Spiritbox and Architects live in Amsterdam

My first gig abroad saw me see one of the biggest Metal tours of the year.

Going to a concert in another country has been on my bucket list for a very long time. Why you ask, to see how it differs from the UK? What are the crowds like? Are the venues any better? also to have that experience of seeing one of your favourite bands while on holiday with your mates. Well, that's what I got to do at the start of the year. So me and one of my best mates flew to Amsterdam for the weekend to catch Spiritbox and Architects as they toured Europe.

The venue for that night's show would be the AFAS arena, a minute away from the legendary Johan Cruff Stadium, The home of Ajax football club and the national team. We did have to queue for about 20-30 minutes to get into the arena which meant we would miss Loathe which was a real shame but we will be seeing them before the end of the year. We did catch the very end of their set and one thing me and my friend agreed on was the sound in the AFAS Arena was one of the best that we've have ever heard. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that it put some UK venues to shame. The Venue also has a recycling scheme meant to prevent cups from being left on the floor at the end of shows. On arrival, we both got given wooden tokens to use at the bar and we gave them to the server when paying for our drinks. We were told to make sure to return our cups or we would have to pay an extra euro for our drinks. We made sure to hold on to our cups (even in the mosh pits) to avoid having to pay extra. I think that this is a good scheme to have in place as it keeps the price of the drinks down and also makes the venue a cleaner environment and would suggest venues having this kind of system in place.

It was not the most perfect experience, however. As well as the large queue mentioned at the start, there were also massive queues for toilets as well. So much so that I caused a lot of crushing and shoving which felt very unsafe at the time, with no security around this area at all. This was ultimately disappointing for an arena which was showing so much promise. So in general in terms of the AFAS arena, I was very impressed by their recycling scheme and the incredible sound in the arena but there is more that can be done about the queues and the safety aspect.

Moving onto the bands, The first band we got to see was the incredible Spiritbox who sold out a UK tour last year which has to be one of my favourite shows last year. This time, I get to say that they were the first band I ever got to see abroad and I could not be happier in saying that. The band have released an EP called "The Fear of Fear" which saw the band get a Grammy nomination so I was excited to see this new EP live for the first time. The band wasted no time in showing off the new songs with the brutal 'Cellar Door' being the opening track of their set. The band would continue the play through the EP up until the halfway point when the band started the delve deeper into their back catalogue with tracks such as 'Rotoscope', 'Hurt You' of course 'Holly Roller'. Their set was a great mix of old and new and considering they only had ten songs I think they did a good job of pleasing all fans alike.

The more I see this band play the better their shows get and particularly their confidence grows as the show went on the crowd started the mosh pits and it seemed everyone thoroughly enjoyed their set. For me, this could have easily been a headline slot. the production, the setlist and the performance lead to a short yet sweet show from the Canadian band who once again show that they are a band on the up.

We now come to the main act of the evening Architects, who were bringing their tour to Europe after the release of their new single 'Seeing Red'. This tour has unfortunately had a cloud cast over it after controversy from the Architects camp after guitarist Adam Christianson was found to like transphobic tweets. I have previously discussed this in a previous blog which I will leave a link to below but I will say again that it was incredibly disappointing to see Architects involved in this sort of controversy considering they have always supported these groups and always been against hate. The band have somewhat addressed it at a previous show but still, It was at the forefront of our minds throughout the show. What was great to see was the Architect's fans showing their support for the trans community with trans flags drabbed across the front barriers. It's good to see that the fans are seemingly united on this front and letting the band know their thoughts on the matter.

In terms of the music, this is something you can not fault Architects for. The band had one of the best visual shows they have ever put on and had a setlist which stretched from their beginnings up to their very latest offerings.'Seeing Red' opened their set in ferocious style with some nasty rifts and eye-catching visuals. The set continued with The band playing their more recent release such as 'Giving Blood' and 'Deep Fake' but as the band set continued on the band delved deeper into their back catalogue with tracks such as 'Gravedigger' and 'These Colours Don't Run' which made for one of the best setlists the band have put out. Plus with their amazing production, it made for a fine visual and audio experience.

While the band put on a great show, lead singer Sam Carter captivated the crowd and everyone had a good time, there was always this feeling (for me and my mate at least) that there was a cloud hanging over this performance due to the recent events in the run-up to this show. I think it is a massive shame considering how talented the band but if this band want to preach peace and love at their shows then at least back it and take responsibility for your actions. I do hope the band addresses this issue properly and tries to support their fans and are more weary of their actions going forward.

Despite this, my first time abroad for a show was great fun despite some of the issues in place and it was interesting to see how different the experience of a show was different to how it is back home. Another thing off the bucket list and here to doing it all again in the near future.