​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. 

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George Archibald

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