Concert Reviews

LOATHE PITTSBURGH SHOW REVIEW

Published

2 years ago

November 14, 2022

It was a packed crowd at the Spirit Longue for the opening night of the I Let It In, and It Took Everything Us and Canada tour featuring Loathe, Statis Dress, Omerta, and UnityTx. Tonight, the crowd would be in for a blend of nu metal, rock,hardcore, progressive, pop, punk, and in parts the extreme, as these bands have elements that go off the beaten path at times pushing the song sonically to a new plane. With the advancement of pitch shifters, and electronics these bands have a vast array of sounds at their disposal to wield at their will, building heavier creative rhythms to get the crowd moving.

UnityTx was up first, the band is a cross of nu metal, rap, and hardcore. The songs come out hard and heavy, with a beatdown style to them, low tuned and having a bounce. The vocalist was very active throughout the set pacing the stage and even getting into the crowd during the set. The crowd was getting amped and the first of many mosh pits for the night broke out.

Omerta took the stage next, this band falls more on the heavier side of nu metal, adding elements of experimental metal: noise, pitch shifting, and feedback paired with precision time break beats, think Dillinger Escape Plan and Tallah. The music has the bounce while coming fast paced and aggressive. To pair with the audio chaos this band throws down on stage, every member putting maximum effort in to visually grasp everyone in attendance’s attention. By this time in the show crowd members were climbing onto the stage, to stage dive; the energy level of the crowd was a force to witness.

Hailing from the UK, Static Dress was up next delivering a sonic ensemble of post hardcore, punk and emo to the stage. Vocalist Olli Appleyard was very energic: using all the stage for his theatrics, engaging with the crowd, and encouraging sing a longs. A standout, on stage was the masked guitarist Contrast, this night he was wearing what looked like a purge mask blacked out along the mouth and forehead. While adorning a black raincoat, his presence was haunting while keeping the melody going. The crowd at this point was fully locked in, feeding out of Appleyard’s hand as the band played through their set.

Loathe was next, batting clean up to all these heavy hitters tonight. This UK band takes progressive, nu metal, and alternative metal, and blends it with the melodic, while spicing things up with occasional harsh vocals. At this point of the night, people were standing on top of each other to witness the band play through crowd favorite after favorite. Loathe kicked things off with ‘Aggressive Evolution’ and playing through ‘Two-Way Mirror’. On Screaming, the crowd joined in with vocalist Kadeem France’s more somber vocal lines. The band continued through ‘Is it Really You?’ and ‘I let it in and It Took Everything’ before coming back out for an encore of White Hot.

If you are looking to expand your musical horizons, I highly suggest you catch Loathe and Co as they are performing the ‘I let it in and It Took Everything’ album in its entirety. You will be in for a full sonic assault. This is a high energy show, so expect the crowd and the bands to be moving for the night.

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.

About Author

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.