ADEPT return to the UK after 10 years for a headline show at O2 Academy Islington

Swedish metalcore heavyweights ADEPT returned to the UK in support of their newest album Blood Covenant. I was attending the second night of the metalcore-stacked line ups, and after an hour of waiting outside I managed to get in just in time to catch the last few songs of Aussie outfit Ocean Sleeper, who sounded fantastic. They were “so stoked to be here” as it was their first time in the UK and London, and the front row was really into it. They sounded anthemic, they had great stage presence and they really knew how to work the crowd.

Thousand Below

The main opener for ADEPT were Thousand Below, a post-hardcore outfit from San Diego, California. They released their fourth LP Buried in Jade earlier this year to positive reviews and their brand of melodic metalcore with catchy hooks, huge choruses and emotion-filled lyrics really resonated with the O2 Academy Islington’s crowd, who sang along to every lyric from the very first note. A couple of super fans at the front were trying really hard to offer James Deberg, the vocalist, a pint – sadly to no avail (although I am pretty sure it was put to good use elsewhere). James kept commanding the crowd to create pits, but it’s almost as if their sound was too exhilarating to do so – I could see how deeply the lyrics were landing with the audience. ‘Save Me’ resulted in huge feels and a a unison sea of hands in the air. The band could feel the crowd’s energy: “You’re the best crowd of the tour so far, make some noise for yourselves!” They closed with ‘Sabotage’ to a huge cheer of approval and suddenly a murmur of the 800-strong audience filled the room as the crowd sang along to every word.

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ADEPT

Finally it was time for the Swedish metalcore pioneers ADEPT to take to the stage. Their new album, 2025’s Blood Covenant, was released nine years since their previous LP, and this tour celebrates their two decades as a band. They opened with the title track from Blood Covenant and the crowd’s reaction to their London come back was electric. Robert Ljung remarked “We haven’t been here for over a decade and you guys singing every word back to us means the world”. The front row went absolutely wild and it didn’t take long for a circle pit to open up a couple of rows behind them.

While they might have been promoting their newest album, in the spirit of celebrating their two-decade long legacy they brought out many songs from the vaults. When Robert announced “We have a really old fucking song for you – ‘Shark! Shark! Shark!’, a guy next to me exclaimed “OH MY GOD THIS SONG IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!” The energy coming from the stage was unrivalled, but the audience absolutely matched it, and Robert kept mentioning how much it meant to the band, especially as it was “the first tour we have done in fucking ages!”.

“Let’s bring some old fucking songs again, let’s keep them coming!” – the Swedes kept blending their back catalogue, going as far back as their 2009 debut Another Year Of Disaster, in between the Blood Covenant tracks such as hard-hitting ‘YOU’ and ‘Filthy Tongues’, and the crowd was lapping it up song after song, occasionally even singing along to the riffs. For their first UK outing in more than a decade, ADEPT gave their loyal fans a staggering set spanning their rich career, making it a smashing come back. Let’s hope the UK metalcore fans won’t have to wait as long to see them again.

ADEPT’s tour continues across Europe.

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ADEPT Setlist

Venue: O2 Academy Islington, London

Set:

  1. Blood Covenant
  2. Carry the Weight
  3. Secrets
  4. Heaven
  5. Shark! Shark! Shark!
  6. Business of Living
  7. Define Me
  8. Black Veins
  9. You
  10. Filthy Tongue
  11. Parting Ways
  12. The Ivory Tower
  13. At Least Give Me My Dreams Back, You Negligent Whore!
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