The Amity Affliction, Nottingham Rock City - 12.10.26
Australian heavyweights bring the thunder to Nottingham's Rock City
On October 12, we headed to Rock City in Nottingham to spend an evening celebrating metalcore giants The Amity Affliction.
As the venue filled up, the crowd were thrown into full mayhem as Orthodox took the stage. As the Nashville-based band started their set, it was clear that nobody in Rock City was prepared for the calibre of performance which they were about to witness. Lead singer Adam Easterling’s commanding presence and insanely controlled vocals were an absolute treat as he paced the stage like a caged animal.
The instrumentals were just as aggressive as Easterling’s vocals, with lead guitarist Austin Evans bringing even more raw chaos to their sound, his high-energy riffs working incredibly well with Ben Touchberry’s downtuned chugs, helping the band create a wall of sound which will keep you wanting more. It is also important to note that Austin has a very unorthodox way (badum tss) of playing the guitar, as he holds his guitar upside down and plays the strings in reverse order.
The chaos is held together by the rhythm section of Mike White (Drums) and Shiloh Krebs (Bass), who bring impeccable two-step-worthy beats which had the whole pit bouncing and spin kicks flying. Even though I started the day not knowing who these guys were, I am now on the lookout for the next time they visit the UK, as they were incredible and I definitely want to see what these guys can do at their own headlining show.
Next up on the bill were the Philadelphia metalcore band Varials; while their sound was not as quick and as chaotic as Orthodox's, they brought full tension with their instrumentals. Guitarist Shane Lyons brought the heaviness with heavy chords, which culminated in massive face-scrunching breakdowns. You could tell the crowd was really into it as more and more people entered the pit. Skyler Conder’s vocals kept the aggressive energy going with remarkable gutturals and extraordinary presence.
The crowd was getting more and more energetic as the set went on. I found it impossible to stay still and took my post helping people get a leg up to crowdsurf on the edge of the pit. Their set was almost like an assault, with very few pauses between heavy tracks. Mike Foley’s bass lines are full of heavy distortion and are tuned incredibly low, bringing a dark, moody backbone to all tracks. Sean Rauchut’s drum patterns thrust the crowd into every breakdown. With them heading off for another huge tour after this, we are excited to see more of them.
For the final support, we had Silent Planet, who, admittedly, I may have gone slightly too hard for. Frontman Garrett Russell has an incredible way of building tension before the songs explode into unmatched raw energy both vocally and instrumentally. I was enamoured with how easily they turned the crowd into a total pandemonium. Between the punishing riffs from Mitchell Stark on guitar and the almost feral rhythm section consisting of Alex Camarena on drums and Nick Pocock on bass, I was not prepared for the intensity of both the performance and the crowd.
This energy was so intoxicating that I spent most of my time either in the pit or up in the air crowdsurfing. During the culmination of their impeccable set, whilst I was gracefully helping a man dressed like a lobster get someone up in the air, I did get knocked over, which caused me to break my foot. However, I was so entranced by the music that I simply asked the lobster to chuck me up so I could at least enjoy Silent Planet while crowdsurfing one last time before having to spend the rest of my evening sitting down.
Finally, while embarrassingly sat down by the bar, we were ready to welcome the Australian giants onto the stage. Even before they took the stage, the excitement of the crowd was palpable. Everyone was eager to see what The Amity Affliction was going to bring to the table on their first UK tour without long-standing clean vocalist Ahren Stringer. As soon as they took the stage, it became clear why they have been a staple in metalcore for decades. Between Jonny Reeves' drastic shifts in clean vocals and Joel Birch's raw gutturals, the crowd experienced a perfect storm of vocal assault.
Even during their angriest tracks, guitarist Dan Brown weaves pure emotion into his melodies between the heavy distortion they are known for. The pummeling drums throughout the whole set ensured that their tracks sounded even more intense live than they already do on their records. Their musical performance was perfectly accompanied by their almost cinematic lighting setup, which set the mood for every track, whether deep and emotional or frenzied with rage.
One of the main things that The Amity Affliction have always been impeccable at is their ability to balance their frantic energy with deeply emotional moments. A highlight of this was their song ‘All Fucked Up’, where all of Rock City was lit up by torches during one of the band's most heartfelt songs. I found this moment deeply cathartic as I was sitting in the back crying my eyes out because I was also, in fact, “All Fucked Up”. Their setlist perfectly blended beloved oldies like ‘Pittsburgh’ and ‘Chasing Ghosts’ with new bangers like ‘Afterlife’ and ‘Bleed’ from the band's 2026 album House of Cards.
Throughout the whole set, the intensity of the crowd was unmatched; they moved in perfect sync with the band on stage, leaving me absolutely gutted to be missing out on being right in the middle of it. This show was proof of why The Amity Affliction have remained one of the undisputed heavyweights of metalcore for all of these years. With a new lineup in tow, they are showing no signs of slowing down.
Review by Alex Velikova
