After live music took its annual break over the festive period, the return to gigs after a well-earned reset is always bound to be exciting. Both fans and bands are dying to be back in those chaotic, sweaty rooms. There’s truly no better way to shake the January blues. My year kicked off with an absolutely stacked lineup consisting of Paleface Swiss, Static Dress and Stick To Your Guns. Since these shows were announced, they have been highly anticipated and no show has ever been more worth the wait. We may only be two weeks into the year but I can confidently say that this tour will be talked about for the rest of 2026.
There’s a number of special, and quite interesting, points to be made just about the lineup alone before I even begin to talk about the bands’ sets. The main one being it is a lineup full of full circle moments for all three bands. Paleface Swiss’ rise has been meteoric; frontman Marc ‘Zelli’ Zellweger even joked about how just a few years ago they played Manchester’s Satan’s Hollow to “three-and-a-half people”. Even in less than a year, they have gone from New Century Hall to Manchester’s Academy 1 (which is over double the capacity for those who don’t know!).
Back when they first started out, one of their first proper gig opportunities was given to them by Stick To Your Guns, and the two have toured together a few times since, even releasing charity single Instrument Of War together back in October. Static Dress’ Olli Appleyard has cited both Paleface and STYG as inspirations, and bands he used to watch as a fan, plus Static Dress and Paleface Swiss have also toured together previously with Motionless In White. It all makes the tour feel a lot less like a calculated business decision and more like it is rooted in genuine connection and shared passion. Community is an integral part of the heavy and hardcore scenes, and it is refreshing to see such authenticity from bands who are playing shows of this scale.
Stick To Your Guns instantly set the bar for the night. In all honesty, it felt strange seeing them in such an early time slot but it made for an explosive start to the show. They wasted no time, launching straight into Diamond and What Choice Did You Give Us?. Pints went flying, the first surfers of the night made their way over the barrier and the pit was absolute carnage already. By the time their set closed with Nobody, I was shocked that anyone in the band or crowd had any energy left at all.
From the get-go it was evident that Static Dress had a huge number of fans in the crowd. They walked on stage with the confidence of a headliner and were met with loud cheers and immediate applause. For a band from “45 minutes away” this was the closest to a hometown show they had on this run. There were no introductions, not that they needed one, just frontman Olli Appleyard demanding everyone to “open this shit up” as they opened with face.
This show felt particularly special, as it coincided with the release day of Static Dress’ latest single human props. It marked the first of a new era, and their first since signing to Sumerian Records. Both are huge milestones for the band and it was a real pleasure to experience it live. Even without knowing the words, the crowd went wild for the new material. I don’t know what Static Dress have laced their music with, but there’s something about their blend of chaos and melody that makes everyone want to get moving. At heavier shows I often stick to the sides of the crowd, but even I couldn’t resist getting in the pit for this one!
Between songs, Olli took time to chat to the crowd, mentioning how much of an influence both of the other bands on the lineup had on him, as he recalled going to watch them as a fan at much smaller venues such as Manchester’s Rebellion. The band also dedicated an unreleased track (printed as CDP on the setlist) to Paleface Swiss, and for the entire rest of the set kept demanding more movement, more energy and more crowdsurfers. By crying, the final song of the set, the poor venue security were struggling to handle the amount of people coming over the barrier! Their set on this tour is simply proof that a Static Dress headline tour is long overdue!
After watching both support bands play, I couldn’t help but think of how early the majority of the crowd arrived, but also how loud and energetic they were from the first note of live music. I’ve been to far too many gigs recently where people will only show for the headliner, or stand with their arms crossed until their set begins. Support slots are often an opportunity for a band to showcase their music and capture the attention of new potential fans, but it seemed the vast majority knew at least a little of all three bands, or got involved and brought the energy even if they didn’t. You could see the bands feeding off that energy and giving it right back. There was an overwhelming sense of community and that room was the perfect example of everything the heavy music scene stands for.
The crowd may have brought the energy for both support bands, but the moment Paleface Swiss stepped on stage, there was no debating who the crowd were there to see. The atmosphere was electric, with cheers loud enough to suggest they haven’t played Manchester in years. In actual fact it’s been less than a year since their last visit. They opened with I Am A Cursed One followed by fan favourite Hatred. Their whole sound is very early Slipknot, Zelli’s delivery in particular is reminiscent of Corey Taylor in the best way.
As Zelli addressed the crowd, the gratitude and happiness is evident in his voice. “We are excited to be back in what we call the greatest city in the United Kingdom, maybe the best city in all of Europe, we’ll see how this show goes!”. Throughout you could see the band are constantly blown away by the overwhelming support in the room. It was written all over their faces, and the whole night Zelli was repeatedly admitting “I don’t even know what to say” and “This is mind blowing to me”.
It feels like Paleface Swiss have finally found their sound and mastered it. This tour is in celebration of their latest EP The wilted which dropped just two weeks ago, and it’s easily their strongest work to date. I’ll admit on first listen I did think it all blended together, and sounded a little too similar, but after hearing the songs live I have definitely changed my perspective and warmed to the EP. Rather everything sounding the same, it’s more that the band know what they do best, and fully leaning into that. Withering Flower and Instrument Of War were standout tracks for me personally.
Deeper cuts including The Orphan and The Rats were thrown in too, and made for absolute carnage in the pit once again. Whether it’s new material or old classics, the one thing that consistently stands out with Paleface Swiss is the raw emotion behind their performance. The aggressive vocals, the heavy guitars and the relentless drums combined make for a live show that hits hard from start to finish.
The set closed out to the triumphant Please End Me ending the night on a powerful and satisfying note. This was my first time seeing Paleface Swiss live after being a casual listener for a couple years, and it isn’t hard to see why they’ve blown up at such speed recently. The traction is well deserved, and this tour feels like not only their strongest era yet, but the start of something much bigger.
Words by Danni Baker
