What a better way to start this new season marathon of shows than a huge melodic metalcore package headlined by a band we don’t see enough in Europe: The Plot In You. Their short EU/UK didn’t stop in Belgium but not nearby at the 013 in Tilburg. Was it worth the trip? Hell yeah!
The band is really rare in Europe and when they cross the ocean, they don’t stay long: 5 shows in the UK, 3 in Germany and 1 in the Netherlands. Nothing more. The opposite of their opening acts: Acres. The British never take rest, we have the chance to see them many times on tour. Sometimes as headliner, sometimes as main support, sometimes as opening band like tonight. About Invent Animate, it’s only their third tour in Europe and we’ve seen them all the time. If their show at “Never Say Die! Tour” 2 years has disappointed us a bit – like many bands that night because of the bad sound in a cold venue in Antwerp -, the second time on a killer tour with Erra and Silent Planet was way better. Last but not least, it’s the first time that we see The Plot In You live. So the hype for the all evening is high!
We were here a few weeks ago to see The Amity Affliction and Emmure but the room wasn’t soldout at all. Tonight is soldout since a while, proof of the status of The Plot In You in 2024. Good luck for Acres to open such a big venue… but they did a great job. With a set-list focus on their latest full-length album called The Burning Throne, the British tried to warm-up the venue but as usual for a first band on a big tour, it’s not easy. Especially on a week-day when they start to play only 30 minutes after the doors have opened… but the room was almost full already, well done 013 Tilburg! Their music fits way better in more intimate venues but they need that kind of big tours to let another audience than usual discover their music and for that, mission accomplished. We saw some people going to their merch table after the show.
Main support on this short tour, the Australian from Invent Animate have another chance to warm-up the many kids already in the venue. We start to feel that the venue – in its smaller configuration of 2000 people – is soldout. The 4 Aussies fully dressed in white started their show with a bad quality sound with the feeling the guitar was not on… fortunately, it improves quickly along with the energy in the room starting the first pit.
If you’re an old-school fan, you might be disappointed on this tour as they only play songs from their latest release Heavener out in 2023 on UNFD. But the majority discovered them during the pandemic and this 4th full-length album is by far their best release to date so we won’t complain! We were surrounded by a couple of fans who reacted a bit but the average stayed still… which also a consequence of the new public of The Plot In You (the same fans you see at Bring Me The Horizon or Bad Omens shows nowadays), meaning less movements, less pits and focus singing – when they know the song – and applause between songs.
The best part of the show is definitely the last 2 songs: ‘Without A Whisper’ and ‘Immolation of Night’. Two bangers, two good songs for a decent mosh pit, two singles to let the people go with a positive feeling of Invent Animate. If a few first songs sounded to prog to appeal enough people, these 2 songs are made to help the Aussies to continue to higher levels in the industry.
Set-list: Sleepless Deathbed, Shade Astray, False Meridian, How We Used To Say Goodbye, Purity Weeps, Heavener, Without A Whisper, Immolation Of Night.
Finally, 9:30pm, the lights went off one last time to welcome the stars of the night on stage: The Plot In You. Their last stop in Netherlands – and in Europe – was in October 2018 as opener for The Amity Affliction. Fun fact: they played in a small venue in Eindhoven. Tonight, they play for 3000 people has headliner in Tilburg in a venue that TAA didn’t succeed to soldout a few days ago. While one band stagnates, another continues to grow up.
They’ve been really busy this year with the release of 3 EPs simply called Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3 to be released on November 8th, all on Fearless Records. Like Bring Me The Horizon, they understood the evolution of the music industry and instead of disappearing during a while in the studio to release an album of 12 songs including 3 singles and 9 songs that will be quickly forgotten, they focus on release singles and sometimes an EP to stay alive.
Tonight’s set-list is a good resume of their recent discography with songs coming from their 5 latest releases and only 2 old songs : ‘Crows‘ and ‘Times Changed Everything‘ both released 2015. It’s no disgrace for them to say that their career got a huge boost with their album Dispose released 8 years ago on Fearless Records. So intense, so melodic and dramatic with a powerful sound in the back: it remains to date one of the best melodic metalcore / post-hardcore albums released in the last decade (century ?). If they success didn’t blow up in one time like Bad Omens 3 years ago, their slow success makes them bigger now than some acts of their generation like Imminence – even if they also have a great success now. The difference between the Swedish guys and the Americans here is that they stay in a kinda melodic genre while their Swedish colleagues have evolved in a more massive metalcore genre in the vein of Architects with some violin becoming the first big violincore band. That being said, back to the show of tonight in the Netherlands and its success!
Hidden behind a white backdrop, the band launched the show with the legendary ‘Country Roads‘ singing by the whole venue. Country is the new thing… We see pop/rock/rap stars doing country, still waiting to see a metal band doing it… anyway. Backdrop down and The Plot In You started right away with ‘Don’t Look Away‘. Don’t worry guys, we won’t look away, we’ll look you straight into the faces, ready to have a killer time!
The sound is really good, the production and lights are soft and minimalist but perfectly in the mood of the band. Some red sparkles to start the shows and some blue to end it. The 2000 fans are singing along hard and the pit will stay open the whole show. Everytime the frontman Landon Tewers asked for something like a rain of crowdsurfers, he got it. But if he doesn’t ask, the audience doesn’t move, like we explained earlier in this article.
The intensity stayed high during the whole show – of 1h instead of the 1h30 announced on the venue’s website – but the encore will get it even higher. Not a surprise with ‘Disposable Fix’ and especially ‘Feel Nothing‘. With so many TikTok and Instagram Reels with the song ‘Feel Nothing‘, we were wondering if it helps the band to get a strong push – like Bad Omens had with ‘Just Pretend‘. But don’t get their strong work away, the 4 Americans are working their ass off for about 15 years now so a smart marketing move can help but not replace the talent. That being said, ‘Feel Nothing‘ finished this show and this evening on a lovely and melo-dramatic note.
Set-list: Don’t Look Away, Divide, All That I Can Give, Face Me, The One You Loved, Crows, Paradigm, Been Here Before, Forgotten, Enemy, Closure, Time Changes Everything, Left Behind, Disposable Fix, Feel Nothing.
The hype around this huge headliner tour of The Plot In You was high and we haven’t been disappointed at all. The 3 bands did the work we expected from them. Acres did a great warm-up in an almost full room, Invent Animate confirms their growing success with some bangers, The Plot In You confirms in Europe their new status. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to start this new marathon of metal shows.