Fit For An Autopsy & Sylosis Dual-Headline a Night of Unfathomable Heaviness at Bristol’s SWX [Photos]

For me, it’s rare to find a double headline tour where both acts hold an equal level of fondness – however, tonight is one such night, where UK metal stalwarts Sylosis and death metal groove merchants Fit For An Autopsy join forces to bring a stellar lineup to the UK’s South West at SWX in Bristol.

A combination of an early start and city traffic means I only catch the end of the opening act’s set, which is a shame – Heriot have gone from strength to strength since last seeing them at Arctangent a couple of years ago and if the response from the crowd to their final couple of songs is a valid judgment, many in attendance tonight agree. Debut album Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell continues to make waves in the UK scene, so this rise is likely long to continue.

Darkest Hour plays with an energy and hunger that belies their 25+ years of existence as a band, with an extensive back catalogue to pull from to deliver a brief but perfectly curated set. Vocalist John Henry is a mass of hair and headbanging conducting the Bristol audience, and crowd surfers begin a couple of songs in and remain a constant hazard to dodge in the photo pit for the remainder of the night. Short but sweet, with an impressive array of riffs on display.

The first of the evening’s alternating headliners, Sylosis, rip through a set covering from recent EP The Path all the way back to Conclusion of an Age (2008), with Josh Middleton’s guitar playing as flawless and mesmeric as ever – now joined on six strings by Conor Marshall, former bassist, who doesn’t miss a beat or an opportunity to windmill despite the change. “Teras” is a particular set highlight (as it has been from the start of their career), with a machine gun of precise palm mutes at racing tempo whipping the crowd up even more so than before. Their set further solidifies my opinion that they’re the heaviest band playing in standard tuning there is.

If Sylosis are the heaviest band in standard tuning, Fit For An Autopsy make a valid case for taking the title outright with a sound that blends the best of Gojira, Whitechapel, Rivers of Nihil and many more to create a unique and unfathomably heavy sound. Coming right off the back of one of the albums of the year in The Nothing That Is, their set still leans heavy on tracks from their back catalogue rather than being a new album showcase, with the audience responding with relentless pitting and non-stop crowd surfers crossing the barrier. It is a triumphant performance to celebrate a band who’ve threatened to truly explode on the scene before, but with this latest album, they seem poised to do so and elevate their standing even further.

Fit For An Autopsy Set List:

1. Lower Purpose
2. A Higher Level
3. Red Horizon
4. Black Mammoth
5. Sea of Tragic Beasts
6. Savior of None / Ashes of All
7. Warfare
8. Pandora
9. Hellions
10. Far From Heaven
11. Hostage
12. Two Towers

Fit For An Autopsy (w/ Sylosis, Darkest Hour) @ Bristol SWX (Bristol, UK) on November 28th, 2024

35 photos