GHØSTKID, SETYØURSAILS and WITHIN DESTRUCTION – 19TH OCTOBER 2024: CLUB ACADEMY MANCHESTER

On tonight’s agenda was “hollywood suicide tour” featuring performances by GHØSTKID, SETYØURSAILS, and WITHIN DESTRUCTION.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what to expect with this one. I recently got told about WITHIN DESTRUCTION from a friend who stated “Calling all metal weebs sugoi” whilst showing an anime music video for their track “No Way Out”. I listened to it and liked the vibe, right up my street so to say…. and boom, 5 days later. We’re here… What can I say – It escalated quickly. We went in blind…

Opening for the evening was SETYØURSAILS, usually you never know what to expect from the opening band but my lord, they did not disappoint. Prior to tonight I had not listened to SETYØURSAILS and went into this completely blind and you know what. I’m kind of glad I did… they brought their unique blend of melodic hardcore to the stage. I want to highlight Jules Mitch energetic and ever so charismatic stage presence. She was a delight to watch and her engagement with the crowds was phenomenal.

Following on from SETYØURSAILS was WITHIN DESTRUCTION. I knew from the moment they took the stage that this is something I will enjoy. Their unique band structure did not fall short of an amazing performance. For those who crave the heavier side of music, WITHIN DESTRUCTION hit the spot with an adrenaline-pumping experience that’s both cathartic and energizing.

Closing the evening and headlining was GHØSTKID, once again before attending this evening I was not familiar with the music of GHØSTKID however did know that frontman Sebastian “Sushi” Biesler (EX-ELECTRIC CALLBOY 2010 – 2020) is a hell of a vocalist and entertainer. I remember watching “Eskimo Callboys” performance with “Sushi” at Wacken Open Air festival in 2016 and being in admiration for his stage presence all I can say is that with GHØSTKID that stage presence has just developed into something that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. It’s theatrical, it’s talented, and a solid display of personal creative expression. The setlist was a vast array of old tracks and new alike, such as “DAHLIA”, “HEAVY RAIN” AND “S3X”.

Overall the night was fantastic. Club Academy will always be one of them venues where if you’re expecting to get a nice drink whilst watching a band think again, their cider taste like true hobo piss that’s been stored in a vat after milking men for a couple of days and leaving it out to absorb any other nasties in the area. Do not recommend… although I’m not a massive fan of Club Academy beverages and refreshments during a gig I honestly felt it was the perfect venue to witness these bands it felt intimate, it felt energetic… it felt so fucking good. I would highly recommend checking out all the bands that were featured tonight if you get the opportunity, I do not have one negative word to say about any of the performances from the evening.