But before Beartooth can savage Wembley, Stray from the Path get the pit started. With a debt to Beastie Boys as much as Korn, their controversial samples on euthanasia and cutesy “join the police” songs contrast with the brutality of the drumbeats and their strong message of support for the marginalised.

The second support, Motionless in White, create circle pits like the dark spots on Jupiter, which seems fitting for a band whose sound and devotion from fans are planetary in scale. ‘Cyberhex’ could topple a building if focused into the right point. “Time to unleash the gates of Hell – it’s Slaughterhouse” screams Chris Motionless, which primes and readies the crowd for explosion, but this is a fuse that will relight over and over tonight. Their cover of ‘Somebody Told Me’ injects of a dose of silliness into an otherwise super serious set, and the crowd love it. The glass separating the more hardcore metal fans has been shattered and now all musical factions are on board by the time Beartooth take the stage.

”We have waited a long fucking time for this show to happen, Wembley… We are a band called Beartooth. We’ve come here to do one thing: rip your faces off with high voltage rock n roll and heavy metal!” Vocalist Caleb Shomo is a force of nature, his singing alternating between a roar emerging from somewhere deep within in his chest and surprising tenderness and intimacy. He barely stops moving for ninety minutes, constantly jumping, posing and flinging himself around the stage. In fact, his only pause is between ‘Devastation’ and ‘Disease’, some ten minutes into the show, when he silently and theatrically directs the audience’s cheers like a ringmaster. When Oshie Bichar and Zach Huston take on lead vocal duties on ‘Skin’ the emotional tone shift is subtle but so very effective, filling in the silences while Shomo throws blind hope and triumph in his poses and hypnotic, gut wrenching sentiment.  

It’s the emotion and intention behind their songs which make Beartooth something special, and it’s this quality which resonates deep with all of us watching. Shomo’s directive of “Off your feet!” creates a pit like a tidal wave, endlessly crashing. Each line holds meaning for the crowd: he sings “I’ll tell you I’ll be fine” and the fists in the air are the rope dragging this sentiment closer. He sings “we are the stars”, and pounding stars we are too. Of course, it helps when the lyrics are punctuated with pyrotechnics: it’s pretty obvious that ‘Beaten In Lips’ would be a big anthem with its catchy chorus and message, but having flames shooting out the stage on the line “light my words with kerosene” is a genius move, even if it isn’t exactly subtle. 2021’s surprising single drop ‘Riptide’ has been regular feature on Beartooth’s setlist this tour and it doesn’t disappoint at Wembley: a short Nine Inch Nails style electro interlude plays us in to a song with a rhythm like a heartbeat and, despite Shomo’s decision to put on a mint green anorak over a bare chest in a controversial sartorial move for this number, it’s a very exciting signpost about Beartooth’s next musical direction. ‘Hated’, the only track from 2016’s ‘Aggressive’ to make it into the set, is frankly stunning live. A sparkling piano introduction followed by a call to hold up our phones created an arena alive with electronic fireflies, and the contrast between the prelude and Huston’s trademark grinding-gears-meets-purring-cat guitar style is immense: tearing down a stereotype of beauty to create something of greater appeal while “from the ashes of the ignorant” touches the souls of most of the audience. 

It’s no great surprise that the final song is ‘In Between’, Beartooth’s biggest song to date, the perfect climax for the main set. Sweet and sharp like shards of sugar crystals, Beartooth include playful dramatic blackouts just as the audience couldn’t be more drawn to their light like moths to a flame. Hearing an audience united in song will never get old, and what’s more fantastic is how subtly done the big finish is. The rest of the band disappear almost without fanfare, leaving Shomo alone to sing out the ‘whoah’ line in acapella vulnerability. That line continues when the house lights go up like an incantation for an encore. 

And what a beautiful thing the encore is. Spotlights and feedback grow ominously as the pit opens and the crowd drop the the floor and begin to row, with lone fans still standing like islands. “I don’t want this to end but I guess we fucking gotta,” screams Shomo as Beartooth begin ‘The Past is Dead’, its throaty birdsong choruses clipped by chipped drumbeats and that trademark grind of guitar. He disappears momentarily, but the stage isn’t empty without the singer: the rest of the band fill void with sound, and grab their own attention, which seems like the Beartooth DIY philosophy summed up. Within moments, he’s back, holding a guitar like a hard won trophy, with the rest of the band behind him playing with fire and force as they end with the same intensity they began with. He silently mimes for what looks like a wall of death but it’s a corridor for Shomo to get to the sound desk. He strides forward like the pied piper before parting the crowd again to stroll back, swatting a few fans who haven’t got the message. As the final chords of ‘The Last Riff’ fade, smoke pushes up like a final pressure release from the front of stage over static feedback, signalling the end of an absolutely stunning live show from one of the hottest acts out there in the scene today. 

KATE ALLVEY

That’s not to say in any way that this particular cult holds the negative connotations that often come with the label. If you listen to the words front man Tyler Joseph rapidly spits out across the two hour set that is to come, you’ll learn that the clique is the driving force of this band, fuelled by a mutual understanding of faith, adversity, and temperamental mental health. Perhaps ‘family’ is a better word to describe what’s happening here.

For that reason it seems unfair to merely refer to The Bandito Tour as a ‘concert’. Not only is it a magical, mind blowing spectacle that leaves even the oldest fans speechless at times, but it’s a congregation of like-minded people, bonded by their love of this band and their message. It’s a spiritual experience.

The spectacle, though, must be addressed. Between CO2 cannons, yellow floating confetti, disappearing/reappearing acts, backflips off pianos, and a life size car in flames, there’s not a moment during the evening where attention can wander elsewhere. Even the lighting gives stadium shows a run for their money, with extravagant floating mechanisms moving to suit the band’s position on the main stage, and dancing, icicle-esque lighting adding ambience to the darker, more sombre part of the set that takes place on the B stage at the other side of a floating bridge.

Unlike many concerts, it feels as though every attendee is a die-hard twenty one pilots fan. While the crowd becomes less condensed towards the back of the pit, the rapping and screaming is just as loud as it as at the front, where those who have queued for hours to secure their spot at the barrier reside for the duration of the night. This enthusiasm ripples throughout the seats, too, as not a single person seems to remain seated – other than when encouraged by Tyler during the B stage portion of the set (otherwise known as ‘their dads’ favourite part’, for the very reason that they get to rest their legs).

Following the two more placid and emotional songs performed during this time – ‘Neon Gravestones’ and ‘Bandito’ – twenty one pilots ensure that any sodden eyes are promptly dried as they launch into the dizzying ‘Pet Cheetah’. They are the last band you’d expect to start a circle pit, but Tyler Joseph does just that as he makes his way back over the bridge to the main stage, pausing to encourage the crowd to part in the middle and lose their minds as the beat drops.

This energy is maintained throughout, not least because the show offers ample opportunity for singalongs, with ‘We Don’t Believe What’s On TV’, ‘Cut My Lip’ and ‘My Blood’ being just a few examples of moments we’re actively prompted to take over from Tyler as lead singers. The latter sees the resurgence of the notorious skeleton hoodie that became a symbol of their earlier ‘Vessel’ era, its appearance perhaps acting as a nod to those of us who have been members of the Skeleton Clique for a while, and at whom this song may well be directed.

With there only being two members of the band, it always seems important to front man Joseph to give drummer Josh Dun equal time in the limelight. Despite joking that he’s the lead singer and thus deserves more perks, it’s clear that Joseph respects Dun immensely, frequently glancing over at his bandmate for reassurance and exchanging broad grins. Whether it’s through the game show style introduction that occurs prior to ‘We Don’t Believe What’s On TV’, the elevated drum solo at the end of ‘Lane Boy’, or the solo that closes ‘Morph’, we’re consistently reminded that this band would not exist in the capacity that it does without both members of twenty one pilots.

Given that the majority of the night has been overridden by screams, it seems ambitious to expect a section of the evening entitled ‘The Quiet Game’ to go to plan. The aim of the game is, in theory, simple: stay as quiet as you can for as long as you can. In practice, however, you have 12,500 overexcited fans to manage, and it takes just two seconds for some guy at the back of the arena (“I feel like his name is Liam. Screw you, Liam”, comments Joseph) to yell out. Naturally the crowd boos angrily at ‘Liam’, who is, for tonight at least, now the most hated person in the whole of Wembley.

Ironically, later in the night after Joseph has finished clambering on the grappling crowd and Dun has flawlessly backflipped off the piano during old favourite ‘Holding Onto You’, he pauses ‘Ride’ to ensure someone makes it safely out of the pit. As this takes place, the entire arena is silent and Joseph laughs as he notes, “that was four seconds right there”.

While Joseph recounts his ongoing struggle with faith during ‘Leave The City’, we’re reminded that we “know that it’s almost over” before the clique is once again acknowledged for our fierce understanding of this band and their message with closing line, “These faces facing me, they know what I mean”. The pace then picks up with ‘Car Radio’, which fills the room with aggressively faultless rapping to the point where Joseph is almost inaudible, before he runs to the back of the arena once more to take his place on a podium that overlooks the entire crowd, smiling humbly at the seemingly never-ending, deafening screams.

There’s no doubt that The Bandito Tour was meticulously planned down to every last detail. As well as the stage props and human direction, the visuals that appear on the screens perfectly coincide with the song being performed at that moment. The most impressive are those depicting the ‘Trench’ narrative of Dema during ‘Nico and the Niners’ and ‘Leave the City’, the trippy graphics that make you feel like the air was filled with hallucinogenics during ‘Cut My Lip’, and the very adorable ‘Ned’ who makes a well-received appearance during the first track of the three song encore, latest single ‘Chlorine’. The amount of consideration and effort that went into creating this spectacle is unfathomable, and – in addition to the duo’s undeniable musical talent and explosive stage presence – clearly explains why twenty one pilots are doing so well in today’s industry.

This evening feels special. It was just six years ago that twenty one pilots were playing to 200 fans at London’s Barfly, and yet today they have no issue selling out three nights at Wembley Arena. To see them succeed so monumentally after writing lyrics such as “It’s the few, the proud, the emotional” is poignant – and as the band leave the stage following an almost inaudible “We’re twenty one pilots and so are you”, it’s easy to feel as integral in the growth of twenty one pilots as Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun themselves.

YASMIN BROWN

First up are Canterbury emo band, Moose Blood, who themselves have had a pretty incredible 12 months. It might be an early set time, but Wembley Arena is still almost full as the band takes their place. Eddy Brewerton sheepishly proclaims “Hello everyone, we’re Moose Blood” before kicking off with ‘Honey’. The bands melodies are as perfect as ever and do an excellent job of welcoming everyone here tonight. Their set include ‘Gum’ and ‘Bukowksi’ from first album, ‘I’ll Keep You in Mind, From Time to Time’ along with recent hits from ‘Blush’. The entirety of the set sees the crowd bouncing and singing along ,proving that in the bands own words, emo is most definitely a gang.

Following Moose Blood might seem like a tough act, but Neck Deep’s brand of pop punk was always sure to get the crowd moving. Taking to the stage to a backdrop of light and a huge roar, they waste no time in getting things going as vocalist Ben Barlow tells the crowd, “You didn’t come here to stand still,” before exploding into ‘Gold Steps’.

The band power through tracks ‘Lime St’ and ‘Kali Ma’, before there’s a goose bump inducing moment as Barlow requests that the crowd get their lighters/phones out during an intimate rendition of ‘A Part of Me’. “If it wasn’t for New Found Glory we wouldn’t be a band,” says Barlow of the band who have to follow them, giving them a jolt of energy for ‘Can’t Kick Up the Roots’. The crowd feed off the performance and there isn’t a single person not moving. By the time the guys leave the stage this huge crowd are baying for more.

New Found Glory were amongst the pioneers of pop-punk and have been a band for two decades. If you grew up in the 90’s/00’s then you’ll know a New Found Glory song, even if you’re not aware of it. They storm the stage following a speech from none other than Rocky Balboa lifted directly from one of the movies and immediately explode into ‘All Downhill from Here’ but if anything their set is on an opposite course.

Their backdrop sums it up perfectly, simply stating ’20 Years of Pop-Punk’ and as vocalist Jordan Pundik reminds the crowd, they’ve been a band for 20 years and have played this next song at every single show. It’s ‘Hit or Miss’ and it’s most definitely a hit with the crowd as mosh pits erupt across the floor. There’s time for Pundik to give shout outs to both the bands that came before them telling the crowd that they should be proud because “Both Moose Blood and Neck Deep are killing it in the states,” before treating us to a brand new track from the album ‘Makes Me Sick’ in the shape of ‘Happy Being Miserable’.

Theres time for a nostalgia inducing rendition of ‘Kiss me’ which has the entire venue singing at the top of their lungs. Pundik and the rest of the band then give everyone a pep talk about how “being in a band is the greatest thing in the world,” and then ensure that the set ends in chaos as they close the set with ‘My Friends Over You’. They may have been a band for 20 years but they have in no way lost any of their enthusiasm for the music they play.

Gig line ups like these don’t come about too often and it’s been a spectacular evening so far. The crowd are more than ready for A Day to Remember to tear it up, there’s mosh pits in the crowd before they even take to the stage with the PA playing tracks from the likes of Slipknot and Limp Bizkit. All this stops as the arena is plunged into darkness and is replaced by a huge roar from the crowd. As the lights come up, the band are in place and Jeremy McKinnon demands “Let’s start this right!, Everybody move,” as they explode, quite literally, with confetti into ‘Mr. Highway’s Thinking About The End’.

They follow this up with ‘Paranoia’ which see’s the floor split into two giant circle pits as McKinnon tells the crowd he wants to “See the biggest fucking circle pit Wembley Arena has ever seen.” The hits keep coming as they power through a number of tracks including ‘2nd Sucks’ and ‘I’m Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?’ before McKinnon takes a break from his typical strutting around the stage to insist that the band were only recently made aware that their second album ‘For Those Who Have Heart’ turned 10 years. Prompting an energetic rendition of “Fast Forward to 2012’.

The Majority of the set consists of tracks from both the bands latest offering ‘Bad Vibrations’ and 2009’s ‘Homesick’. As the band power through hit after hit, there’s a couple of moments that show just what this band are all about. During ‘It’s Complicated’ the crew are made busy firing T Shirts into the crowd, and as they power through another favourite, ‘Have Faith In Me’, the crowd instinctively get their lighters out, again making for a fantastic spectacle.

Coming towards the end of the set and there’s a couple of huge tracks ‘All I Want’ and ‘The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle’ before the band leave us… but not for long! Guitarist Neil Westfall saunters back on stage alone declaring “I’ll play this god damn song solo I swear to god,” before McKinnon joins him and asks, “Alright Wembley, did you wanna hear some more songs or some shit?” They give a touching performance of ‘If It Means a Lot To You’. The closing two tracks see the band and crew throwing toilet rolls at each other and the crowd during ‘All Signs Point to Lauderdale’, and they bring the curtain down with a blistering performance of ‘The Downfall of Us All’.

All four bands were incredible A Day To Remember seem set to embark on a new journey amongst the upper echelon of rock bands. Their sub headline set sandwiched in between AFI and headliner Biffy Clyro at Download Festival in the summer can’t come soon enough.

Christopher Lee

Getting things ‘Rollin’ of these two heavyweights is Limp Bizkit. Dressed entirely in white suit and face paint, Wes Borland opens with the riff for ‘Hot Dog’, with Fred Durst entering the fray, proclaiming, “Oh shit, we’re in London.” It’s an explosive opening which is followed up immediately with ‘Rollin’. As Durst utters that famous line “Alright partners you know what time it is,” the crowd erupts again, singing at the top of their lungs.

Borland’s guitar playing is second to none, and he takes a moment to drop in a few Metallica riffs before launching into ‘My Generation’. There’s been barely any time for the crowd to breathe between the ferocious opening, but luckily Durst loves a bit of karaoke and takes a minute to have a little dance on stage as the DJ spins Lil Jon’s, ‘Turn Down for What’. The middle of the set struggles somewhat to keep up with the fast paced set at the start, but still includes an intense performance of ‘Eat You Alive’

After the band launch into their version of George Michael’s ‘Faith’, the venue is then put on alert as sirens ring throughout and Borland gets the whole place jumping with ‘Break Stuff’. They close the set with ‘Take a look around’, which featured in a Mission Impossible movie. It’s a strange choice to end on Limp Bizkit have given their faithful everything they could ask for tonight.

The crowd get a solid break as they stage is reset in preparation for Korn to bring the house down and they certainly do not disappoint. Behind that curtain the band take the stage and begin to play the intro to ‘Right Now’, building anticipation. The song kicks in as the curtain drops to the ground and chaos ensues. Jonathan Davis then explains “We’ve got some new shit out which we’re very proud of,” and they treat us to newer track, ‘Rotting in Vain’.

Up next there’s a partial cover of Cameo’s ‘Word Up’ and Queen’s ‘We are the Champions’, which gets everyone singing along and dancing. ‘Coming Undone’ is made all the more impressive by the stage set up, which sees a bank of lights across the stage and drummer Ray Luzier sat atop them. It also seems that Korn are big Metallica fans as they cover ‘One’ at the end of ‘Shoots and Ladders’. The highlight of a very impressive set comes in the shape of ‘Blind’, from the bands 1994 debut. It’s a stirring performance which brings back memories of watching bands like this on MTV when they actually played music videos.

The guys leave us with ‘Good God’, but return for a powerful encore that concludes with ‘Freak on a Leash’, another track which seems to be timeless. There’s many people out there who would argue that genres like nu metal aren’t relevant anymore, but try telling that to these bands. They may have been making music for well over two decades but still perform with an energy most bands out there today could learn a lesson or two from. Take note, newcomers, these guys won’t be going away any time soon, and on performances like this that can only be a good thing.

CHRIS LEE

First up are Thrice, who, despite not seeming at home in an arena sized venue and having replaced guitarist Teppei with a stand in for their early 2010 UK shows, warm up the expactant crowd with a well executed and tight set. I won’t claim I’m a Thrice expert, but of what I’ve heard, Deadbolt is the one song I’d have picked as a standout, and it wasn’t played tonight. If I was to pick a negative, that’d be it. That said, the band are on good form, really enjoyable and sounding fairly massive through the giant PA, so I could have endured anticipation and watched another few songs despite the band being my “least favourite” of the three. 3.5/5

After various cancelled appearances, side projects and hiatuses, Glassjaw tonight carry the weight of expectation on the big stage. Those choosing to go to Wembley instead of catching one of the headline performances around the country are numerous and excitable, and unfortantely neither the venue’s sound or the band’s song selection are up to scratch for their allocated half an hour. It’s not that the band play particularily badly- but fan favourites like Ry Ry’s song are tragically excluded and most of the band don’t really seem to care much about being where they are. There’s an air of frustration by the end of Glassjaw‘s set, and those shelling out for the triple bill for the strength of the line up rather than having the supports as a bonus will largely have come away disappointed. 2/5

So, Brand New. Whether you think Your Favourite Weapon is the only good one, that the band starts and stops with Deja Entendu or even that their evolution has mirrored your music tastes, you can’t really argue that Brand New haven’t had an impact on shaping scores of bands coming from both sides of the pond. Tonight’s been hyped as some sort of “second coming” and follows varied reception from fans and critics to latest effort “Daisy”, but judging by the way the band are acting, I don’t really think they care at all. The band are tight and focused, and Jesse Lacey’s favourite pasttime of shuffling recorded vocal melodies around is as irritating to sing along to as it is predictable. There’s clearly restlessness with the songs after they’ve been recorded, and so the set list was always going to be heavy on the new material. To be honest, those expecting an even balance between the albums need their heads checking, as it’s exactly what you’d expect from a band that seem to carry the attitude that they just get better and better.

There’s a whole cluster of favourites on show tonight, but after seeing Brand New enough times, tonight is a bunch of non-surprises. They play well and sound good, but everything from the backdrop footage that was barely related to the songs in places to the band’s seemingly ‘holier than though’ attitude ends up making it feel a little flat 3/5

Tom Aylott