By Jack Walsh
It was the last night of February, and the streets of Manchester were alive with activity. Among the chaos, a noise was brewing on Whitworth Street West… What was that noise? And what was with the long line leading to the O2 Ritz?
Canadian post-hardcore band, Silverstein, was in town, ready to celebrate their 25 Years of Noise tour!
Kicking the night off, opener, Thursday, began with a single purpose, to bring the noise.
Their brute force bellowed through the venue as fans wasted no time filling the pits. It was mayhem from start to finish.
Up next, The Callous Daoboys and Bloom took to the stage. Both set their sights on turning this already-beaten crowd into a raged and frantic mass of individuals. An exhausted, yet excited, audience swept into a second wind of energy that spread like wildfire across the venue.
The pits were alight with a burning new fire that raged through, bodies flying everywhere.
Then, Silverstein entered. ‘We’re so glad to be back,’ shouted frontman, Shane Told, as the crowd erupted to the opening tracks, taken from their most recent albums.
Was there a theme regarding time in their set?
Skin & Bones, and Confession, were the first to grace us. Crowd surfers gathered in droves, carried forward to the barriers, all wanting to be as close to the band as possible. For one, that dream came true! A fist bump from the frontman himself; a quick-fire moment I wished I had captured on camera…
But it wouldn’t be the last time a moment like this presented itself; Silverstein has always been a band that gives everything to their fans!
‘We’re working our way back in time; we’re in 2012,’ Shane announced. There was indeed a theme to this set! Cue One Last Dance, a song neither the crowd, nor myself, could resist chanting.
The time came to slow things down as the acoustic guitar came out, and The End was about to begin. Hands raised, phone torches lit, and vocals echoed throughout the venue. It was a beautiful sight to witness.
The calm didn’t last long, as tracks My Disaster and Dagger sent the crowd into a frenzy, full of rip-roaring guitars, peppered with an earsplitting drumbeat. Everyone was having the time of their lives!
Jumping high fives from Shane and Billy on the stage, crowd surfers screamed of joy as their fist bumps and hand slaps connected with band members. It painted a picture that the night would be remembered, not just by the fans, but by Silverstein themselves.
As the final acoustic solo, My Heroine, began, you could tell Shane was loving every second of this night. ‘We can be better; we can be louder’, he told the audience. A smile painted across his face.
As the band rejoined the stage, they burst into the iconic single Smashed Into Pieces. The setlist was nearing its end, but Silverstein wanted to go out with a bang.
‘Manchester, are you ready?’ It was the last song of the night; and tiredness had settled in. Was there enough left in the tank for the final song, Bleeds No More? You bet there was!
As the gritty lyrics battered the crowd and the guitars echoed out for the final time, the whole place transformed into a sea of bodies moving as one, giving everything they had left. We finally reached our conclusion. The final notes rang out, and for a brief second, everything was still; we were savouring the moment. The roaring cheers followed, and Silverstein took their bow, a fitting end to a night that served as both a celebration and testament to their impact on the scene over their remarkable 25-year journey.
Photography & Text Copyright 2025 © Jack Walsh/ADRENALINE Magazine.
Chloe Morris 
Alisha Lawton 
Tyler Whiting