Live Review : Of Mice & Men + Ghøstkid + Gore. @ Academy 2, Manchester on December 12th 2025

There’s something intriguing and exciting about a lineup that covers all the stages of the journey of a band. Openers Gore. are at the start of their journey, complete with enthusiasm, vigour and wide-eyed energy. Main support Ghøstkid are looking to push on, building to the next level from their strong foundations. And then headliners Of Mice & Men are maintaining their grip on success and establishing their legacy.

First up are Gore. and it feels like someone has spliced Spiritbox and Sleep Token, then wired the whole thing through Lake Malice’s circuitry. They’re Texas-born, only formed in 2023, but already they carry themselves like veterans. Alex Reyes’ guitar slices with a filthy, futuristic twang, Devin Birchfield grins like the happiest bassist alive, and vocalist Haley Roughton commands the stage with a grey fur jacket and golden top that catches every shard of light. Her voice is a weapon complete with rich, soulful cleans that drip with warmth, then suddenly gravelly, harsh, and jagged. It’s Jinjer reimagined, less metalcore growl, more theatrical musical drama, and it works.

Songs flicker between sweetness and thunder, light and dark, with the kind of switch-ups that Sleep Token have made their calling card. Melodies entwine with guitar harmonies, then collapse into Spiritbox-level heaviness. There’s sass, charisma, and a sense of play that makes them instantly likeable. They don’t just perform; they connect, pulling you into their orbit with every shift in tone. Gore. have all the ingredients to go stratospheric including stage presence, sonic ambition, and sheer personality. Watching them tonight, I don’t just believe they could be big, they must be.

Ghøstkid hit like a glam-drenched fever dream, somewhere between Orgy, Red Method, and Marilyn Manson. They’re German, they’re theatrical, and they’re deadly serious about their craft. Painted faces stare out from the stage, outfits that look like The Matrix colliding with Rammstein, and staging that screams full-performance theatrical immersion. The synth verses are haunting, spectral, almost cinematic, before they lurch into gothic pop-metal choruses that feel both grandiose and unnerving.

The frontman switches between shouted vocals and clean lines but the impact of the backing track obfuscates what is live. The guitars are pure old-school nu-metal with mid-scooped, chunky, and unapologetic riffs and styling, but the vibe is gothic. It’s brooding, it’s theatrical, and its strangely Eurovision in its bombast, though that’s meant in the best possible way. There’s a polish to the performance that makes it clear they’re not dabbling, they’re building something deliberate. The compression on the sound is heavy, almost suffocating, but it doesn’t kill the spectacle. Ghøstkid are a band who know exactly what they are, and they deliver it with a seriousness that makes me believe they’re carving out their own corner of the scene.

Of Mice & Men step out and the Southern Californians immediately shift the feel of the room. With Austin Carlile’s vocals they were metalcore and post-hardcore, but since the founding member stepped down their sound leans heavier into nu-metal and hard rock. At their best they have a sound akin to Northlane - dense, atmospheric, and layered. At other times it’s very much an over-produced hard rock act. Bassist Aaron Pauley is now solely on vocals, and while his lines eventually punch through louder, they don’t necessarily hit harder. those soulful cleans remain distinctive, even if they’re buried in the mix at first. Two guitars and drums drive the set, but there’s no live bass and the absence is felt. The cleans shimmer, but they need more volume, more presence. Second song ‘Feels Like Forever’, from earlier album “Restoring Force”, exposes the missing piece - without Carlile’s harsh edge, it just doesn’t bite the same.

Still, there’s a sense of evolution here, a band reshaping itself rather than clinging to the past. November’s new album, “Another Miracle”, landed as this new evolution. Their ninth album saw Pauley take full creative control by self-producing, mixing, and mastering the record. Interestingly, their live sound and performance mirrors this approach. While it feels grand and polished, intimate and emotionally resonant, it is very much in a singular vision. They’ve always looked to revise what metalcore can mean, but they’ve arguably revised so far that those elements that once excited have exited and we have an immensely slick rock band who are enjoyable without firing the thrill factor like they used to.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Of Mice & Men + Ghøstkid + Gore.