Tilburg Sees Caskets Grow and The Word Alive Stand Out
British melodic metalcore band Caskets is currently on their headlining tour across the EU and UK in support of their new album ‘The Only Heaven You’ll Know’, joined by The Word Alive as special guests. We caught the tour as it stopped in Tilburg on Sunday night, where the evening unfolded with memorable highs, unexpected contrasts and a sense of a band trying to push into the next chapter.
The Word Alive opened the show with a set that began with a slow-burning crowd but quickly erupted into full participation. Their first track, ‘2012’, had the audience warming up, but by the next one (‘Trapped’) their vocalist, Tyler Smith, had everyone jumping, screaming and waving their hands without a pause. It had been a while since the band had played in the Netherlands, so at one point they filmed a segment of their performance capturing the crowd’s explosive response. Their setlist, which included fan favourites like ‘One Of Us’ and ‘NO WAY OUT’, landed flawlessly thanks to crisp instrument separation and powerful vocal clarity.
Despite the whole band moving around and clearly having fun onstage, it was the drummer, tucked tightly into a corner, who stole attention with character and impressive stick tricks. His energy alone felt like a show within the show. The crowd fed off it, fueling moments like a wall of death and a circle pit that swirled entirely around a fan holding up a custom sign for the band. The Word Alive noticed him, and after the set they rewarded his enthusiasm with a setlist and a drumstick, earning huge cheers from the room. By the time they closed with ‘Life Cycles’ it was unmistakable that they had delivered a headliner-caliber performance.
Caskets entered to a warm welcome, kicking off their set with ‘Closure’, one of the standout singles from their new record released just three months ago. From there, they moved fluidly between older favourites and fresh material — ‘The Only Heaven You’ll Know’, ‘Make Me A Martyr’ and ‘Drowned in Emotion’ — highlighting their effort to fuse their melodic metalcore roots with the broader, more atmospheric direction of the new album. A highlight came during ‘More Than Misery’, when Tyler “TELLE” Smith of The Word Alive returned to stage to perform his feature live, sending an extra wave of energy through the room. ‘Lost in Echoes’ followed, while ‘Glass Heart’ closed the night, ending the set on a strong, emotionally resonant note.
Despite the performance’s intensity, Caskets faced noticeable mixing issues, with the drums sitting too prominently in the mix and often overpowering Matt Flood’s vocals. While the band delivered each song with passion and commitment, the imbalance occasionally softened the impact of their newer, more atmospheric tracks, making The Word Alive’s earlier, cleaner set feel all the more striking by comparison.
Still, Caskets’ sincerity and ambition shone through. With the tour set to end on 18 December in Bristol, the Tilburg show captured a band still evolving — flawed in places, powerful in others and determined to keep growing with every date.
