A DAY TO REMEMBER // O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW
A DAY TO REMEMBER PERFORMING AT GLASGOW’S O2 ACADEMY
★★★★★ (5/5)
Opening the night with a heavy dose of metalcore, Bristol five-piece Split Chain waste no time setting the tone for what is to come.
Drawing comparisons to the likes of Korn and Deftones, their set is a swirling mix of aggression and atmosphere, grabbing early attention from the growing crowd.
Frontman Bert Martínez-Cowles commands the stage with intensity, his emotionally charged vocals anchoring the chaos.
“Future” sees him encouraging the crowd to start surfing, and the energy in the room ramps up accordingly.
For closer, “I’m Not Dying To Be Here,” Martínez-Cowles amps things up even further, shouting, “when this song kicks in, you need to run at each other! Open this up!” A small but enthusiastic section of the crowd duly obliges, forming a wall of death that brings the set to a thunderous close.
A Day To Remember kcik off their set torching the room—literally—with flames erupting during “Make It Make Sense.” From the first note, the energy is relentless.
Things escalate even further with back-to-back bangers “I’m Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?” and “2nd Sucks,” the latter dedicated “to all the kids that grew up on heavy music.” The pit wastes no time proving that Glasgow still throws down hard.
Beach balls bounce through the crowd during “Rescue Me,” and the singalong for “Have Faith In Me” has the entire room belting their emo hearts out.
The set takes an unexpected turn with the bands cover of Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” chosen by bassist Bobby Lynge. Frontman Jeremy McKinnon confesses he’s said “fuck no” to playing it for 20 years—ending the song with a laugh and the verdict: “Great song, questionable cover.”
Things get wild during “All My Friends,” featuring a t-shirt gun-wielding Mario and a confetti cannon exploding into the final chorus.
“Mindreader” sees one of the night’s most chaotic moments: crowd surfing on top of another crowd surfer, with McKinnon remarking, “you can go home a legend or you can go home safe.”
Toilet rolls fly overhead for “All Signs Point To Lauderdale,” and the band hit hard with the double punch of “LeBron” and “Feedback”—a highlight of the evening.
The main set wraps with “Sometimes You’re the Hammer, Sometimes You’re the Nail” and crowd favourite “All I Want.”
The band return for an encore, with McKinnon grinning: “I’m assuming since you guys haven’t left yet, you want us to play some more songs?”
We have a sea of phone lights and lighters for “If It Means A Lot To You,” before the night is closed out with “Flowers” and an absolutely stomping “The Downfall of Us All.”
A Day To Remember prove once again why they’re one of the most beloved live bands in the scene. Anyone catching them at Slam Dunk or elsewhere on this tour is in for a real treat!
