Let’s just get this out of the way right quick—the ‘20+1 years anniversary’ branding that adorns this tour smacks of either a) an attempt at a cute gimmick that doesn’t hold all the way, or b) the idea that Atreyu forgot to do something for the anniversary proper of The Curse and are trying to muddle through belatedly. That said, any opportunity to celebrate one of Atreyu’s seminal albums can’t be all bad. This is what metalcore was in the first half of the 2000s, after all, where the emo edge and mall-goth aesthetic took precedence, and it all worked. It’s still one of Atreyu’s best to this day, and even with a lineup that’s been significantly revised since, they’re still able to pull it off. They’ve even brought Eighteen Visions along for the ride, another era-appropriate metalcore throwback whose place in the nostalgia window has done wonders for them in recent years. It’s the sort of 2000s metalcore love-in that’s so easy to appreciate, and Will Robinson headed down to Manchester’s O2 Ritz to catch it all.
Eighteen Visions
Atreyu
Photos by Will Robinson (Instagram)
