LIVE REVIEW: Catch Your Breath, Until I Wake, Of Virtue, SLAY, Glasgow, 08/04/2025
Photo Credit: Aaron Marsh
Austin, Texas rockers Catch Your Breath have finally made it to Glasgow to open the UK leg of their Broken Souls Tour with city centre venue SLAY being the perfect host venue for what will be the perfect night of rock and metal music, with no less than three bands hopping across the pond to entertain audiences around the UK. Walking along Argyll Street in the sunshine we were contemplating a great couple of hours of music and were sure that all three bands would live up to expectations and more.
When we entered SLAY, Of Virtue were already on the stage and the venue was jam packed with eager fans not wanting to miss a moment of the music, we have never seen SLAY so busy for a support band and you would have thought that Of Virtue were the headliners! The Michigan-based band wasted no time and during new track Goliath we get a first attempt at a wall of death while Sinner had the crowd chanting the usual Glasgow war cry of “Here we, here we, here we fucking go!” helping to keep the energy levels in the crowd high. Vocalist Tyler Ennis has a big personality and is in among the crowd causing mayhem during Cannibals, this metalcore band have been around since 2008 and this shines through with their delivery. Last track Cut Me Open hits you like a mallet over the head, we’re not really sure what that would feel like but we reckon it would feel as powerful as this track hits! This was an electrifying performance warming the crowd up nicely. 8/10
After fighting through the crowd to the bar it was a quick turnaround and Until I Wake were next up, having released new album Renovate in December we get to hear a few tracks from that release including Catacombs, Separate and Renovate. They also left space for a few of their better known tracks such as Inside My Head and Cold. The crowd reaction is maybe not the same as the opening band but still a decent half-hour performance. 7/10
There must have been five hundred sweaty bodies in SLAY by the time Catch Your Breath took to the stage, we would get to hear eleven tracks from the deluxe edition of the debut album Shame On Me that was released in September 2024 following on from the original release back in October 2023 with Criminal being the only song of the twelve played that doesn’t feature on the album. Josh Mowery (vocals), Teddy Herrera (guitar), Cianan Madigan (bass) and Onell Hernandez (drums) received a warm Glasgow welcome for what is their first time playing in the city. As the set begins with Ghost Inside The Shell, Deadly and the excellent Mirror during which the crowd are encouraged to start the first mosh pits of the night adding to the atmosphere. 21 Gun Salute is the standout track for us tonight as Josh gives everything to express the meaning of the song to him. You can easily understand why fans connect to the Catch Your Breath sound whether it’s for the deeply meaningful lyrics or their unique take on the metalcore sound, these guys are the real deal.
It may have been back in October 2023 that the album was first released but we can still recall the impact the album had when reviewing it for Bring The Noise at the time. Savages is another one of those tracks that hit you hard as does Dial Tone, the crowd down the front are singing every word back to Josh and the title track Shame On Me is another standout. The twelve-track set comes to an end with Y.S.K.W (You Should Know Why) as the energy levels reach fever pitch ending a memorable night of music.
The Catch Your Breath tour reaches Manchester, Birmingham and London next where they will play to the biggest crowd on the UK tour at the O2 Academy in Islington before finishing up in Bristol while the second half of April sees the band tour around Europe. For a band that are on a debut headline tour in the UK they have created a good impression on the Glasgow audience and no doubt will be back again. 8/10
Written by: Alan Brown
