Posts tagged Co-Op Live
Live Review : Iron Maiden @ Co-op Live, Manchester on June 22nd 2025

The fluidity of fame and fortune is incredibly fickle. We describe Iron Maiden’s late eighties period as “The biggest metal band on the planet”, as “Their Imperious Phase”. However, let’s be honest, they are more popular now than they ever were at their peak. Iron Maiden have transcended being a band and are now an institution, a cultural phenomenon. A national treasure with their own beer, stamps and merch that is sold in ASDA as part of its Father’s Day range. The Co-op arena is an inter-generational melting pot of different creeds, colours and cultural backgrounds. This selection box of diversity shares one uniting thread; they love Iron Maiden with a passion.

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Live Review : Slipknot + Bleed From Within @ Co-op Live Arena, Manchester on December 17th 2024

Every band reaches a tipping point, where their rapid ascendancy slows, and they enter that “selective appeal" phase. It is the law of diminishing returns, the moment where the number of fans losing interest due to age, indifference and evolution of musical tastes outweigh the accumulation of new devotees. It is the point where stadium-sized bands recede to arenas, where those bothering Apollo's shift to Academies and festival headliners become special guests or even worse inhabit the dreaded "Legends" slot, an abomination designed to preserve the egos of artists yet to fully comprehend their decline. What is astonishing about Slipknot is that 25 years in they are still accelerating. They have a momentum that continues to gather both pace and followers to this very day. For some inexplicable reason, this group of mask-wearing grandad's well into their fifties are still able to speak to the freaks, geeks and disenfranchised of the generations below them. 

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Live Review : Sleep Token + Bilmuri @ Co-op Live Arena, Manchester -on November 26th 2024

Sleep Token have continued to rocket higher and higher since that very first time I saw them as a secret act at Tech Fest 2018. Back then it was only their eighth live performance and I still didn't quite know what to make of them. Fast forward past plenty of support slots, headlines and festival appearances and we have them headlining an arena and poised to headline Download Festival in 2025. They have also now become one of my favorite bands, with a stunning live act and a collection of three albums that fully showcase their diversity.

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