Nothing More
- Rock Metal Machine
- 46 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Artists: Nothing More, Catch Your Breath, Solence, Ankor
Venue: O2 Forum (London)
Date: 5th December 2025
"All in all, this was a fantastic night out. I got to watch four absolute killer bands. I doubt that anyone left that venue feeling shortchanged. Possibly the best value ticket of the year."
“Once more unto the breach dear friends”, or more precisely, the O2 Forum in Kentish Town. This is one of my favourite music venues. It has a good photo pit, and the Showsec security are generally accommodating. Their policy allows photographers to shoot from the crowd after they have finished the standard three songs from the pit. This means you don’t get thrown out onto the street like a piece of trash in between the sets of each band, something that happens at venues like the O2 Arena and Brixton Academy.
Today’s assignment was to shoot and review a four-band bill. I was aware of headliners Nothing More, but knew absolutely nothing about the three other bands on the bill. The first band on the bill are Ankor, from Catalonia. They have a twenty-year history that has seen quite a few personnel changes. Tonight’s line-up consisted of founding member David Romu (guitar), Julio Lopez (bass), Eleni Nota (drums), Fito Martinez (guitar), and British vocalist Jessie Williams. They have released five albums, and one mini album, over a seventeen-year period.
Nothing could’ve prepared me for what was unleashed over the next 30 minutes. They exploded onto the stage and performed a set that I can only describe as astonishing. Their power and ferocity were off the scale. Over the last decade, female Rock vocalists have shown they can be every bit as powerful as the men. Lzzy Hale, Alessia White Gluz, Poppy, and Courtney Leplante, to name a few that are currently leading the charge, but Jessie Williams is certainly a contender for the crown. She ticks all the boxes; looks great, has an instantly likeable stage persona, a great singing voice, and can scream with the best of them. She is also blessed with the ability to flip between these two contrasting styles seamlessly. One moment you will be listening to an angelic top-line melody, only to hear it morph into a face-melting scream a few seconds later. A fearsome force of nature. But she doesn’t stand alone, the whole band are phenomenal musicians.
Their songs contain some incredibly intricate musical arrangements, but it never sounds self-indulgent. They blend together, Metal-Core, K-Pop, and Techno influences into a high energy hybrid which is absolutely breathtaking. The stagecraft between the front four is extremely dynamic; not only the interaction with each other, but also the engagement with the audience. There is a strong argument that drums are the only field within Metal music where men have continued to be dominant, but Eleni Nota is a revelation. Her formidable technical ability is a showcase of power and precision. A real star performer. I could give a song-by-song breakdown and analysis, but it would be like describing honey to someone who has never tasted it. Only by experiencing it yourself could you fully understand. Their thirty-minute set was one of the best performances I’ve seen this year, and I have absolutely no doubt they will be one of the highlights of the 2026 festival season. One of the most exciting bands that I’ve seen in 2025, and I’ve seen a lot of bands.
© Myke Gray Photography
As they left the stage, I said to myself, how do you follow that? That unenviable task was to be taken up by Swedish band Solence. A line-up that consists of Markus Videsater (vocals), David Straaf (guitar), Johan Sward (keyboards), and David Vikingsson (drums). Apparently they’ve been together for over a decade and released five albums, but this was their first time on my radar.
Visually, they were a stark contrast to what had gone before. The whole band were dressed head to toe in black. The first thing that hits you is the energy. I would describe their music as a Techno-Pop-Metal hybrid. The audience certainly knew who they were and were into it from the get-go. Videsater brimmed with confidence; he was certainly no stranger to this environment. He took the lead, and the crowd were willing followers. He wouldn’t look out of place in a boy band, but this lad has a golden voice. His stage movements are more like a rapper than a Rock star, but he is an extremely effective frontman. He reminded me a little of early Mike Patton in that regard. Their songs are fun and uplifting, designed to get people out of their seats and onto their feet.
Song titles like ‘Good Fucking Music’ and ‘Animal In Me’ make a mission statement that’s loud and clear. But I hasten to add that these guys are incredible musicians. Straaf is a terrifying guitar player; the speed of Malmsteen, with the precision of Gilbert. Not names I would throw around lightly. Keyboardist Sward is also an extremely accomplished soloist. He wanders the stage armed with a mobile synth. The two of them exchange in some serious interplay throughout the set. The openers set an extremely high bar, but the following act appeared undaunted by the task. They had absolute faith in their abilities and knew the audience were on their side. The bottom line is they are a great band, with some good songs, and have their finger on the pulse of what kids want in 2025.
© Myke Gray Photography
This evening’s special guests, Catch Your Breath, hail from Austin, Texas. Their line-up consists of Josh Mowery (vocals), Cianan Madigan (bass), Teddy Herrera (guitar), and Onell Hernandez (drums). The two previous bands were supercharged with octane energy, so by comparison, when Catch Your Breath took to the stage they looked remarkably composed. The open song ‘Savages’ opened with a monstrous riff that immediately contradicted my early diagnosis. Mowery, wearing a beanie hat and a black bomber jacket, causally walked to the front of the stage and delivered his first line. Instantly, it all made sense. The reason he is calm and collected is that he is fucking brilliant. He has one of those voices that cuts through the stratosphere and stops you in your tracks. From this moment on, it was quality all the way.
There are a lot of dark and light dynamics within their compositions, which some might say are Emo influences. When the riffs come, they are extremely heavy, but their not-so-secret weapon are the soaring top line melodies sang by an incredible vocalist. The obvious comparison would be Chester Bennington, but his voice has more vulnerability and less anger. There is high quality songwriting in evidence all through the set. ‘Dark’, ‘Good In Goodbye’ and ‘Y.S.K.W.’ are all fantastic songs that showcase Mowery’s immense talent. He interacts with the audience at an emotional level, and lets the music do the talking. He doesn’t have to overcompensate, his voice is enough. But this isn’t a one-man show, his bandmates are all great musicians, and they put in a flawless performance. They close their set with ‘Shame On Me’ to rapturous applause. Mission accomplished. Catch Your Breath are a quality band, with quality songs, performed by a world-class singer. I have no doubt they are on an upward trajectory.
© Myke Gray Photography
So, onto the main attraction; earlier in the year, I got to see tonight’s headliners perform three songs at Download, and I was very impressed with what I saw. I was looking forward to seeing an entire show. Nothing More are an American band from Texas. They’ve been around for two decades, but their first release was in 2014. Their line-up consists of Jonny Hawkins (vocals), Mark Vollelunga (guitar), Daniel Oliver (bass), and Ben Anderson on drums.
An overly long intro tape certainly started to wear thin, and there was huge relief when it finally came to an end. I was shooting for the first three songs, so my attention was mainly directed towards the visual dynamic. Once the band finally made it onto the stage, it was hard to look anywhere but the barefoot and bare-chested frontman. His physicality is spectacular, and he carries himself like an elite athlete, white spray paint strategically covering parts of his torso. As he stood looking out over the crowd, it was akin to watching a hungry lion surveying the savannahs of the Serengeti. His star quality is undeniable. The crowd made it perfectly clear who they had come to see. Three fantastic bands had performed prior, but no one was going to steal the headliners’ thunder.
Once I had left the chaos of the photo pit, I could concentrate on the show as a whole. The sound was pristine, and the band sounded fantastic. I wasn’t familiar with a lot of their material, so for most of the set I was listening to songs for the first time. Musically, they are hard to pin down. There are obvious influences, but they are also extremely unique. The songs are generally built around a strong rhythmical groove. The use of technology is very evident, but that is hardly uncommon these days. There are great riffs and big power chords that give size and dimension, but the one thing that really makes this band stand out thing are the top line melodies and vocal performance. Yes, he looks amazing, but the undeniable fact is that Hawkins is a great singer. I enjoyed the entire show, but the real standout song for me is ‘If It Doesn’t Hurt’. It was quite early in the set, I suspect over time it will be featured much later. Another highlight was the drum battle between Hawkins and Anderson. The singer was originally a drummer, and obviously a very good one at that. I got a taste of what this band was capable of at Download, but seeing them at full force in a headliner capacity was another level entirely.
© Myke Gray Photography
All in all, this was a fantastic night out. I got to watch four absolute killer bands. I doubt that anyone left that venue feeling shortchanged. Possibly the best value ticket of the year.
Review: Myke Gray
Photos: Myke Gray Photography
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