Man with a Mission @ Manchester Rebellion.

Venue upgrade comes to mind when I turned up at Rebellion today. I’ve been to sold out shows at this venue many times and I’ve never seen a queue quite like this. It went past Rebellion, the building after that and right around to the back of the venue. Fans queued for hours in the horrendous rain this evening.

Doors opened and the place is packed out already with merch queues merging with bar queues. No one can go on the lower floor without being crushed. Just as the crew is setting up the stage an announcement plays to the room stating that there will be no photography or videography for this show, from the crowd and from professionals (sorry for the lack of photography this time).

Telling my friends in the group chat what I was witnessing wasn’t easy, I wasn’t aware of Man with a Mission before today and I don’t know how to fully describe what I’m watching. Five band members in matching blue button up shirts and black jeans during a UK heatwave with massive wolf masks on their heads, and not cardboard masks I mean full mascot masks. The drummer and the DJ have their faces fully hidden, but the frontman, guitarist and bassist have a face shaped hole in the masks to perform out of.

The crowd has gone insane for these guys the second they started taking to the stage. There’s a plastic shield for the drummer which is leaving me highly confused and intrigued. Normally bands bring a support to liven the crowd before the show and these guys clearly don’t need one. I’ve never seen a crowd this packed out and this alive for a Sunday show!

They knew this show was going to be insane with video cameras recording the entire thing for a few projector displaying the show on a screen for those at the back which I’m sure is a first for a venue this small. The sound is perfect throughout the performance everything is blended perfectly not one person is louder than the other it’s all perfectly put together. The energy is there and they’re moving as much as you can with a massive heavy wolf head placed on top of you.

With a perfect blend of electronic and rock they’re killing this performance. The vocals are amazingly done live. The tune changes as the familiar riff from ACDCs Thunder begins and the claps begin as the unexpected cover takes over in Japanese.

Highly recommend catching a show for these guys, they’re back in Manchester in October at the Ritz and just go to that show so you can experience exactly what I’m witnessing right now.

With the perfect blend of electronic techno and heavy rock, Man with a Mission is a must see. If you like Japanese metal this is a new band you need to discover. Every single member on that stage has killed this performance. There is not one single downside of this show that I can come up with. Maybe not having photography and videography to have that memory but it’s bringing you back to how gigs were. As much as I do like savouring the memory of shows like this, it was refreshing to not see a single phone held in the air. But the amazing traditional horns are held high and proud.

Man With a Mission also has the kindest fans on the planet, with the heat getting more intense there’s someone with a small fan making sure those around them are okay. Noticing I’m not a regular at their shows, one fan introduces me to Man With a Mission as his favourite band and speaks highly of them throughout the set.

Halfway through we get a solo acoustic performance from the bassist as the rest of the band go and touch up their face paint and get a well-deserved break. Credit where credit is due they kill this show with so much head banging energy whilst carrying those heavy masks on their heads, most bands struggle getting through this heat normally but they’re hear with added weight killing it!

10/10 performance, check them out!

Set list:

1. Between fiction and friction

2. Database

3. Get off My Way

4. Merry-Go-Round

5. Thunderstruck (cover)

6. Emotions

7. Seven Deadly Sins

8. Tonight, Tonight

9. Dark Crow

10. Evergreen