London-based metalcore outfit TheCityIsOurs formed in 2015 and have spent the better part of a decade sharpening their sound, a tight, emotional blend of melodic metalcore, alt-rock flair, and raw energy.
They’ve built momentum through a series of releases: early EPs like Wildfire and Hollow Hope laid the groundwork, before their 2019 debut album Low made waves.
Since then, even after lineup changes, with new vocalist and frontman Oli Duncanson stepping in, the band signed with label Arising Empire and continued to evolve, dropping 2025’s Will You Still Love Me?, full of emotionally charged tracks like “In The Dark”, “Dopamine” and “Shame”.
On record they walk the line between heavy riffing, screams and melodic hooks, and live, that contrast becomes something visceral. A mixture of catharsis, aggression, and shared vulnerability.
Downstairs at The Dome, the 300-cap space in Tufnell Park, filled up fast before TheCityIsOurs took to the stage. For a band who’ve toured extensively across the UK and Europe, this felt special, intimate yet intense, like the band and their fans were crashing through any distance between artist and listener.
When they hit the first chord, the crowd reacted immediately. The mix of crisp cleans and guttural screams from Oli cut through tight guitars and pounding drums, instantly pulling people in and demanding the crowds’ attention.
One highlight came when the room erupted into a spontaneous circle pit. Bodies slammed together, arms flailed, and the pit swallowed anyone brave enough. It was messy, sweaty, there was beer spilt and it was chaotic, in the best way. It wasn’t planned; it was born from energy, urgency, and a shared need to feel something.
Between songs, Oli didn’t hide behind any rock-star distance. He voiced thanks to the crowd with heartfelt sincerity, connected on a human level, and made the tight space feel like a gathering of friends. The atmosphere flipped from hardcore recklessness to sincere vulnerability with barely a break, that tension is the core of TheCityIsOurs’ power.
Sonically, the newer material stood out. Tracks from Will You Still Love Me? especially “In The Dark” carried a weight that felt different live: heavy but hopeful, angry but honest. The contrast with older material made the set feel like a journey, a snapshot of a band growing, shifting, but always grounded.
At the end of it all, the air was thick. Sweat, heaviness, adrenaline. But also something calmer, the kind of quiet after a storm, where you realize you’ve shared something with everyone around you. Fans left with ringing ears, bruised spirits, maybe a bit of leftover adrenaline, and you could see it on their faces. Satisfaction.
They didn’t just play songs. They bled them. And in doing so, they turned The Dome into a moment worth remembering: for the band, and for everyone who came through those doors.
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Words and photography by Amy Showell
Broken Static Magazine 
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