Concert Reviews

BABYKLOK TOUR:UPMC Review

Published

1 year ago

September 11, 2023

UPMC Events Center on the Robert Morris University campus was host to the Babyklok Tour 2023 featuring Dethklok, Baby Metal, and Jason Richardson on September 8^th. A strange mix for a show, but oddly, it works. Pairing the guitar virtuoso stylings of Jason Richardson with the metal pop mix of Baby Metal and the cartoon chaos of Dethklok, this audience was in for a broad spectrum of what is metal for the night. This vast appreciation of metal could be seen in the crowd tonight, as there was a mass diversification of merchandise and costumes worn by the crowd, from anime to death metal band shirts and everything in between. It seemed like a lot of the elements of these genres were represented tonight.

Jason Richardson warmed the crowd up this evening, and with some backlights, a front platform at his disposal, and a guitar in hand, this crowd was in for something special. Richardson is a very accomplished and well esteemed guitarist in the scene, having worked with All Shall Perish, Born of Osiris, Chelsea Grin, All That Remains, and many other projects. I think a showcase of the performance was seeing the different variations of Jason’s signature Ernie Ball guitar as he would change guitars between songs. Some of the standouts were “Retrograde”, which had a backing track of Periphery’s Spencer Sotelo singing on the track, and also “Upside Down” which was co-written with the band Polyphia, before wrapping things up with “Ho’s Down”, a genre-blending amalgamation combining metal, jazz, and bluegrass.

Baby Metal took the stage next, engaging the crowd right off the bat with chants of B. A. B. Y. Metal! The front women of this band came out with high energy; from crowd work to choreographed dance moves, these women continued to smile ear to ear throughout the performance. Each song performance had vivid backdrops and lots of flashing lights to pair with the performance. There were times when there was so much going on that I didn’t know what to focus on first. The band was very tight and shined during their solo sections, holding down the rhythm for the night. Some of the standout performances were “Distortion,” featuring Alissa White Gluz of Arch Enemy and “Metali” which features Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine.

As the last band was getting set up, on the backdrop was a QR code for the latest Dethklok album, Dethalbum IV, so that attendees could listen to the album before the band would take the stage, something I have not seen before from a band. Closing the night out under the veil of darkness, Brendon Small and company took the stage to bring to life the audio stylings of “Nathan Explosion”, “Skwisgaar Skwigelf”, “Pickles”, “Toki Wartooth”, and “William Murderface to Life”. The crowd cheered as the Cartoon Network show was cast on the back screen and the band started off with the “Deththeme”. Dethklok played through several fan favorites, including “Murmaider” the “Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle”, and “Thunderhorse”, before closing out with “Bloodlines” and “Go Into the Water”.

If you are looking for a fun metal show to take in for the evening, make sure to check out the Babyklok tour 2023, which goes through October. This tour covers a wide array of metal and its subgenres, so there is a little something for everyone here.

About Author

George Archibald

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Concert Reviews

The Nothing That Is Tour

Published

3 days ago

November 18, 2024

George Archibald

Another fall evening in the Burgh, the air was crisp and cool, setting the mood for a great night for metal. The Roxian in McKees Rock, PA, hosted The Nothing That Is Tour tonight, featuring Fit For An Autopsy. Bodysnatcher, Distant, Sylosisand, and Judiciary. Fit For An Autopsy brought some of the heaviest and nastiest together to throw down for all of you. An eclectic banding of hardcore and deathcore acts that are making waves in the metal community.

Judiciary kicked things off, their music a blend of hardcore, thrash, and punk. Their songs had thrash riffs with hardcore rhythms and breakdowns, with an occasional solo thrown in. With horns raised in the air, the crowd gave these Texas natives a well-received welcome. This band was a great start to the night, bringing the energy in the room up quickly.

Sylosis came out to a fury. Their vocalist ripped at the crowd from the start, asking for a circle pit as they kicked off. This band had moshers and crowd surfers amped up as waves of bodies started coming over the front barricade. Throughout the set, the energy never let up, as this band kept pushing the crowd. This energy came to a high when their newest single, “The Path,” was performed. High-paced hardcore mayhem throughout the set, this band had a vast amount of tricks in their bag, from solos to even groove to bring to the party.

At the midpoint of the show, Distant took the stage. This band is over-the-top heavy, riding low-tuned grooves into devastating breakdowns. The vocalist has a wide range, from high-pitched screams and growls to bottom-of-the-barrel gutturals. Distant announced their newest album, Tsukuyomi: The Origin, is a week away from coming out. Which kicked off the single “Torturous Symphony.” At this point, no one was standing still on the floor as moshers were on the move. Bodies colliding into each other until the band finally stopped, at this point the crowd was completely warmed up.

Deathcore veterans Bodysnatcher took the stage next to show Pittsburgh how to throw down. This band rides a low groove while keeping the energy high, accompanied by the unrelenting low growls of vocalist Kyle Medina. The band kicked off with “King of Rats” and went right into “Dead Rabbit.” The floor was swimming with bodies as the band raged on. Other standout songs were “Take Me to Hell” and “Black of My Eyes” before closing out on “Murder8.”

Headliners Fit For An Autopsy took the stage with a fury, kicking off with “Lower Purpose” into “A Higher Level of Hate” for a nasty one-two punch out of the gate. Seasoned veterans now in their careers, the band looked very polished and primed. FFAA just released their newest album, The Nothing That Is. The band played through several hits, “Black Mammoth”, “The Sea of Tragic Beasts”, and “Hellions”, before diving back into their latest album with “Hostage”. The crowd stayed up and moving through the set as Fit For an Autopsy is a Pittsburgh favorite, having visited the city several times during their tenure.

The Nothing That Is tour showcases some of the heaviest bands touring right now. Fit For An Autopsy have updated their live show and look ready to take the world fresh off the new album. If you are looking to release some steam or to hear some new music, The Nothing That Is tour will not disappoint.

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George Archibald

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Concert Reviews

STRYPER ON A SUNDAY. YES PLEASE

Published

1 week ago

November 13, 2024

Ron

STRYPER was just in Baltimore the other day on the 40 years of Stryper tour. Playing 2 sets spanning those 40 years. I’ve only ever seen Stryper play at M3 so it was amazing to get to see a full on set then another full on set right after.

For the 1st set we got the 1984-1990 set which included songs like “Loud N Clear”, “Soldiers under Command” and “To Hell with the Devil”.

The second set we got 1986, 2004-2024 with songs like “No More Hell to Pay”, “This i Pray” and ending the night with “Sing along Song”.

It was a great night for Music and sadly more then likely the last show at RamsHead Live I’ll be ever to attend as the are closing their doors (hopefully will be open again with a new venture) but the show was amazing to see Stryper play on the stage. Such great guys and a great band. I love that Stryper is fully engaged with the fans and the show is always amazing. I love that they put their religious beliefs 100% on display but the show never feels preachy or judgmental. If you get a chance to see Stryper play in your city I fully recommend it such a great time and a great band to see play live.

About Author

Ron

Ron has keen eye for new talent, a love for the underground, and a tremendous passion for music of any genera. You’ll probably bump into him at a horror convention or some seedy club checking out the next need-to-know band.

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Concert Reviews

King Diamond brought the Halloween party to Silver Spring MD

Published

3 weeks ago

November 2, 2024

Ron

King Diamond who’s on tour now with Overkill and Night Demon.

Overkill always puts on a great show and shows that face pace thrash metal is still kick ass. Led by NJ’s Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth Overkill has that distinctive sound with Bobby’s high pitched and raspy vocals. With songs like “Scorched”, “ Rotten to the Core” and “Hello From the Gutter”, Overkill got the crowd into a frenzy and warmed up the stage before the king.

You know it’s gonna be a good night when it’s 3 days before Halloween and you get to see a kick ass set from King Diamond. King Diamond who’s 68 right now still commands that stage and sounds amazing with his insanely falsettos. The stage show at a King Diamond show is always such a great sight to see. With a multilayer setup of stairs and little pieces of elaborate set all over it’s such a great view and perfect setting to watch a King Diamond set.

The set list was amazing too we got to hear songs from such a great career like “A Mansion in the Darkness”, “Halloween “, “Spider Lilly”, “Welcome Home”, and “Eye of the Witch” and of course ending the night with “Abagail”.

If you’re a fan of King Diamond or just a fan of great music that adds that Halloween haunted asylum themed stage performances then you need to go out and check this tour now. King Diamond never disappoints and always puts on one hell of a show.