Live Review: As Everything Unfolds – Ultraviolet UK/EU Tour – O2 Academy Islington, London

As Everything Unfolds seems to be on a non-stop tour of late. From supporting Enter Shikari earlier this year to a packed out festival season and an upcoming tour with Electric Callboy, the ambitious band has managed to squeeze in a headline tour in support of their latest album ‘Ultraviolet’ as well! Here’s what went down when As Everything Unfolds took over the O2 Academy Islington.

Opening proceedings was Tropic Gold, a highly animated and energetic band that gripped the London crowd quickly. Their style offered a more relaxed approach compared to the other two bands yet their stage presence and charisma made up for that tenfold. A tonne of crowd participation was encouraged and the fans in attendance obliged so much that the first pit of the night was a sizable one! The consensus around the room was one of the unknown leading into Tropic Gold but by the end, the majority of the room would happily get a second serving of what they had to offer.

Angst, aggression and danceability came in the form of the charismatic Lake Malice. The heavy three-piece completely dominated the Academy’s stage and made it feel like their own show. Crowd surfers during the first song, a non-stop mosh pit, and a choir of London metalheads singing back to the band only gave Lake Malice more reason to leave all they had here. Warming up the crowd was not an issue at all and Lake Malice proved they have an extremely bright future ahead of them with a live set that rivals some of the best in the scene.

With this show marking As Everything Unfolds largest headline show to date, the band wasted little time and instantly launched into ‘Ultraviolet’ followed by the groovy yet impactful ‘Slow Down’. The love for the new album tracks was made very apparent by the London crowd and the track ‘Saint Or Rougue’ received an incredible reaction, seeing the band receive their first wave of crowd surfers very early on in their set. ‘Blossom’ worked well at warming up the crowd’s vocal chords just in time for the first song off the band’s debut album, ‘Within Each Lies The Other’, ‘Hiding From Myself’.

With the energy in the room rising as each song went on, the chaos that unfolded during ‘Flipside’ was to be expected. A massive pit almost spanning the entire floor erupted with glee during the heavy-as-nails single. Going back to the debut album for a moment, As Everything Unfolds created an emotional yet brilliant section of their set with the trio of ‘Take Me There’, ‘Grayscale’, and ‘Let Me Go’.

As if a full moon was out, ‘Twighlight’ had the room sounding like a choir while ‘All I’ve Ever Known’ closed out the main portion of the set in a more upbeat and relaxing manner. No set these days is complete without an encore and As Everything Unfolds delivered one of the highest calibre. Opening with ‘Felt Like Home’ allowed London’s voices to intertwine with the band’s sound while ‘On The Inside’ seems to still be the perfect balance of chaos and euphoria to close out their set.

It comes as no surprise that most bands get better with experience and As Everything Unfolds have really honed in on their sound and been able to create a set that feels completely enjoyable. Their energy on stage encourages fans to move and let loose and their overall sound seems tighter than it ever has.