Live Review : Bleed From Within @ O2 Academy, Liverpool on March 6th 2026

Never trust the weather or, a ferry from Dublin, is the moral of this gig. A situation completely out of all the band’ hands mean that a dash along the North Wales coastal road leaves us with only tonight’s headliners, Bleed From Within, performing. It’s a big disappointment for loads of the crowd who had their hearts set on seeing main support band Disembodied Tyrant, and openers Baest, but the headliners more than make up for the loss.

Headliners Bleed From Within get the crowd into gear with their now obligatory pre-gig 'Livin’ on a Prayer', and immediately we’ve got the panache, energy and atmosphere of what have become a massive band. The guys from Glasgow stride on and take their spots with purpose and poise, and as frontman Scott Kennedy walks on, he immediately has the already formed pit in the palm of his hand. The power, passion and vibrance of their setup hits from the off, with their signature feel bringing a smile and bang of the head as they open with ‘Zenith’ and a version of ‘The End of All We Know’ featuring Disembodied Tyrant’s frontman Blake Mullens. We later also have a guest appearance by Simon Olsen (singer from Baest) on the wonderful ‘God Complex’. The mix of mainstream anthems with thrashy verses and core elements of techy djent are catchy yet brutal. They’ve long been one of the most exciting live bands currently climbing the metal ladder in the UK, but last year’s tour was a clear step-change in their scene prowess. This ‘The Dying Sun’ tour is meant as an opportunity to check off some of the lesser-gigged stops around the country and either right wrongs or build that fanbase even more.

It's got to be noted that Liverpool O2 Academy never cover themselves in glory at these kinds of gigs. The staff at the box office and security at the doors are some of the most helpful people you could meet, but being a photographer in the pit here is a completely different matter. Blink and you’ll miss your chance to take a pic, because as soon as one crowd surfer goes over the barrier that’s it. Photographers out. No discussion. The BA Events Management qualified manager has a habit of doing this and it doesn’t seem to help anyone. Safety is important, but so is planning and it’s strange that across all the venues we cover in the North West this is the only place it happens. And it always happens. It means that we’re afforded pics from just over one song’s worth of the set, which together with no support bands is a lean return to say the least.

In any case, back to the reason we’re here. Bleed From Within’s sound has evolved through gritty straight-up Deathcore to metalcore and now arena-worthy genre-melding metal only a few have mastered. We’re talking Lamb of God and Parkway Drive level of melodic, groove-laden metal stadium metal. As I’ve noted before - you don’t feel like they’re performing for you, more that they’re sharing an experience and party with the punters. Their sound has evolved from their initial deathcore offering to something that fuses metalcore, anthemic groove metal, and tech-deathcore. It’s the tightness and ultra-professionality of the band that is always impressive and the intricate technical guitar smothered across groovy rock beats and thrums on the drums and bass are a delight. Craig Gowans’ technical guitar work in particular is stunningly luscious with amazing tapping, and Steven Jones’ additional clean vocals are worth a mention as they are superbly on-point throughout. The Glaswegians stride about the stage with confidence and pleasure, but never in an arrogant way. Kennedy points knowingly at supporters, grins frequently, and relishes the platform they now have. That platform will only grow as well. The arenas and stadiums will come, if not now then soon.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Bleed From Within