Live Review : Igorrr + Master Boot Record + Imperial Triumphant @ O2 Ritz, Manchester on October 23rd 2025

Tonight, the O2 Ritz is treated to a perfect storm of avant-garde chaos, technical excess, and cinematic madness. The lineup is a journey through the outer limits of metal, with Imperial Triumphant summoning the spirits, Master Boot Record overloading the circuits, and Igorrr stealing the show with a performance that’s as unhinged as it is unforgettable. Three wildly different acts take the stage, each pushing the boundaries of what metal can be and what it can sound like.

New York’s Imperial Triumphant open the evening cloaked in mystery and menace. The trio appear in ornate ceremonial headwear, their presence more cult-like than band-like. A single distorted “Good Evening Manchester” is all they offer in terms of crowd interaction, delivered through a warped vocal effect that sounds like it’s been dragged through a haunted vocoder. They conjure a dense, brooding atmosphere that’s equal parts avant-garde death metal and theatrical horror. Their sound is layered and dissonant, with jazz-inflected drumming and atonal guitar work that feels like it’s collapsing in on itself. It’s spooky, flamboyant, and enigmatic all built on arty dread and drama. Their set feels more like a descent into a ritualistic offering than a gig, somewhat similar to some of the early Sleep Token gigs but with a vibrant death metal core. A swirling mass of avant-death metal that feels like it’s being channelled from another dimension and a perfect start to the evening.

Next up, Master Boot Record bring a very different kind of intensity. If Imperial Triumphant are summoning spirits, Master Boot Record are summoning computer code. Their set is a relentless stream of instrumental metal fused with retro computer game bleeps bloops and aesthetics. The backdrop pulses with ASCII graphics, defragmenting animations, and lines of code, while the stage is littered with what appear to be vintage consoles and computers. It’s a hybrid of 80s power metal, thrash, and chiptune, delivered via two guitars and live drums, with a backing track filling in the synthetic layers. The guitar work is technically dazzling with tapping, sweeping, and shredding…but it’s also indulgent.

There’s little sense of songcraft and instead it’s a barrage of soloing and kick drum-heavy rhythms that blur into one another. The mix is muddy, and the lack of dynamic range makes the set feel like a single extended level of a retro game. Think Dragonforce backed by a Commodore 64. There are flashes of speed metal brilliance, but without light and shade, it could be construed as a tiring listen to some.

Then come our glorious headliner Igorrr (aka Gautier Serre), and the night takes a turn into the splendiferous and no less surreal. The stage is split with two risers – one for drums and then Gautier on one for keys/percussion, both dramatically lit to reveal hands pushing out from the shadows beneath. A giant illuminated “I” signals the start of a set that defies genre, logic, and expectation. It’s a massive melting-pot of black metal, baroque music and breakcore which somehow comes together into a cohesive signature sound.

The lineup on stage tonight is fluid, with one or two vocalists (male and female) drifting on and off stage, while the core trio of drummer, guitarist, and Gautier anchor the delightful madness. The drummer is a blastbeat machine, the guitarist alternates between crushing riffs and delicate flourishes, and Gautier is both a dancing, maniacal guitarist and whirlwind of electronic manipulation. The sound is a kaleidoscope throughout with operatic vocals, harpsichord interludes, glitchy samples, and cinematic orchestration colliding with brutal metal and electronic trickery. It’s like Gojira jamming with Hans Zimmer, with the track ‘Infestis’ serving as a perfect example of the genre-defying approach. Samples are used not just as filler but as compositional tools, adding texture and narrative depth.

At one point, both vocalists engage in a full operetta-style duet, trading lines like characters in a baroque drama. It’s almost like watching an avant-garde Lacuna Coil score a historical epic. There’s even a recorder solo…and somehow it works. The female vocals in particular are soaring, emotive and technically flawless, while the tunes are surprisingly catchy despite the chaos. Igorrr’s set feels like a historical journey, complete with harpsichords and orchestral flourishes, but filtered through a lens of blastbeats and digital distortion. It’s cinematic, theatrical, utterly unhinged and superb.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Igorrr + Master Boot Record + Imperial Triumphant