Darkest Hour, Bleeding Through & Shai Hulud Crush Camden Underworld [Show Review]

Nostalgia tours seem to be all the rage in 2025. And for anybody who hasn’t been paying attention for the last 3 decades, tonight’s line-up would be just that. For those of us who were there when these bands very first came to these shores many moons ago and every time since, those of us who had to import their records when streaming didn’t exist and those of us who have always considered these bands to be current and relevant… this is anything but nostalgia. The landscape of modern metal would be drastically different without these bands, and how lucky are we tonight to celebrate 30 years of supremacy with them?

Shai Hulud have had a revolving door of members since their birth in 1995. Sole remaining member and lynchpin of the band, Matt Fox, has forged such a rich tapestry of music over the years and has enlisted some incredible talent to do so. Having last released a full-length record nearly ten years ago (the drastically overlooked Just Can’t Hate Enough), it was hard to know if another chance would come to see them in the live arena again. If there was ever a band that found that perfect sweet spot between the Metal and the Hardcore, it was Shai Hulud, and everything they have created is purpose-built for a show such as this.

They tear into the stage like a band still hungry and trying to change the world, and for a large number of people here tonight, they clearly already have. Songs like “Set Your Body Ablaze” and “This Song For The True And Passionate Lovers Of Music” are songs created to empower and inspire, which is really felt and reflected in the crowd’s reaction. The band sounds tight, locked in and plays with a confidence that is befitting of the music they play. “Two And Twenty Misfortunes” and “A Profound Hatred Of Man” are my personal highlights of the set, serving equal parts vitriol and timeless hardcore melody.

But it’s set closer, “Solely Concentrating On The Negative Of Man,” that sees the packed Camden Underworld reach peak chaos. A song written 29 years ago about standing up and being a beacon of good in a sea of bad times and people feels more prevalent than ever, and the crowd reciprocate in kind. It’s legendary music from an iconic band who are forever etched in metalcore history.

In my humble opinion, Bleeding Through is one of the most underrated bands with one of the most overlooked back catalogues in all of metalcore. Victims possibly of their own creative excellence, it seems that a lot of people never gave the albums that followed 2003’s seminal This Is Love, This Is Murderous the time and attention they truly deserve. If they had, and the world were a fair place, then Bleeding Through would be headlining stages at festivals and rightly celebrated for being the progressive titans that they are.

But none of that seems to have left a bitter taste in their mouth as once again in 2025 they released another scorching album in the way of NINE, and tonight the Camden Underworld is vibrating in anticipation as it welcomes them back. 22 years since they last graced this stage (Yes, I was there. Yes it was mind blowing and, yes, I feel old) and this current line up of the band may be the best they have forged to date.

Exploding onto the stage with one of the greatest metalcore songs ever written, “Love Lost In A Hail Of Gunfire”, sets the tone perfectly. The crowd absolutely lose their minds as they shred through what lead singer Brandan Schieppati proclaims to be “Some of the heaviest shit you will ever hear.” “Orange County Blonde And Blue,” “Revenge I Seek,” and “Rise” all sound like the sky is falling down; they are delivered with such ferocity. Whilst the new song “I Am Resistance” brings the heavy and the sing-along grooves to the party.

One thing that is clear in abundance is how much Bleeding Through is still enjoying this life so many years in, and how incredibly grateful they are to still be here. Emotions boil over several times for Schieppati and keyboardist Marta Peterson, who are clearly overwhelmed by the incredible reaction of tonight’s crowd. Ending the evening with anthemic wrecking balls “Kill To Believe” and “On Wings Of Lead”, Bleeding Through have once again proven that they deserve their place amongst the elite.

It feels impossible that this evening could get any better; luckily for us, Darkest Hour are ready to bring the ruckus. One of the first bands to take melodic influence from Scandinavian Death Metal and meld it together with the hardcore their hometown of Washington, DC, had become synonymous with. They created a sound that was absolutely unique to them, which went on to influence bands for years to come. But as they say, “often imitated, never duplicated” because there is only one Darkest Hour and they have a back catalogue of nothing but absolute ragers!

Opening up with a head stomping one/two of “With A Thousand Words” and “The Sadist Nation,” it’s clear they are all business this evening. The aforementioned Scandinavian influences are on full display in the brilliant “A Paradox With Flies,” which is about as “sing-along” and melodic as this set gets amongst a sea of crushing riffs and shredding guitars. Singer John Henry has always had one of the most interesting and unique voices of the genre, which, for me, sounds like it’s gotten even better with age.

It’s also far more emphatic in the live space how incredibly technical Darkest Hour are as a band. Aside from being an absolute man mountain, drummer Travis Orbon is one hell of a gifted musician, and the guitar section together is like watching a metal orchestra at work. Highlight of the set comes by way of “Doomslayer,” “The Beginning Of The End,” an absolute juggernaut of a song that has every element of creative greatness Darkest Hour have forged into one head-banging, floor-turning moment.

They end out their time with “Tranquil,” the back half of which concludes with a two and a half minute technical freestyle that signs them off perfectly. Darkest Hour are pioneers who deserve to be celebrated, and with new music in the works, they are going nowhere.