Live Review : Bad Omens + Bilmuri + The Ghost Inside @ Live Co-op Arena, Manchester on November 28th 2025

For anyone still bemoaning the lack of a new generation of festival headliners they should get a load of the rapid ascent of Bad Omens. In a little over eight years they have accelerated from Satan's Hollow, via the Ritz to command the cavernous enormity of the Co-op Arena. As Noah will confess latter on, they are 500 tickets of selling out the place. Bad Omens have achieved this feat by winning over a fanbase of fresh blood devotees, enticed by their emotive brand of metal. Yes, they are building on the shoulders of giants, but they are doing so by their own rules. This is not Maiden, Metallica or Slipknot regurgitated for a younger generation (Yes Avenged Sevenfold and Paleface Swiss we are looking at you), this is a sound that is firmly and definitely their own and from the level of delirium around the place, from doors opening, it is speaking in waves to the disenfranchised of Generation Z. 

It is becoming a bit of a cliché now for upstart bands to bring along with them those that inspired them to do this shit in the first place. Tonight, The Ghost inside fill that regulatory slot. For many they are the bus crash band and Jonathan Vigil does make note of this towards the end of the set, pointing out to those unaware that Andrew Tkaczyk now drums with one leg (put that in your pipe Rik Allen and smoke it). However, infamousness aside, they remain one of the finest metalcore bands to come out of its initial heyday. This evening, they are strident and stunning. They come straight out of the blocks with ‘Avalanche’, the rapidly growing crowd a sea of phones and pumping fists. There is a contingent of diehards up front who yell along to the obligatory call out for those who have seen them before, but in the main, this is a virgin crowd happy to be swept along by anthemic nature. ‘Death Grip’ brings it all to a close with the pits sparking up in the now packed standing area. They may now be considered old guard, but they make a powerful impact and have hopefully lured many into their impressive gravitational pull.

Bilmuri are no strangers to the Co-op as they took on the special guests reigns for the mighty Sleep Token last November. They signal a massive change in sound from the in your face breakdowns and super emotional lyrics from The Ghost Inside but if there’s one thing you shouldn’t do with Bilmuri, is to expect to stay in one genre. They yet again flit all over the shop giving us bursts of pop, country, rock, jazz and of course that cursed sax. From the get-go it’s clear the crowd are much more familiar with Bilmuri than they were with The Ghost Inside and there is audience participation from the get-go with choruses heartedly sung along as if they were the headline deal. It is very much music for the Spotify generation, not content to stay in one line or pigeon hole it tries (and in most cases succeeds) to be everything to everyone. A genre clash masterclass. 

Last time Bad Omens were in town, they subbed for Bring Me The Horizon, and it is obvious they have taken the Steel city pioneers' use of narrative structures to heart. This evening is split it five distinct chapters, each telling a particular proponent of the overall story with interspersed videos moving the plot along and giving the faithful much-needed recovery time. A super eerie performance of ‘Specter’ opens the actual performance and ably shows off Noah’s vocal range before they bring the fire with the fan favourite and soul survivor from their debut album ‘Glass Houses’. Bad Omens transfer into the big league with ease, and songs like ‘Concrete Jungle’ sounds absolutely huge in this vast arena. Noah himself states that he didn’t realise how big this place is, and with a level of jovial self-doubt creeps in when he proclaims he shouldn’t be holding a microphone in front of this many people. 

The audience reaction is frankly extraordinary. The furore that each track elicits borders on Beatle-mania. It is hero-worship of a kind we rarely see in metal. The floor is a swathing orgy of flagellating bodies. ‘Nowhere’ is greeted by an enormous wall of death and ‘Limits’ has to be stopped halfway through due to a crowd injury. Jonathan Vigil joins them for ‘ANYTHING>HUMAN’ whilst Noah picks up the slack himself on ‘V.A.N.’ replacing the missing in action ‘Poppy’. Every track is enamoured with slick production, whether it comes from the upcoming fourth studio album or is culled from earlier on their career. This is a big show with big numbers, and it feels epic from start to finish. ‘Just Pretend’ contains one of those “let's light up the place” moments and it is deeply impressive as neon phone lights illuminate the entire auditorium. ‘Impose’ closes off the story with white confetti raining down upon a crowd who are now acting like the second coming is walking amongst them. 

But they are not done yet. ‘Dethrone’ by far their heaviest number, brings the whole thing to an incendiary ending with pyro and plumes of fire all over the set. It is a highly impressive finale to a heavily impressive endeavour. Bad Omens are mining something truly special. They manage to crossover in a way that only happens once in a generation. They are a metal band with the chops and tunes to appeal to a non-metal fraternity. The sky is indeed the limit, and next year's (probable) main stage appearance at Download should be the moment they secure their claim on super stardom.