Ithaca Cremation Party at O2 Academy Islington, London 2025

I’m a big fan of celebrating your life before it’s over – and the idea of a band’s ‘cremation party’ struck a chord with the fans of the metal core outfit Ithaca, who announced they’d be bowing out sometime in October 2024. When the day finally came, on Saturday the 8th of February, there was a queue swirling all around the entrance to O2 Academy Islington, with fans eager to witness (what we all thought was) history.

Ithaca has put together an amazing lineup to send themselves off (and a ‘girls to the front’ one!). Opening the proceedings, against the funeral floral arrangement spelling ITHACA at the back of the stage, Forlorn warmed everyone beautifully with their ‘Midsommar metal’. Juxtaposing atmospheric soundscapes with crushing growls and riffs, Megan Elliott’s vocals seamlessly go from angelic to terrifying in a way that pulls you in and just doesn’t let go. Forlorn are an incredible band to see live, with the folk motives playing together not just in their music, but also in magnetic stage presence, beautifully accentuated by the flooding stage lights bathing the band in red and blue hues that perfectly matched the mood. Their latest single ‘Funeral Pyre’ from the upcoming album Aether is a must listen and you can catch them on the 28th of March at The Black Heart in London at their headlining LP launch.

The next ones to warm us up for Ithaca were Knife Bride, the nu-gothica pioneers from Brighton. With romantic vocal cries and fast, prog / metal inspired riffs, the band add a touch of melancholy to the nu-metal nostalgia, creating a captivating narrative both within their songs as well as on stage. Mollie Clack, the vocalist, delivers not only a pitch-perfect vocals, but also a visceral performance. The crowd was eating up the energy beaming from the O2 Academy Islington’s stage. Their set didn’t leave us without their recent single ‘TERRITORY’ and the proggy ‘MELANCHOLIA’. If you love Kate Bush as much as you love Bring Me The Horizon and Haken, you will love what Knife Bride bring to the table. You can catch them on 24th February headlining The Grace in London, and they are also confirmed for Noizze Fest.

Finally, after the DJ spun some crowd favourite tunes (that you wouldn’t normally associate with a funeral, like Avril Lavigne’s ‘Sk8ter Boi’ which got everyone going) and the stage got decorated with some additional floral arrangements, it was time for Ithaca to say their final goodbyes. The moment Djamila Boden Azzouz arrived on the stage in a funeral outfit with a gorgeous veil fit for a Corpse Bride, the crowd started to shout ‘WE LOVE YOU!!’, making it clear just how beloved the London metalcore quintet are. It was also obvious how touched and overwhelmed by the outpouring of adoration the band were.

After performing a ceremonial bow to the floral arrangement bearing their name, they fittingly started their set with ‘Cremation Party’ and instantly chaos ensued. The band’s chemistry was undeniable – as you would expect for over a decade as a unit – and they delivered an unstoppable performance. The first part of the set was the perfect mixtape of their two albums – the 2022 They Fear Us and the 2019 The Language Of Injury. Guitarists Sam Chetan-Welsh and Will Sweet, bassist Dom Moss and drummer James Lewis all delivered a powerful performance to a never-ending stream of adoration from the crowd. ‘In The Way’ and ‘Future Says Thank You’ followed ‘Cremation Party’ and by that point, the crowd was absolutely ready for a circle pit.

From then on the energy just kept soaring, and Djamila kept removing elaborate elements of her mourning widow outfit (first came the veil, last went the dress itself) allowing her more freedom to completely own the stage. After treating the audience to ‘Language Of Injury’ and ‘Camera Eats First’ and ‘Otherworldly’, the second part of the set suddenly got extra special as Drew Haycock, the original bassist of the band, joined them on stage for ‘Ashes’, to an absolutely roaring applause. If that wasn’t enough, the band then performed ‘Ithaca’, an unreleased song performed live for the very first time. ‘Fluorescent’, weaving between slower tempo followed by racing riffs just to fall into slow and articulate growls and finishing on a delicate guitar melody provided a beautiful set up for fan voice notes that were played out as the band was taking their bows.

But we would be fooled if we believed that was the end. Ithaca returned for a huge encore, starting with ‘My Own Summer (shove It), a Deftness cover that got the crowd riled up. They followed it up with the titular ‘They Fear Us’ that got an ever louder roar and the final blow came in the shape of ‘Impulse Crush’, solidifying the love between the crowd and the band.

It has since been announced that Ithaca’s actual last full band performance will take place at their (and mine) spiritual home which is ArcTanGent festival, with the O2 Academy Islington being their last London headline show – which makes sense as this is their home turf. If you couldn’t get down to London, make sure to head to ArcTanGent – the band promised a unique set for their actual goodbye. Seeing how the Cremation Party went down – they will be sorely missed.

Artists: Forlorn, Ithaca, Knife Bride