Supported by Eville and Chaosbay, Lake Malice arrived in Nottingham for one of the most emotionally charged nights of their current run. The show at Rescue Rooms marked the second-to-last date of the tour, adding an extra sense of significance to the evening. That feeling was heightened by the fact that vocalist Alice Guala was battling illness but continued to perform, downing honey in between each song...
Eville took to the stage as the first support of the evening, bringing their ‘Brat Metal’ blend of alt-metal, nu-metal and electronic music to the crowd, with vocalist/guitarist Eva Sheldrake and bassist Jude Richards sporting Twilight T-shirts.
They gave a high energy performance, running through their relatively small back catalogue of tracks, including crowd favourite Bikini Top, new single Flip Phone and Fetch! to end.
The band had constant interaction with the crowd, something that support bands often struggle with, but the encouragement to start a few pits was high, with Sheldrake and Richards even joining in and still singing while they ran. Eville are a band that continually get better each time they tour and can only go up from here.
Second billed support came from German band Chaosbay who were bringing their impressive, progressive metalcore sound to Nottingham for the first time. They opened with the previously unreleased track How Does It Make You Feel?, which had the crowd on their side immediately, with the soaring melodies and heavy riffs, alongside MANIAC IN THE MIRROR which had a more progressive sound.
The surprise of the night, and something vocalist Jan Listing said they weren’t sure how it would be received as it was “released 50 years ago” , was a cover of Message in a Bottle by The Police. Surprisingly, they managed to transform a classic track into a modern metal anthem that the audience loved.
Chaosbay closed their set with ARE YOU AFRAID? a song with a huge chorus, closing out their time with a bang.
Headliners Lake Malice are one of the UK's most talked-about emerging alternative metal acts. They exploded onto the Rescue Rooms stage and straight into a set list of old and new favourites alike. Fresh off the release of their new album I Wanna Know If It's Real, vocalist Alice Guala was joined on stage by guitarist Blake Cornwall, as well as session drummer Emily Ainger.
Opening the set were Chrome Red and Scatterbrain from the new album, before a run of tracks bouncing around their discography. The crowd ate up every line, with pits and crowd surfers taking over Rescue Rooms.
Eva and Jude from Eville returned to the stage for Main Character Energy, bringing a welcome boost of energy to compensate for Alice’s illness.
Heading towards the end of the set, Alice told the crowd that despite the track rly ok having a saxophone on it on the album, their budget didn’t stretch to one for the live show, so three fans with blowup versions joined the band on stage, where the excitement was truly electric.
As the second cover song of the night, New Religion, originally by Faithless and Bebe Rexha, was a surprise to many but Lake Malice’s version really pushed the track further, with the crowd dancing out the last of their energy. Bloodbath, from their debut EP Post-Genesis, was chosen as the track to close the set, and as it was their last chance of the evening, the crowd truly went for it, with every last drop of their energy.
With material that lands as hard as it resonates emotionally, Lake Malice continue to prove why they're one of the most compelling rising forces in UK alternative music. The pair are confident, captivating and impossible to ignore; they will be headlining arenas before we know it.
Lake Malice performed at Rescue Rooms on 7 October 2026.
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