The Narrator Make Explosive UK Debut With A Sold Out Show In Leeds
photo by Samantha Potts - @startthepenguinphotography
January 16, 2026 - Leeds, UK
In recent years, Germany-based metalcore rising stars, The Narrator, have gained a lot of rightfully earned attention especially in their home country - that love quickly spread over to the UK when one of their big-hitting singles, “Purgatory”, started making waves on social media. Since then, the band has been swamped with requests to make the journey to the UK and make their much-anticipated debut. That dream became a reality when they were announced to support fellow German post-hardcore friends, Annisokay, across their sold-out UK tour.
The tour rolls into The Key Club in Leeds for what was set to be a very cosy evening. The show was an instant sell-out and tickets became hard to come by, which was made apparent by the queue that wrapped from the door to around the street. The fans were eager to get in straight away to pack out the venue, braving that usual Yorkshire wind chill on a brisk January night.
photo by Samantha Potts - @startthepenguinphotography
photo by Samantha Potts - @startthepenguinphotography
With The Narrator being first up on the bill, it was fairly obvious the demand was certainly there for people to come and see them, with the room being close to full straight away. Their set got off to a huge start with the single that kicked off 2025, “Drawn, Conned & Deceived”, quickly followed by the in-your-face “Pills From The Start”. The crowd were instantly eating up every moment of this set. I mean, we had waited what felt like a lifetime to see them in this country. Despite the lack of pits, the constant breakdowns from the band kept the heads banging throughout, and the energy both on and off the stage never halted at any point.
You can see on each member’s face just how happy they are on the stage, each song sung back to them with so much joy and passion just highlighting exactly how much the band are loved over here. The set continues with more mammoth tracks including recent single “Aurora” that was released in November last year and instantly shot to being one of their top listened to tracks. The live experience from this band is something special; the minute they walk on stage, they have you gripped with what they are doing and continue to keep that attention for the duration of their set — the in-your-face breakdowns paired with the incredible vocals of both bassist Rob and lead singer Fabian whose growls were on another level, leave you desperately wanting more — 30 minutes for this set was really not enough.
photo by Samantha Potts - @startthepenguinphotography
photo by Samantha Potts - @startthepenguinphotography
photo by Samantha Potts - @startthepenguinphotography
They round off what was a very explosive set with a very heavy ending — one of their heavier songs of the set, “No Answer”, started the first pit of the night during its insane breakdown before completing the night with the song most people were waiting for in “Purgatory”, sending the crowd into a wild frenzy, screaming and moshing for the duration. The wait to see these boys on stage in England was certainly worth it, and when you see just how strong their set was, you can see exactly why so many people wanted them over here.
You can catch them again taking to the stage in the UK as they return to London twice later in the year on the dates below, as well as a full-scale EU headline tour across September & October.
The New Cross Inn, London UK - 10th April
The Black Heart, London UK - 15th October.
