THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA PERFORMING LIVE AT LONDON’S
O2 ISLINGTON ACADEMY

★★★★☆ (4.5/5)

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA PERFORMING AT LONDON’S O2 ISLINGTON ACADEMY
PHOTOCREDIT: CHARIS LYDIA BAGIOKI

Not even a whole year after The Devil Wears Prada toured Europe in support of Landmvrks, the metalcore veterans are now back for a full on headline tour, which got sold out before you could even say the whole name of the band.

First up in this Thursday night metalcore party are Senna, hailing from Germany. With a lot of energy and incredible live vocals, the band was quick to capture the audience. While the first two rows were very obviously TDWP fans, the moshpit was already in full swing in the middle of the room. The band was very energetic on stage, engaging with the audience as they played a set of newer songs, with intense bass and guitars to keep the crowd headbanging.

Second band on the bill was Ocean Grove, which was the biggest surprise to me. The band came all the way from Australia, and they brought the heat with them. Much more noisy and loud, the band took the stage with a bang. Jumping tirelessly, with intense theatrics, nu-metal vocals and a bit of screamo, their stage presence was something else – all that added with big riffs to elevate the whole room to the heavens. Despite having only half an hour to showcase their musical capabilities, they did a great job in setting the mood for what was about to follow. For a band that has supported Don Broco before, they definitely knew what they were doing to set the bar high for the night.

The TDWP fans were very familiar with the penultimate band, Kingdom of Giants, who took the stage just after 9pm. Based on how much the crowd sang along and crowd surfed – and I made a note that I was standing under the ‘no crowd surfing’ sign the entire night, ironically – they delivered a sensational performance. There was a great mix of riffs, heavy bass, screamo and clean vocals, the know how to bring metalcore to the next level. The band was extremely surprised at the crowd’s reaction to their set, not wasting a single minute of their short stint on stage to play their set – including fan favourite songs ‘Night Shift’, ‘Wasted Space’ and ‘Wayfinder’.

Last but not least, The Devil Wears Prada came on stage to end the night on the highest of highs. Raising the energy to the clouds, the band ramped up on the stage one by one. Blending drums, bass, multiple guitars and keys in their music, alongside clean vocals and high pitched screams, the band definitely know not only how to keep the genre alive but also to entertain the crowd. There were multiple crowd surfers through the entirety of the set, and the crystal clear sound helped elevate the experience for their loyal fans. It was thoroughly one of the warmest crowds I have seen in a gig, reminding the band how loved they are on this side of the pond. Their setlist was different than last time, including songs such as ‘Born to Lose’, ‘Salt’, ‘Noise’, ‘Escape’, ‘Chemical’ and ‘Sacrifice’, all of which had people singing along as loud as they could, jumping up and down and having a great time. By the time the set was done, people kept wanting more, so we hope the band blesses us with another tour fairly soon.