This Will Destroy You & Nordic Giants – Band On The Wall, Manchester – 14.03.2025 Gig Review
17th March 2025Post-rock. See, I’ve been a fan of the extreme side of metal for many a year now but there’s time when you need a break from this. Tonight wouldn’t be about corpse paint, blast beats, or guttural vocals. No, this would be a night celebrating a diametrically opposite sub-genre which I’m equally passionate about. Enter This Will Destroy You, a leading genre act hailing all the way from Texas, USA, and celebrating 2 decades as a band. With Nordic Giants in support, a British act who have developed a true cult following as a result of their stunning live performances, this would be a night where the band’s respective sounds are built around experimental elements that defy typical conventions, complex structures, and soundscapes, as well being instrumental by design.
Nordic Giants
Two musicians cloaked in feathers. One playing drums, one playing keyboards. A very succinct albeit extremely minimalist and reductionist way to describe Nordic Giants. Their music is infinitely deeper than this in subject and thematic matter! Ranging from the use (or misuse) of the pharmaceutical industry, social media’s apparent chokehold on society, or the political corruption in our world, all these themes were brought to life with a series of cinematic videos custom-built for each song projected behind. Each video was as cavernously deep as the last, even disturbing at times but providing a frank and much-needed commentary on the state of our world. The other visual aids increased in intensity as the show progressed, starting with a rather simple light display but with the gradual introduction of custom strobe lighting and smoke machines later in the set. This allowed you to feel the emotional connection and immersive experience far transcending what’s possible on record. Look, if you get a chance to see Nordic Giants, just do it! A criminally underrated British instrumental post-rock band.
This Will Destroy You
With the room near capacity, this was a clear nod to their popularity. A mixed set in multiple ways tonight. The first half consisted of a play-through of the album “S/T”’. To be truthful, they seemed to struggle at times. With the complex mix and intricate ambient elements, the margin of error is very fine and one false move could turn the whole show into a sloppy muddy mess. Sadly, it felt like this at times earlier on. It didn’t help with people constantly yacking away and talking through these quieter ambient passages, necessary to build intrigue and tension. I’m getting too old to tolerate this so I had to tell a few people off, including a group of Spanish speakers in front of me who were alarmed when I yelled “¿Por qué no te callas?” after growing impatient with their poor gig etiquette. Once this stopped, it seemed that the live mix began to improve as well.
During ‘The Mighty Rio Grande’ (arguably their biggest hit) was when the levels were seemingly corrected or whatever bit of sound engineering magic was needed to make this melodic and gentle masterpiece truly shine. The subtle fog and silhouetted lighting were a wonderful production choice for this and the rest of the set.
100 minutes is a long set to fill, and “S/T” is only half of this. Solution? Play some of your greatest hits! Including one of my all-time favorite songs of ANY genre, ‘The World Is Our_’. If any fvcker started to talk through this, I would have unleashed the dragon! Fortunately neither happened. This allowed me and many others to enjoy the blazing lead guitar work and soul-piercing melody in what really is a true classic that the genre should measure itself against.
“10 more tunes! 10 more tunes!”
The crowd clearly wanted more which prompted the band to speak for the first time nearly an hour into the set, explaining that this wouldn’t be possible due to the curfew but also expressing their gratitude for their fans. Instead, we were treated to some tracks from some of the members’ side projects You, Infinite. It felt pretty cool to be amongst the first people in the city, no, in the WORLD to hear some of these tracks live! The set finished with a savage atmospheric skull crushing that was ‘Little Smoke’. All comments about the poor sound quality were now null and void. Genuinely, I wasn’t ready for this after being lulled into ambient submission by the delicate numbers that had preceded it. A newfound respect and admiration for one of the bands I admire most.
A 10 pm finish allowed for ample time to collect some merch from the dedicated area. Both bands deserved some huge sales tonight and I hope they did. I haven’t really spoken about the venue, Band On The Wall, but now feels like a great time too. I thought I’d seen all the best venues in Manchester but no, this really is a hidden gem! This just seems like this was custom-built for quality live music like I had seen tonight! Whether it’s the high-quality acoustics, the darkened room with minimal distractions allowing one to become fully immersed in the artist’s performance, the quality unobstructed views and the upstairs seated mezzanine area for those who need it. I’ll have to keep my eye out for other shows coming to this venue! I’ll certainly be keeping my eye out for further developments in the career trajectories for both Nordic Giants and This Will Destroy You too!
Promoter: https://www.facebook.com/NMC.Live
