Live Review : Heaven Shall Burn + The Black Dahlia Murder + Frozen Soul @ Academy 2, Manchester on Febraury 25th 2026

Tonight is a story of quality over quantity. For a tour that will move into arenas when it arrives on the continent, Academy 2 is criminally underpopulated. However, the sparse attendance enhances rather than detracts from the evening. Every member of the pit pushes harder and faster, creating a hurricane of havoc that quite simply elevates the atmosphere. Those of us unwilling or unable to sprint around in a circle for three hours, participate in our own way with renewed vigour, singing along expansively with each number. And then there are the bands. Each component of this incredibly tasty trilogy bring their A-game and then some. Times are tough economically, and there are at least three other high-profile metal shows happening in town this evening, but Jesus Christ, where were you? You really missed an absolute peach of an evening.

There is not much room on stage for Frozen Soul to operate within, and as they personally attest, they are not the slenderest of bands. This results in the five members being wedged into a contoured corner of the performance area. However, they do not let the claustrophobic conditions put them off their stride. Tonight, they are astonishingly ferocious and savage. The utter beauty of their brand of Death Metal is how stripped back and minimal it is. They have dispensed with any highly convoluted notions of crossover or contamination from other genres. Instead, they present eight slabs of pristine grinding noise. 

Four of those nuggets of brutal intensity come from their impending new album (due May). Whilst they have not significantly shifted the dial in terms of their central sound, there is definitely more of a girth to the new stuff (as they state “everything is bigger in Texas”). ‘Invoke War’ particularly comes across as an amalgamation of all they have hitherto tried to achieve. It is by a long mile the highlight of the set and provides an opportunity for Chad Green to engage the crowd in hand gesturing and a choral refrain of “Invoke War”. Blissfully simple but highly effective, it is that contagious austerity that makes Frozen Soul sound so good. Death Metal taken right back to its raw organic origins, they are once again an extraordinarily evocative live experience.

It becomes very obvious that a large proportion of the attendees are here for The Black Dahlia Murder. This is their first show in this city since their legendary appearance at Rebellion seven years ago. More importantly, it's their first show here since Trevor Strnad’s tragic passing and Brian Eschbach's decision to take over vocals. Well-received stints at both Download and Bloodstock have already proved that Bri is an adequate and refreshingly irreverent replacement, and this evening it feels like he's always been there upfront all along, stumbling around happily engaging the crowd informally and unceremoniously. The Black Dahlia Murder may trade in grizzly subject matter, but they never take themselves particularly seriously. But even by their standards, there is an overriding feeling of fun about this evening's performance.

‘Statutory Ape’ is back, even if his signature tune is not. Instead, he maliciously engages with the front rows during ‘A Vulgar Picture’ and then heads out into the pit. Whilst their primate pal cavorts with the paying public, the band come across as relaxed and jocular. There seems to be a renewed sense of enjoying making music together; they may well be deep into the second year promoting “Servitude”, but there is no air of road weariness. They are just as daft and kooky as ever. Basically a utter joy to behold. Death metal with a smile on its face and a skip in its step, and the crowd as one embraces the magnificent mayhem. Bri makes it very clear that they won't leave it as long to return to Manchester, and the gleeful hordes will hold him to that.

Tonight's must feel like a step back in time for Heaven Shall Burn. With their continued soaring popularity and festival headline status in their home country and beyond, it must feel like an absolute age since they last had to urge audience members to come closer. But they emerge to a really interesting crowd dynamic where two hundred or so of their devoted evangelical followers gather upfront, giddy with euphoric excitement for their heroes' first headline appearance in this city for fourteen years. Then there is an elongated gap before you get to those who have primarily turned up for the opening two acts but made the call to stick around to see what all the fuss is about. It is those floating voters that Marcus Bischoff beckons forward. Those who do decide to come and join the converted are in for a treat as Heaven Shall Burn are on incendiary form this evening. 

Basically, what we witness is an arena-sized act playing in the close confines of a tiny venue. They are extraordinarily tight and fantastically erudite in their sound. This is melodic death metal at its most soaring and harmonious. It is simultaneously heavy and brittle but also beautifully epic and soaring. Marcus’s vocal delivery is gruff and grating, but it is wonderfully offset by Maik Weichert’s and Alexander Dietz's guitar work, which is stunningly smooth and flowing. Big, expansive and utterly anthemic, the riffs they rain down are nothing short of exquisite. Rather than be downhearted by large empty expanses at the back of the room, they play to the converted, and the room becomes an illicit love-in of a passionate crowd revelling in being in such close quarters to the band.

There is so much passion at play this evening. Maik Weichert takes to the mic to speak passionately about their visit to the museum of Football this afternoon and more importantly, of the need to never be complacent about the threat of fascism. Introducing ‘Armia’, he states matter-of-factly that you can only remove politics from metal once you have taken the Nazism and fascism. Part of the wonder of this band is the politicised nature of their lyrics, and it is refreshing to hear a musician speak with such honesty and volition. As the undecided drift away or become part of the inducted, the atmosphere ratchets up and those who have always rated them enjoy having the space to sing and dance. Whilst originally by the melodeath innovators Edge of Sanity, Heaven Shall Burn have made ‘Black Tears’ their own, and it receives a rapturous response.  However, the moment of glory is ‘Endzeit’. A glorious amalgamation of hurtling brutality and sumptuous melody, it leads to every arm in the place being raised and every voice being sung hoarse.

Tonight is the story of a band that is used to having enormodomes eat out of their hands, have to work to keep the attention of half-full room, but they pull it off magnificently. Those who loved them before will now love them a little bit more for their tenacity and valour, and those who have fallen in love with them this evening know that they have witnessed something special. The encore break is rushed to the point of non-existence as the band wisely realise that those unfamiliar with the material may wander off thinking it is over (as Make jests “I'm sure I heard someone say one more song”). But none of this actually matters, as they are bloody brilliant this evening and put on a resilient and rousing performance that consummates their professionalism and prowess. They do promise to return to Manchester and let's hope the local rumour mill goes into overdrive so those who bailed early or didn't even bother turning up know exactly what they missed.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Heaven Shall Burn + The Black Dahlia Murder + Frozen Soul