Live Review: August Burns Red, Dying Wish & Thrown at The Electric Ballroom (22/03/24)

August Burns Red w/ Dying Wish & Thrown

On a, genuinely quite nice Friday myself and my father and two of my uncles head down to the Electric Ballroom in London to watch August Burns Red with Dying Wish & Thrown. 

We’ve had some drinks beforehand and are feeling cheery and we head into the building, arriving nearer the end of Thrown’s set (by accident) – last time I saw Thrown in this same venue a few months ago they were absolutely on form and completely excellent and nothing has changed here. There is heavy ness way beyond what you usually catch in these slightly bigger venues and considering they are opening for August Burns Red they are absolutely what I would want for this sort of thing. Stupid stompy music that makes me want to get nearer to the front so I can start throwing triangles. I won’t deny it, I am a stupid hardcore kid at heart and I love when shit gets gritty.

I am personally very tired of seeing metalcore acts play the Electric Ballroom and having a sort of verse chorus breakdown thing for every song. Tried and tested, sure, but that’s the problem. If you’re in a band and for whatever reason are trying to get me on side, just go up there and fuck shit up. Let me fuck shit up to your music. I wanna be able to feel comfortable in a pit full of other pricks throwing shapes. I get it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I can tell you right now it’s mine. With 2 sugars if possible.

Thrown are too quickly over and Dying Wish are up next, I haven’t seen this band since I caught them with Counterparts at Electric Brixton last year and don’t get me wrong at all. I loved them there but I watched from the balcony with some friends just purely enjoying the sonic rage coming from that stage, but this time it is different. I quickly down the rest of my lukewarm beer and head straight down to the front where a huge pit full of people exactly like me are eating this shit up, and, I won’t lie. I am gonna sing some praises for Dying Wish that might not even be so deserved, as I know Carl, Brendan and Damon aren’t so keen. 

I am straight in that pit, throwing down in a way I didn’t know was possible for me, to be honest and I am very happy with their set. 

August Burns Red hit the stage and immediately make clear that they are a force to be reckoned with. They don’t fuck about and are going through songs like nobody’s business. There’s fat ass breakdowns and big ass choruses that nobody can argue with.

I saw August Burns Red at this same venue supporting Bury Tomorrow in 2022 and it is very safe to say they raised the bar. They absolutely feel like they belong on that stage and I am incredibly pleased to see them back, headlining this same stage.

To be honest it’s just great metalcore and I can’t find issue with it. I think it’s safe to say that we enjoyed ourselves and I can’t wait to catch August Burns Red next time they’re here. I would potentially hope for some smaller more intimate venues, and if they picked their own openers I’d say let em’ keep doing it! 

Overall as a tour package this is stupid heavy, and if you’ve got a chance to catch these shows. Do it.