Loathe Conquers Austin With a Brutal Yet Beautiful Set at Emo’s 

Sofia Slack

Music Reviewer

AUSTIN, Texas – Red and yellow lights pulsed through the thick fog as the crowd pushed toward the barricade, sweaty and restless. The hum of anticipation was electric. When the first distorted chord rang out, the floor shook, and the venue collectively lost its mind. For the rest of the night, Austin was in for a beautiful and memorable night of ballads and pure chaos. 

Loathe, an experimental metalcore band from Liverpool, United Kingdom, was formed in 2014 and consists of vocalist Kadeem France, guitarist and clean vocalist Erik Bickerstaffe, bassist Feisal El-Khazragi, and drummer Sean Radcliffe. Their unique blend of aggression and ambiance has earned them a reputation for blurring genres — merging metalcore brutality with shoegaze, post-metal, and ambient textures. 

I got to Emo’s right when the doors opened at seven, and the line for the sold-out show was already wrapped around the plaza. Inside, people were packed shoulder-to-shoulder, buzzing with adrenaline. You could feel everyone was there for chaos — the good kind. 

The night kicked off with SPY, who wasted zero time setting the tone. Their hardcore punk energy hit like a brick wall, and the mosh pit opened within seconds of the first riff. The floor was pure mayhem — elbows flying, bodies colliding, and everyone moving like they were possessed. SPY’s short, vicious set got the blood pumping fast, and by the time they were done, the crowd was already drenched. 

Then came Trauma Ray, whose hazy green lighting and dreamy distortion completely flipped the atmosphere. Their shoegaze blend of emotion and fuzz felt almost hypnotic — like being caught between a dream and a panic attack. They transitioned effortlessly between crushing riffs and serene interludes, ending their set with their fan-favorite “Blend.” The pit went wild one last time, and a few crowd surfers took flight (myself included). 

By the time Loathe began setting up, the entire venue had transformed. Fog rolled across the floor, swallowing everything until only silhouettes remained. The crowd went quiet for a moment — the calm before the storm — and then “Screaming” hit like an explosion. 

The pit turned into an absolute war zone. People were throwing down, jumping off the barricade, and crashing into each other like it was a full-contact sport. I decided to hop in for about two seconds before realizing I was not built for that life — I got spun around once and immediately teleported back to the sidelines. But even from the edge, you could feel every breakdown in your chest. 

Loathe’s set was this perfect balance of chaos and catharsis. Tracks like “Two-Way Mirror” and “Is It Really You?” gave everyone a moment to breathe — heads swaying, eyes closed — before they ripped straight back into “Gored” and “New Faces in the Dark.” Every note, every scream, every flicker of light felt intentional, emotional, and heavy in every sense of the word. 

The lighting kept shifting from blood-red to nostalgic yellow, mirroring the music’s mood swings — rage to serenity, destruction to reflection. Even through all the noise, there was this weird peace in it. 

After their last song, the crowd begged for one more. Loathe then fulfilled our request and came back on to play us two more songs. People were drenched, gasping for air, but still yelling like their lives depended on it. 

This was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. Loathe created a small world around us to feel safe and a sense of belonging for everyone — it was like you’re inside the sound. It’s emotional, it’s violent, and you just can’t look away. 

By the end of the night, everyone looked destroyed — in the best way possible. Hours of waiting, sweating, and getting tossed around blurred together into one massive, euphoric release. Loathe didn’t just play for a crowd; they made us feel connected with them as one.