As the heatwave continued in the UK, it was a relief to be in the blessedly cool, air-conditioned Deaf Institute, and also great to be back in one of the best venues in Manchester (in my opinion!)
Supporting Sumo Cyco tonight were young three-piece Eville, who self-describe as “Brighton brat metal”. They brought high energy from the start, combining techno backing tracks with heavy riffs, plenty of crowd engagement and a perfect mix of clean and dirty vocals. They got decent pits and a wall of death in return, and the whole room singing back to them when instructed by guitarist Milo. Vocalist Eva donned a guitar for the majority of the set, but for the final song both Eva and Milo discarded their guitars and performed the beginning of the foot-tapping, fist-pumping nu-metal track standing on the bar, followed by Eva joining the crowd and demanding a circle pit around her. A perfect opening to the night, and Eville definitely made some new fans tonight, me included.
There was a definite buzz in the air as the lights dimmed again and an intro track hailed the long-awaited return of Canadians Sumo Cyco. With two new albums under their belts since they last played the UK, there was a lot of material to choose from, and vocalist Skye joked that guitarist Matt kept changing up the setlist, meaning she wasn’t sure which song would be coming next.
The onstage chemistry was electric as the band threw themselves into their set, which comprised of songs old and new, with unrelenting energy. There was a cover of Slipknot’s ‘Duality’ thrown into the mix, an as-yet-unreleased track called ‘Travelling’ and the more chilled ‘Stronger Now’ which had an emotional story behind it, and during which everyone was invited to hold up their phones to light the room. The crowd were giving everything they had back, and it was getting sweaty despite the air con when Skye asked “Do you have one more in you?” Loud cheers erupted as ‘Bystander’ kicked in, with Matt getting down into the crowd carrying Skye on his shoulders. Just as we thought it was all over, Matt twanged his strings once more and we were treated to ‘Vertigo’ to end the night.
The pure energy of this band is a joy to watch, especially Skye, who was running up the steps at the back of the room, on the bar downing tequila and regularly in the middle of the floor amongst the adoring fans during the course of the gig.
Sumo Cyco really deserve to be bigger than they are, and I hope it’s not too long before they’re back in the UK making our ears and hearts buzz once more.
Words by Rachel McMurdo
Photos by Philip Goddard
