The highly influential Swallow The Sun bring Shining to Manchester. They have Saturnus and Opia in tow for a superb night of heavy metal.

SOLSTICE APPROACHING

As the winter solstice approaches, the days are short and the nights long with darkness prevailing, and so it seemed fitting to be heading across the foggy Pennines to Manchester for an evening of musical misery, headlined by Swallow the Sun. When I arrived, there was a queue hugging the wall of Rebellion, seeking shelter from the cold while waiting for the venue’s doors to open. Meanwhile, the bands could be heard sound checking, teasing those outside, and attracting horrified looks from those passing by on their way home from work! 

OPIA

At the allotted hour, the crowd made their way inside and immediately the front of the stage was full with die hard fans intent on getting a prime spot from the evening’s entertainment. Opia soon took to the cramped stage opening with On Death’s Door. The band were missing their bassist for this show, having had to go home due to a family emergency, but determined to carry on with the show, the band were using a backing tape for the bass parts and it didn’t detract from their power one bit.

Their atmospheric gothic doom was spearheaded by Tereza’s mesmerising vocals, harsh growls one minute and evocative clean vocals the next. As the set built, stunning guitar work and subtle keyboards built a backdrop of melancholic melodies for the heavier sections to build upon. ‘The Fade’ was dedicated to all of those who have lost someone due to memory related illness, and was a powerful, evocative piece with Tereza’s vocals sounding particularly emotive, which was appropriate for the subject matter. All too soon, the set was being brought to a close with On Death’s Door Part II, nicely bookending their short set. This had been my first live encounter with Opia, and I had been very impressed, and judging by the crowd response, I was not alone. 

SATURNUS

After a short turnaround, Denmark’s Saturnus modestly took to the stage and launched into The Storm Within. Their offering was a little more aggressive than Opia, but the heavier sections mixed with some peaceful, introspective passages. Empty Hande’ had the crowd pumping their fists before things slowed down for Forest Of Insomnia. These tracks were brooding, taking time to build, wrapping themselves around you in a claustrophobic embrace.

Breathe New Life, from the latest album,  brought pulsating grooves and soaring melodies before I Long opened with a haunting piano piece before building to its epic climax. There were brief thanks to the crowd before the set was closed with Christ Goodbye. The whole set had been a mammoth masterpiece in gothic doom metal, covering their whole discography all the way back to 1997, and it had been an honour to see such an influential band, the cornerstone of a genre in many ways, in such an intimate venue. 

SWALLOW THE SUN

Talking of influential bands, Finland’s Swallow The Sun followed, opening with Innocence Was Long Forgotten from the latest album, and from the very first note they had the crowd eating out the palm of their collective hand. As the set built with Descending Winters and New Moon the melodic doom metal swirled around the venue like a fog slowly infiltrating all corners, pulling the crowd under their spell.

The set was pulled heavily from the latest album with five of the twelve tracks coming from Shining and the rest pulled from across their illustrious career. There was a sorrowful beauty to the music which enveloped you as it alternated between heavier sections and evocative, introspective melodies.

AN EPIC EVENING

As the set progressed, the crowd thinned a little, but those remaining were fervent and hung on every note until things came to a close with Swallow (Horror, Part 1).

This had been an epic evening of atmospheric doom metal, with bands from three different countries all at the top of their game. All three delivered a memorable set contributing to an evening of beautiful aural misery whose warm embrace was the perfect antidote to the cold winter night. 

All photography by Andy Pountney (Event Photography Awards Winner 2024 and 2025). You can check out more of his work on shot_in_the_dark_photography2 on Instagram.

Swallow The Sun: Website

Saturnus: Website

Opia: Facebook

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