Lit by ominous light, Manchester became the latest sight to be visited by mysterious creatures that brought a bizarre gift that has been documented but seldom seen since the 80s: death metal. Swedish melodic death metal cult figures, Hypocrisy, finally touched down to deliver their unique grey themed melodeath with support from Vomitory and Vried.
Vried opened the show and it was a welcome surprise to see them play a more abrasive version of old school heavy metal. Going in, we expected them to be a black metal band, but their opening track, ‘Speak Goddamnit’, had a bit of a Motörhead kick to it with its thick and heavy bass tone.
The best comparison is early Sodom, with their blending of breakneck heavy metal and black metal. ‘Pitch Black’ was a solid representation of this with its use of fiddly pentatonic runs and bootcamp double kick drumming. Vried clearly have their origins in old school NWOBHM, so their track ‘Skies Turn Black’ worked as a fitting tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, despite it sounding more like a Judas Priest track.
The band clearly lives and breathes metal, and their devotion to portraying so many different styles without feeling derivative is admirable. You can make out a dark and oppressive tone on tracks like ‘Mountains’, and the gigantic tremolo picked riffs on ‘From These Woods’ transition beautifully into clean passages. There’s something for everybody with Vried, and they fit this bill perfectly.
Next up was Vomitory, and this is where the big upset happens. Vomitory’s latest album, In Death Throes, is one of the best death metal albums of 2026 so far, so excitement was at an all time high. Once the band started, it became a garbled mess that was completely overpowered by drums. It was almost impossible to make out any of the guitar work, even after wandering around the venue trying to find the sweet spot, but it was a fruitless endeavour.
You can tell the talent is on display as the band played their highly technical riffs with surgical precision. Some of the more simple riffs came through, like ‘Brutalise, Sodomise, Terrorise’ and ‘All Heads Will Roll’, due to the less abrasive drumming, and the former even had a chorus that was possible to understand.
It was disappointing to say the least, but at least it was just a problem with the mix. There’s every chance Vomitory will come back and have an absolutely pristine sound full of power that matches their on stage personas of vicious aggression. Even if you can’t make much out, you can still revel in the violent maniacal insanity and sheer hostility.
After a brief break, the stage was bathed in green light and screens full of Greys. Hypocrisy appeared and made a grand, undeniable entrance with ‘They Will Arrive’, a collection of grinding gallops and powerful drumming that matched the sheer power of some giant steel device slamming to Earth.
Saying virtually nothing and letting the vicious riffs speak for themselves, Hypocrisy blasted their way through an immaculate list of death metal classics like the bombastic ‘Fire in the Sky’. This track had a hypnotic loud snare sound resembling gunfire, with the intention of defending Manchester from visitors.
Some of the more melodic and atmospheric tracks like ‘End of Disclosure’, ‘Eraser’ and ‘Children of the Grey’ invoke the dark and emotive tone of 2000s era In Flames, with a borderline gothic and industrial vibe. There are very distinct eras in Hypocrisy’s discography, with tracks like ‘Warpath’ prioritising intensity and aggression despite being long into their discography. It’s a testament to their ability to maintain the fire long after it started burning. Later tracks like ‘Chemical Whore’ sound more mature with their big harmonised guitar lines, while earlier tracks still have that wild youthful exuberance, albeit performed by highly skilled and seasoned musicians.
The more abrasive moments of the show featured otherworldly screams like the unhinged ‘Adjusting the Sun’, a track containing total insanity that left the stage looking like a glorious mess of hair and broken necks as the audience reacted accordingly with vicious mosh pits and absolute carnage. Hypocrisy is a melting pot of bands in the melodic death metal scene, perhaps due to Peter Tägtgren producing for practically every band to come out of Scandinavia. ‘Carved Up’ invokes Carcass, and ‘Deathrow’ feels like an At the Gates track with its doom laden tone and meandering length.
Hypocrisy finished their set with ‘Roswell 47’, a melodic death metal masterpiece that could have been included on Heartwork by Carcass with very few changes. Its catchy riffs offset its dark and ominous tone, invoking grim scenes of otherworldly creatures the likes of which we’ve never seen before.
Hypocrisy took to the skies and continued the last stages of their invasion before returning to their homeworld to give all the intel on the bizarre occurrences throughout their interstellar excursion. Rest assured, Hypocrisy will return. Just keep watching the skies…
