The USA Ascension Program has already come to a close but not before British metal icons Bring Me the Horizon landed in Phoenix for the tour’s penultimate stop. They brought along Motionless in White and The Plot in You to round out a lineup of theatrical metalcore augmented by blinding lights, elaborate stage designs and a spectrum of color that bathed the arena in every shade of the rainbow. The sold out crowd arrived early and stayed till the final notes of the tour’s full spectacle.
The Plot in You may have been the tour’s least flamboyant band but there was no question that they were the perfect openers for the night. Their consistently stellar performance immediately riled up the standing pit, turning the floor into a mosh zone and encouraging fans to surf their way to the intimidatingly high stage. An already eager crowd warmed up for the rest of the night to “Pretend” and “Silence” before the band left ears ringing with “Feel Nothing”.
Motionless in White brought their haunted house to life onstage- with half the band in ghoulish makeup and costumes, the aesthetic perfectly complemented the band’s sound. Singer Chris Motionless, shrouded in simple black clothing and dramatic eyeliner, bared his teeth at the audience while the fans on the barricade screamed along to “Thoughts & Prayers” and “Slaughterhouse”. A medical false alarm in the pit brought the set to a brief halt, resuming with the band’s signature flair on “Another Life” and “Eternally Yours” to round out their time onstage.
Now that Bring Me the Horizon is playing the largest rooms they can find, the level of production has grown to astronomical heights. Thursday’s show was their own futuristic world come to life onstage, with AI robots taunting the audience, masked nuns whirling flags on the stage’s perimeter and a waterfall of LED screens that brought BMTH’s weird, wonderful concepts to life. The band doused the entire arena in white confetti that continued to fall through “Darkside”, “Mantra” and “Happy Song” as the pit continued to churn with the fans’ energy.
Singer Oli Sykes cut a dramatic figure against the stage’s ever-changing backdrops, staring into the cameras with his mismatched contacts and pitch perfect vocals. The room was at his command, screaming along to “Kool-Aid” and “Shadow Moses” before the band put their own heavy spin on Oasis’ “Wonderwall”. As the end of the main set approached, one lucky fan was invited onstage for a full performance of “Antivist”, matching Sykes note for note on the track.
The main set ended with a laser show to “Can You Feel My Heart”- a performance that had the entire venue holding those notes right alongside Sykes and the band. Their cheers brought everyone back out for “Drown” and “Throne” (arguably two of the best songs in the band’s lengthy discography) before once again raining confetti upon the entire arena. With huge smiles on their faces and ears undoubtedly clamoring from the night’s wall of sound, fans emerged from the Ascension Program already excited for the next session on BMTH’s future tours.
