Sideways rain, 180-odd sweaty emos and one very unlucky ceiling light. I Promised The World turn Daltons into the best basement show of 2005…
Words & photos by Cameron (@aussie_media) | 28 Oct, 2026
On Tuesday October 26th, I made my way down to Daltons (a venue on the Brighton seafront) during a storm as I Promised The World were bringing 2005 back t0 2026. I missed 2005 the first time round and I was determined I was not going to miss it again.
The line up was stacked, a sold out show, and no good reason to be outside. A perfect recipe for a hot, sweaty, chaotic show.
First up is a teenage deathcore band called No Mercy For The Mauled. I could spend a paragraph trying to explain the band, their style, and the kind of fan who should look them up, but why do that when I can just say “they are a teenage band called No Mercy For The Mauled, wearing graphic Tees, who did a perfect cover of a Chelsea Smile song”. Watching them I was reminded of watching videos from house shows where bands like Suicide Silence, Thy Art Is Murder, Old School BMTH would be playing in a living room, all playing the cheapest Ibanez guitars, and running on the spot. Sometimes it feels like that time has long gone, but No Mercy For The Mauled proved me wrong.
Next up and the second local support is the Post-hardcore powerhouse of Brighton that is Chasm. I’m always a fan of a band that will go on stage and have fun, and before they start their set, the on stage banter with the sound engineer already had me bought in. Reminiscent of La Dispute mixed with ALEXISONFIRE, they got the crowd moving from riff one. Poetic lyrics sung over the kind of riffs that almost demand you to headbang, Chasm were the perfect step between No Mercy For The Mauled and Rosasharin. Chasm are the typical “if you know, you know” band. They play regularly in the Brighton scene and are a must see for anyone who gets to catch them. Their next advertised show is the 12th November with Ahsoka at the Hope and Ruin. Make sure to catch them.
Now we enter the section of the night that hopped a pond to get here. I can’t help but feel sorry for Rosasharin, the Texas based Post-Hardcore main support, as I look out to the sideways rain and wonder if this is either a terrible, or very accurate first impression of England.
If they had any thoughts on the cold, then it must have been a quick flash as I don’t think a single member of the band stayed with both feet on the ground for more than 10 seconds. Bursting out the gate, lead singer Landon was already pushing the crowd screaming the lyrics, and having the mic fought for as the crowd clearly were already aware of the emotionally driven lyrics. With clear inspirations from Silverstein, Saosin, and early Underoath, the set felt like a true bombardment of screeching riffs, melodic clean guitar, and thumping bass. Daltons itself isn’t the biggest venue, but when it’s jam packed with 180+ fans desperate to mosh, crowdkill, and singalong, it feels even smaller. But never cramped. By the end of the set, the howling winds outside felt a million miles away as the sweat dripping of Landon, the mic, and everyone under that roof made it feel like a true basement show from the early 2000’s.
Finally, to cap off a night of incredible throwback emo tunes, the reason so many people braved the storm hit the stage. I Promised The World was everything I could’ve hoped for. With a crowd that were more than suitably ramped up from Rosasharin, it was practically at boiling point by the time lead singer Hunter Wilson screamed “Jump the fuck up”. The crowd, dutifully obliged.
Daltons is a regular for fans of hardcore, heavy, emo, and alt music, and I can safely say that this is one of the most insane sets I’ve ever seen. People crowd surfing, accidentally breaking a ceiling light in the process, and singing along to every word gave an incredible sense of community. Something that I have to say I haven’t seen in a long time.
None of this is to mention how incredible the band as a whole were to watch. This is clearly a well oiled machine as they were locked in enough to make it look effortless. Kicking out at the crowd, jumping into mosh pits, as well as throwing the mic to the crowd, at no point did they play a bum note or fall out of time with one another.
By the time the final note rung out, we were just blown away. With the ceiling dripping with sweat, I felt like I was right back in the early days of 2005 emo. All I was missing was drain pipe jeans, crazy Drop Dead Graphic tees and a fringe that is 80% hairspray and 20% white monster energy.
Leave a Reply