Wembley Arena, London
Thursday 1st December 2022
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SHINEDOWN – WEMBLEY ARENA – LIVE REVIEW
Shinedown fans have long wondered why the band had yet to progress to Arena’s in the UK. Having grown exponentially in this region over the past decade, recent tour expectations had been larger venues for the group, only for the band to opt again for academies. Not this time though, welcome Shinedown fans to Wembley Arena!
The final date of their first full arena tour, tonight feels like a big moment for the band and the atmosphere in London echoes this. Outside may be a Christmas wonderland but inside the venue rock fans are more than ready for an evening of entertainment.
Opening proceedings on this run of dates is rapper Zero 9:36 who does well to warm up the early attendees with his brand of rock. Next up, Asking Alexandria get a hero’s welcome as they arrive onstage and they return the favour with a solid set featuring a number of clear fan favourites which really ramps up the energy levels.
Both bands have done a great job, but tonight is really about one band and there isn’t long before Shinedown make their big entrance. The band have a new album out, ‘Planet Zero’, which is incidentally their highest UK charting album; so it’s fitting that they open with new track, ‘The Saints of Violence and Innuendo’, as they begin their biggest UK show to date.
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‘Devil’, ‘Planet Zero’ and ‘How Did You Love’ all follow as they band stamp their authority on the stage. For their biggest UK shows, they’ve brought their biggest ever production to these shores and the visuals tonight are just as stunning as the music.
Amongst the newer material of the last decade or so, we get a splattering of early material such as ‘45’, which is up next and helps elicit just one of many huge sing-a-long moments.
The band have amassed a seriously deep back catalogue and the setlist tonight is well curated to showcase all the talents of the group from the heavy to the heartfelt. The juxtaposition of ‘Cut the Cord’ straight into ‘Second Chance’ really highlights their dexterity.
By the time ‘Sound of Madness’ brings the show to a close, there can be no doubters that Shinedown absolutely belong on the biggest stages. There are many Download Festival t-shirts in the audience tonight and it’s fitting because this was a performance worthy of headlining the UK’s premier rock festival!
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