The Plot In You brought a lineup to Manchester Academy that perfectly captures heavy music in 2025. Saosin‘s legendary post-hardcore, Cane Hill‘s vulnerable “sad metal” movement, and Currents technical metalcore.
Opening the night are Cane Hill, one of my favourite bands. Seeing them kick off this incredible bill is an opportunity not to be missed. The moment they take the stage at Manchester Academy, 2,600 people understand they’re witnessing something special.
Like many bands, Cane Hill constantly evolves through different subgenres, now dubbed “sad metal.” The subgenre takes the crushing weight of doom metal and nu-metal’s groove, then injects it with the raw emotional honesty typically reserved for emo and shoegaze. From their earlier material, which was heavy and angry as hell, new Cane Hill maintains that passion and emotion. The vocals have become less aggressive but more passionate, retaining raw emotion while heavy instrumentals give the band their distinctive edge.
The only disappointment was the absence of older material. The set focused entirely on new tracks from A Piece of Me I Never Let You Find, plus one from their previous album. Still, you can’t complain when the performance is this strong.
“What did you say? I’ll kill you where you stand,” the crowd chants. Elijah looks confused momentarily, but it’s all in good fun, the band has a massive sense of humour, complete with dank memes and other shenanigans. The contrast between the serious-sounding chant and the playful atmosphere is hilarious.
“For those who don’t know, there’s a slutty period in our set, and this one’s for the fellas!” Elijah announces before ‘Drowning Therapy‘. “We still feeling slutty?” he asks as they transition into ‘Fade‘. Yes, we definitely do!
“If sad metal is cool, then you’ll buy some merch,” Elijah jokes, explaining the gig ecosystem, fans buy merch to support the band, he buys weed, everyone’s happy. Manchester delivers its usual warm, loving presence, leaving the band visibly thrilled. The band were especially thankful for the old-school fans who’ve been there since day one. For those unaware, Cane Hill became independent years ago, which they say made their ability to tour and remain financially stable a significant achievement.
The set closes with ‘Midnight Sun‘. “We’re Cane Hill, don’t forget it!”
Next up, Saosin ignites the venue like a glowstick. Elder scene/emo fans rejoice, moshing with joy as this legendary band makes a sensational return. Despite a short set like Cane Hill’s, not a moment is wasted. They explode into action with ‘Sleepers‘, followed by my favourite, ‘Collapse‘. What an absolute pleasure! They continue with ‘Bury Your Head‘ and ‘Voices‘.
Cove Reber asks the crowd to raise phones and lights for the next song. “We’re changing things up to shift the mood,” he explains before launching into ‘You’re Not Alone,’ a deeply personal track. The venue lights up beautifully as the crowd harmonises the chorus.
Cove then shares exciting news: they’re halfway through recording a brand-new album, meaning another tour is inevitable. If you can’t wait, catch them at Slam Dunk Festival next year!
They end with ‘Seven Years‘, a massive throwback from 2003’s Translating the Name. Though the set was brief, the performance was anything but. The fun and passion these guys displayed was truly wonderful, Saosin has been on my must-see list forever, and I’m thrilled it finally happened.
“We are called Saosin, the band is called Saosin,” Cove emphasises. I laughed hard at this, I’ve always struggled pronouncing their name correctly, and apparently I’m not alone!
Currents storm in with ‘Living in Tragedy‘, cranking the intensity up to that sweet heavy goodness. Having dropped their new EP The Death We Seek on Halloween, the set mixed fresh bangers with older gems, including ‘Remember Me‘ and ‘Guide Us Home‘. They also played their new single ‘Making Circles‘ and ‘It Only Gets Darker‘.
Frontman Brian reflects on the band’s ten-year history with Manchester, always playing the smaller venues next door. Tonight, they’ve finally made it to Academy 1, dreams do come true! For context, Manchester Academy has four venues; Club, 2, and 3 are smaller stages compared to Academy 1, where 2,600 fans packed tonight’s sold-out show.
If you’re a fan of metalcore with that spicy hint of djent, Currents deliver that potent mix perfectly balanced with powerful vocals. Despite a slightly longer set, they waste no time, letting the music do the talking as they power through their tight performance.
They close with emotion on ‘Better Days,’ a gentler song that still hits hard.
I swear The Plot In You opened with the Coconut Mall theme from Mario Kart before getting serious. A TV flickers with distorted voices, thunder fills the air, smoke engulfs the venue, then BAM! ‘Don’t Look Away‘ makes you want to fight someone immediately! They sweep into the dramatic ‘Divide‘, reminiscent of Cane Hill. Elijah mentioned earlier that they’re heavily inspired by The Plot In You, talk about full circle!
Tonight’s set is nothing but a fever dream, delivering hard-hitting emotional tracks including ‘Paradigm‘, ‘The One You Loved‘, and ‘Face Me‘. Before ‘Face Me‘, Landon Tewers acknowledges the respectful crowd. He asks who’s never crowd-surfed before, no judgment, and instructs veteran fans to help newcomers up. What a legend! They cram in ‘Feel Nothing‘, one of my favourites. It’s peak cinema with the lighting, drums, guitar work, and vocals. The passion is palpable; you can feel, see, and hear it.
“We need to come out here more often,” Landon says. “Keeping up with all the volumes? We’ll play the best ones.” (For context, they’ve released three mini-EPs called Volumes, some fans love this format, others prefer full albums.) Calling for more crowd-surfers on ‘Been Here Before‘, another emotional track that starts heavy and ends tranquil, the venue bathes Landon in beautiful colours.
The setlist flows perfectly as Landon sits for an acoustic intro: “This song’s for people who yap too much.” It’s ‘Silence‘, complete with ambient rain and thunder, a new single from a few months back. The irony of quiet-to-loud dynamics works brilliantly.
“Manchester, you hear that sound? Where’s my psychos at?” Things get violent with ‘Forgotten‘, maintaining aggression through ‘Spare Me‘. You can hear knees clicking from spin-kicks! “We still got energy! I love it! This ain’t a mosh song, it’s a surf song!” they say as they play ‘Closure‘.
I can’t think of another band with this range, aggro, chill, mosh, surf, anger, emotion, all within such short spaces. For old-school fans: ‘Time Changes Everything‘ from ten years ago. What a throwback! Landon’s upfront with only a few songs left and no gimmicks.
“Thank y’all for spending the night with us. If you know this song, sing it!” he says as they play ‘Left Behind‘. “Y’all are mental! One more song, sing as loud as you can!” Ending with ‘Feel Nothing‘, this was one of the best setlists I’ve heard in ages, pretty much perfect! No encore, but honestly, it wasn’t needed. Fifteen songs in an hour, plus three amazing support bands, it was absolutely incredible!
