On the fifth night of their headlining ‘Human’ Tour, French metalcore band Resolve took on the United Kingdom with seven dates across the country. On Tuesday, the 7th of May, they find themselves in Leeds for a promising performance at The Key Club. With a capacity of only 300 people, the venue’s intimate space serves to amplify a captivating atmosphere capturing everyone’s attention.
With a stacked four band lineup, the venue opened its doors at six-thirty and welcomed early fans queuing outside. First to take the stage was Half Me. As a newcomer to the German band prior to the tour’s announcements, I was excited to see their performance. They certainly delivered as an opener. Setting the tone and energy for the night, Half Me brought heavy riffs and brutal vocals akin to the power and drive of larger bands; and if anything, their presence and movement on this small stage alone could perhaps indicate that this band is definitely on their way to play larger venues in future.
Second on the stage was Acres. Since returning from supporting the Holding Absence in the US , they have proven to be a reliable and engaging act. However, with many people still entering the venue, the crowd sadly failed to show them any enthusiasm or response to verbal interactions from vocalist Ben Lumber. Despite this, the Brits prevailed and delivered a consistent and remarkable performance throughout. Lumber produced elegant vocals to accompany the dreamy reverb of Alex Freeman’s guitar, paired with the lowlights and shield of dry ice, it was very easy to be enraptured by the emotion of the lyricism and instrumentation of Acres.
Lastly to arrive on stage from the triage of openers, American band Cane Hill returned to the United Kingdom for the first time since Download Festival in 2019. This was noticeably acknowledged by the crowd and the band alike. Vocalist Elijah Witt’s addressed their long awaited return, bantering with the audience. That being said, Cane Hill’s performance evidently showed why their presence has been missed; their energy was immediately reflected by an immediate, forceful mosh pit and their lyrics were echoed back with a ferocious passion. Their setlist is made from a mixture of tracks, entertaining the room with their newest single ‘The Midnight Sun’, and an unreleased song, before closing their set with the title track from their 2018 album Too Far Gone.
Finally, Resolve entered the stage and from the very moment they arrived their appearance was remarkable; vocalist Anthony Diliberto was sporting a silver metallic jacket that captured and reflected the stage lights, and bassist Robin Mariat’s sharp blazer, turtle neck and full moon blacked-out glasses definitely caught people’s es eyes. Commencing their set, they played the title track of their headlining tour ‘human’, before continuing with several other songs taken from their newest 2023 album of the same name.
Whilst the energy may have depleted from the back of the room, dedicated fans that had queued for a close up spot carried the atmosphere with enough passion for the whole venue. The band played an array of fast, powerful and catchy songs such as ‘bloodlust’ and ‘move to trash’ that validated the audience’s enthusiasm. Whilst also offering some slower, more ballade-like songs such as ‘in stone’ that definitely evoked some emotion within the room.
Although they only played a total of twelve tracks, they entertained the crowd with a range of abilities and kept a steady and charismatic performance until the final note. I definitely encourage anyone to give this tour a go; this is definitely a tour that presents you with a brilliant line up and gives you the opportunity to discover several new metal bands. However, for the people who are already familiar with the bands this proves to be a fun and lively tour that you certainly don’t want to miss out on.
