Chelsea Grin with Signs of the Swarm, Mugshot and Crown Magnetar at the New Century Hall, Manchester.

A night that had promised musical brutality delivered tenfold when Chelsea Grin rolled through town with one of the heaviest support packages touring today. With Crown Magnetar, Mugshot, and Signs of the Swarm setting the foundation, the show erupted into a display of technical force, crowd-chaos, and uncompromising energy from start to finish.

Starting off the night strong with Crown Magnetar detonating the stage. The band’s laser-focused precision and breakneck speed showcased why they’ve quickly become one of the most talked-about names in modern deathcore. Drums fired like a machine gun, riffs spiraled with dizzying technicality, and the vocals cut through it all with inhuman clarity. The crowd’s reaction elevated from energetic to unhinged; the pit swallowed the floor as Crown Magnetar delivered one of the most surgically tight sets of the night. They were 100% the best way to start of a night like this, with vocals that blew you away from the get go and a stage presence that intimidated you from the start, the vocalist took to the stage wearing a bulletproof vest which I’ve noticed has become a kind of trend in the metal community with the lead vocalist wearing this, i’m not sure if its a way to make the band look more intense but it definitely adds to the vibe of the show that’s for sure. The look of the band adds to the sound if that makes sense, they look how they sound and they deliver one hell of a performance that is perfect for this crowd, if you’re an opener for a band like Chelsea Grin and you’ve not managed to start a mosh pit during your set then you’ve not done your job correctly, and these guys smashed it out of the park for sure.

Going up next is Mugshot, with a raw, emotional ferocity that immediately snapped the room to attention. Their blend of hardcore grit and metallic aggression connected instantly with the crowd, who responded with the first major surge of movement of the night. Mugshot’s stage presence was confrontational but authentic, and their set felt like a cathartic punch—short, sharp, and undeniably powerful. The set started off a little rocky with the bands guitarist being hit with a technical issue that caused the set to restart, which was unfortunate but also added a humorous aspect to the performance, with the vocalist having so much pent up energy that he let out instantly like a windup toy that ran out too soon the second they had to restart, but they went back at it like the issue never happened. I swear with the amount of leaping this man was doing in between lyrics you would honestly think he was having a game of leap frog with himself. Deadcore vocalists normally have a lot of energy but they can also keep the stoic look about themselves and move a lot slower in order to have that vibe about them that looks mean and intimidating (despite them being actual teddy bears) but this guy said screw that I’m going to have the vocals of a demon and the energy of a pop punk vocalist. That might be an insult to them based on their sound but that’s the main comparison i could think of in terms of energy, he was working that stage from start to finish. The rest of the band brought the darkness vibes in the lighting added to that fact making it look like the pits of hell with the sheer amount of red light and strobes blasting around the place.

By the time Signs of the Swarm took the stage, the venue was primed for complete annihilation. Their set felt massive—low-tuned, atmospheric, and astonishingly heavy even by deathcore standards. Vocalist David Simonich dominated with cavernous lows and piercing highs, commanding the stage with an intensity that borders on supernatural. The band’s ability to combine sheer heaviness with eerie ambience created a set that was as immersive as it was pulverizing.

Signs of the Swarm to me are also legends to the game, they’re also one of the most down to earth metal bands on that stage, you can tell in the moment that they love what they do, this band is also known for their vocals. If you mention Signs of the Swarm to most people in this community they immediately think of the vocals because of how intense and captivating they are. The sounds that come out of that man are unmatched. They have an amazing stage presence and always have done, the guitarist standing in the red light again like he’s in the pits of hell while he’s performing some intense break downs just adds to this performance, their one of those bands that I’ve now seen twice and they have never disappointed and every received a bad piece of feedback from me and they never will.

The crowd vibed with this set so much that they already made a section of the room available for mosh pits and the eventful wall of death, they prepped for all of that they made the room ready, not the venue staff, the crowd made the room separated in order to have a wall of death ready, they knew what they wanted and they were ready the second the band came onto that stage and that first chord hit.

Chelsea Grin’s headlining performance was a testament to a band that has evolved with confidence while never abandoning their crushing core. Their setlist pulled evenly from fan favorites and newer material, creating a dynamic run that pleased longtime diehards and newer followers alike. The crowd interaction soared to its peak—walls of death, circle pits that stretched wall-to-wall, and fans screaming along to every punishing breakdown. Fans separated the room in order to make a wall of death, by the third song you had bodies running around the room and smashing into each other with smiles on their faces, crowd surfers left right and centre giving the security a run for their money. Chelsea Grin dominated that stage, a band that has so much aura just the sight of them makes the crowd act in a certain way.

Tom Barber’s vocals were nothing short of monstrous, switching effortlessly between guttural depth and high-end intensity. The band’s chemistry was tight, and their stage production—simple but atmospheric—kept the focus entirely on the music’s weight. He had so many fun moments on that stage, a man you take seriously but not at the exact same time. How do you kneel down on the stage interacting with the fans and randomly start having a rock paper scissors game with a member of the audience at the barrier? He also got a lot of positive female attention … .like it was something that made my eyes go wide I haven’t heard that many feral screams for a vocalist since seeing Bad Omens in 2023. It was wild, this man is so goofy with his personality but can stop the laughter within seconds the second that mic comes to his face.

This tour package is the definition of a can’t-miss show for heavy music fans. Each band delivered something distinct, yet the night flowed seamlessly from raw emotion to technical precision to overwhelming force. Chelsea Grin proved once again why they remain one of deathcore’s most compelling headliners, while the supporting acts each brought headlining-level energy in their own right. They picked the perfect supports for this tour that’s not even a question, everyone fitted the bill perfectly and they got the crowd so lively ready for the headliner which is what they’re meant to do obviously, but this isn’t your standard show, to get a metal crowd ready you have to get those pits started, the wall of death etc it needs to be going off by the time the headliner come on stage and every single one of those supports did exactly that.