robot and can’t pass ‘I’m not a robot’ tests. So, I suppose until next time, we’re safe from Eve and can say… BMTH just rocked my world.