LIVE FROM THE PIT: The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die and Church Of The Rat

Hot off the release of their latest album Dreams of Being Dust, THE WORLD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE & I AM NO LONGER AFRAID TO DIE have embarked on a multi-date tour across both the US and Europe, hitting several festivals along the way. During their UK leg of the tour was a date at Nottingham’s Rough Trade, which, for those unfamiliar, is a venue that is the embodiment of intimate - so much so that you may be mistaken where the stage actually may be - tucked away at the back of a bustling bar area where the tables are not tables, but music gear flight cases.

Rough Trade is not a venue that you may expect to find a band that the following day is headlining the Eyesore Merch stage at Manchester’s Damnation Festival, yet here they are. For those who attended, though, you can consider yourselves lucky. The walls in this venue are rich with history as they are emblazoned with scrawls of band names who had been there before, from EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING, MALLGRAB, PALE WAVES, SLEEP IN MOTION, and more.

Joining TWIABP on their UK tour is the punk band CHURCH OF THE RAT, the only opener for this show, too, and what an opener they are. Exploding on the stage at a timely eight pm, you were immediately smacked by the band’s presence despite the venue still filling up - but that did not matter to the band as they certainly gave it their all. Mentioning the venue once again, the stage is tiny - so much so that you might wonder just how a band with six members may all fit. This was evident with CHURCH OF THE RAT, too, despite only having four members, it was a bit of a tight squeeze. So much so that SAM DAVIES, the band’s vocalist, took advantage of the space at the front of the crowd.

This move was a good decision, too, as it really helped show the crowd that CHURCH OF THE RAT were not here to mess around, bringing that basement punk show vibe to Rough Trade and helping get the crowd moving - no easy feat for a support act. This was all assisted by SAM’s showmanship as a frontman, barking powerful vocals with a somewhat flamboyant delivery. He was truly absorbing the moment that evening and made for a compelling watch. CHURCH OF THE RAT were able to bring a vibe to the function that was equal parts aggressive but also emotionally charged. Between songs, SAM was not shy about pushing the meanings behind songs, with one being about the murder of the United Healthcare CEO, exclaiming the innocence of Luigi Mangione, while applauding “whoever did it”, then calling out capitalism and the freeing of Palestine - something the crowd absolutely lapped up.

After around thirty minutes of recovering from the onslaught brought on by CHURCH OF THE RAT, our main act took the stage. Those at the show may have noticed a bit of a stunted start as there were murmurs of technical issues, but with only a few minutes delay, THE WORLD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE & I AM NO LONGER AFRAID TO DIE exploded with Dimmed Sun, the opening track from their latest album. This is a pretty interesting track to open with, too, as those familiar with Dreams of Being Dust will know just how heavy this track begins. With heavy blastbeats from the off, Dimmed Sun almost demands an explosive crowd reaction; however, Rough Trade that evening did not quite move as you would expect from a song kicking off this heavy. Perhaps there is a lack of familiarity with this album, as it has only been out for two months, or maybe the intimate venue, with no barriers or security, made the crowd aware of the need to be sensible. Either way, the crowd reaction was a little reserved.

If the new album is not quite in your repertoire of TWIABP songs you are familiar with, then you may have come away a little disappointed, as the majority of the set was made up of tracks from Dreams of Being Dust. The set list that evening had just two other songs, January 10th, 2014 and Heartbeat in the Brain, being from other albums in their catalogue. It was evident from the crowd reaction that these songs were true fan favourites, with January 10th, 2014, having the crowd singing along and moving, only for the usual head-nods coming back when they followed up with Oubliette. This was addressed by vocalist DAVID BELLO early on in the set with his soft-spoken, gentle demeanour, adding that most of the songs played that night were from the new album, but there are a few older songs in there too, “so there’s something for those who dislike the other”.

It makes sense that their set list would be put together this way, as their latest album has heavier instrumentals than some of their previous albums. Those of you familiar with Illusionary Walls will be somewhat at home, but if you are a bigger fan of Whenever, If Ever for example, it might be a little heavier than you would expect. That being said, the band certainly performed, even if they were one member short as their guitarist, ANTHONY GESA, could not make the tour, so guitar tracks were played in his absence, which the crowd instantly memed, cheering every time his guitar tracks were played.

The show overall was a treat for fans of their entire discography, even if you are more familiar with their early albums. TWIABP proved that they can pull off a heavier post-hardcore, metalcore-driven setlist with ease while also slipping back into familiar territory with their more melodic emo songs. The band were tight as hell, even with the odd technical issue the band faced, they were not deterred and continued to put on one hell of a show.

Words: Aaron Richardson