Atreyu, Eighteen Visions and Zero 9:36 – Rock City, Nottingham – 4th Oct 2025

October 9, 2025

*Atreyu performing in Nottingham. Photo by Carrie-Anne Pollard*

With the queue snaking it’s way up the road and out of view, we head inside for a night of celebration.

First to the stage are Zero 9:36. The three piece kick straight into a stellar set, with vocalist Zero effortlessly blending beautiful melodies, rap and screams. The result is a nostalgic nod to nu-metal with a modern twist. As the room slowly fills up, Zero 9:36 make sure to get everyone riled up and ready, with circle pits erupting from the centre and bodies on the barrier screaming along. When Zero asks the room who here has heard of them before, there are pockets of cheers dotted around, but after tonight I’m sure that number of fans will grow. The songs are short but packed with emotion, they finish the set on Adrenaline and The End.

Next up are Eighteen Visions, who – taking a leaf out of Atreyu’s ‘20+1 year anniversary’ celebrations – spend most of their set powering through songs off 2004 release Obsession. Opening with Obsession and I Let Go, the first crowd surfer of the night soars over the barrier. Vocalist James Hart banters between songs, shouting ‘fuck Liverpool’ to overwhelming cheers, getting the brunt of boos for mentioning supporting Chelsea, then getting the crowd right back onside with as nod to how good Forest are. For such an established band in the metalcore scene, it’s surprising to hear how many of the audience haven’t heard of Eighteen Visions before, with Hart asking before kicking into Waiting for the Heavens.

‘Lets take it back to the year 2000’ Hart exclaims. The brutal She Looks Good in Velvet is punctuated by the crowd screaming the lyrics into the mic, as Hart joins them at the barrier. This isn’t the last time the audience has control of the mic, with a whole stand getting thrown in during set closer Tower of Snakes.

Finally, with the room full to the brim, Atreyu head onto the stage, Blood Children (An Introduction) aptly introducing them, with no preamble they kick straight into Bleeding Mascara. As previously mentioned, this tour is specifically to celebrate The Curse, which is played in full from start to finish. Brandon Saller splits the crowd, the first note of You Eclipsed By Me punctuated by a wall of death, the audience screaming the refrain ‘I will not be broken, I am the one’ back at the band. Title track The Curse is sung back with even more force.

Saller finds himself back behind the drum kit for An Interlude, as drummer Kyle Rosa gets ready to join the guitarists up front on bass, giving Marc McKnight chance to take on full frontman duties for Corseting. It’s obvious Atreyu are having just as much fun as the audience, being silly between songs, getting in the middle of the room to join the crowd, and hinting that maybe we should do this for every album?

Guitarist Dan Jacobs thanks security for being gentle, but now we know they’re to be trusted, My Sanity on the Funeral Pyre is crowd surf central. ‘Crowd surf till your fuckin’ heads fall off!’ Saller shouts, the flood barrier well and truly broken, as bodies stream over the tops of outstretched arms, continuing through ‘Last’ song Five Vicodin Chased With a Shot of Clarity.

Now that The Curse is complete, the encore can dabble in some choice cuts, with the one two punch of Becoming the Bull and Exes and Ohs, the room is close to erupting with the sound of the crowd singing along. ‘I don’t want to see any new song energy’ Saller tells the room before Atreyu play their new release Dead. ‘We release a song a week ago and you sing it back to us like it’s been out a fuckin’ year’, he astonishes after. They wrap up the set with Lip Gloss and Black.

What an absolutely incredible night, roll on the Death Grip and Lead Sails tours right guys? Right?