Live Review : Thrice + Lysistrata @ O2 Ritz, Manchester on March 14th 2026

Tonight is a real treat as we get to watch one of my all-time favourite bands – Thrice. The Californian veterans, whose decades‑deep evolution has shaped them into one of post‑hardcore’s most inventive and emotionally resonant forces, are touring their new album which is a return to their earlier rawness. First up though it’s the singular support act of France’s Lysistrata, a jittery, genre‑splicing trio who turn math‑rock into something grungy and accessible. 

Lysistrata open the night with a wiry, nervous energy. The French trio thrive on widening the cracks between genres, stitching math‑rock precision to post‑hardcore musical volatility and grungy sensibilities. There’s an onstage chemistry with that tension which becomes the centre of their set. Ben Amos Cooper’s drumming snaps and swings with a kind of restless intention, constantly shifting tempo and feel, refusing to let the room settle. Théo Guéneau’s guitar work flickers between open ambience and jagged riffs, while Max Roy’s bass provides the melodic keystone that keeps the band’s most abstract moments from spinning off into nonsense.

The vocal duties are shared, and often overlap in harmonies that match the instrumental push‑and‑pull. In fact, there’s a sense of three musicians tugging in different directions yet somehow arriving at the same point, a creative friction that gives their performance a point of interest. Supporting a band as seasoned and emotionally weighty as Thrice is no small task, but Lysistrata carve out their own space with confidence. They bring a different flavour of intensity with a sound that’s more grungy, more organic, more prone to sudden detours, and it shifts the room’s focus rather than simply warming it up. By the time they leave the stage, visibly having given their all, the crowd is more alert, and primed for what follows. It’s the mark of a support band doing exactly what they should not just opening the night, but setting its destination.

Thrice walk out tonight with the kind of quiet certainty that only a band two‑and‑a‑half decades deep can muster. They’ve never fit neatly anywhere, and the years have only sharpened that refusal to be boxed in. What they deal in now is a kind of post‑hardcore tech‑blues - dynamic, exploratory, and stubbornly their own. Frontman Dustin Kensrue, guitar guru Teppei Teranishi, and the rhythm sections of the Breckenridge brothers remain a rare constant in a scene that burns through line‑ups and have consistently evolved in sound and substance, with a creative conviction that has guided them since their emergence in the late '90s. They’ve perfected a sound that combines hardcore grit and progressive flamboyance, establishing themselves as pioneers among their post-hardcore peers. The band have made the journey from underground punk scene novices to major label powerhouse, and have a fantastic catalogue of musically and emotionally unique albums, while never losing that meaningful connection with the loyal fans.

Latest album “Horizons/West”, the 2025 companion to “Horizons/East”, sits at the heart of this tour, and they waste no time diving straight into it. ‘Blackout’ and ‘Gnash’ hit with a cinematic weight, the band pushing into the darker corners of their sound while dragging old ghosts back into the light - double‑kick flurries, harsher vocal edges, that raw urgency that once defined their early records. The new material feels like a convergence point of all that’s gone before - the widescreen post‑rock textures of ‘Beggars’ and ‘Major/Minor’, the rhythmic puzzles of ‘Horizons/East’, and the volatile spark of their earlier output. Songs unfurl slowly, demonstrating introspection one moment, confrontation the next. Kensrue’s lyrics dig into identity, manipulation, technological dread, and the search for something resembling transcendence. It’s heavy material, but never self‑indulgent - he delivers it with the conviction of someone who’s spent years wrestling with the same questions offstage. His voice remains a weapon, fractured whisper one second, serrated roar the next, and it’s that emotional elasticity that keeps the crowd engaged throughout.

The setlist refuses to stay anchored in the present. Tracks from “The Artist in the Ambulance” remind the crowd just how intricate and muscular their early hardcore riffing was, while ‘Vheissu’ and ‘Beggars’ tracks showcase the band’s shift into moodier, more atmospheric territory. Post‑reunion highlights from “To Be Everywhere Is to Be Nowhere” and “Palms” bring out their soulful, exposed core, the moments where the band seem to operate as one entity rather than four independent musicians. ‘The Earth Will Shake’ closes the main set and remains a stunning piece of music which exemplifies the mix of sumptuous bluesy-soulful yet hardcore driven vocals from Kensrue. His voice is ever expressive, ranging from a gravelly whisper to an impassioned roar. His voice has always been one of my favourites across the years and when juxtaposed with the angular yet weaving guitar of Teranishi, and driving rhythm section of the Breckenridge brothers. The band remains a tightly wound machine of emotion and precision with Kensrue’s voice tearing through the mix, Teranishi’s guitar lines uncoiling with angular precision, and the Breckenridge brothers driving everything forward with a force that borders on primal. It’s a reminder that, on their day, there are few bands capable of matching Thrice’s blend of emotional weight and technical control.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Thrice + Lysistrata