Show Review: Every Time I Die (All Stars Tour - Atlanta, GA)

Full disclosure; I showed up late and missed the first few bands.

When I finally arrived, For All Those Sleeping were in the middle of their set. I walked around and checked out merch for a bit. To be honest, I didn’t watch the next two bands, IWABO or CTC, for obvious reasons. Stray From The Path finally took the stage and got the crowd going with their new single, Badge and A Bullet. Which is very Rage Against The Machine influenced, if you ask me. Before they played, I made a comment to their guitarist Tom about dedicating their song iMember to CTC and FATS, which he thought was hilarious but they didn’t play the song unfortunately.

Up next was the legendary hardcore band, Terror. Scott Vogel, the vocalist, called for many stage dives, which the crowd happily obliged to. I was impressed that an actual hardcore band, let alone Terror, were playing this tour; I guess they were high up on the bill so they didn’t care who they played with.

Veil of Maya, who I have seen many times, were up next. The crowd noticeably dwindled down for them but I’m sure that the kids that left were the ones with the trendy Keepers of The Faith hoodies.

Cardona, a local GA metal band that played downstairs in the venue, were kicking butt as they headlined the local stage that night. After them, I walked back upstairs to see Chelsea Grin. Alex’s vocals actually sounded really good compared to when I saw then on their headliner last year. The newer material was awesome; Jason’s influence has definitely made the band step it up musically.

The lights go out. Paul Engemann’s “Push It To The Limit" is blaring over the PA. Every Time I Die walk on stage; chaos ensues. Buffalo, NY’s finest open their set with We’rewolf from “The Big Dirty” and the crowd goes nuts. The band convinced the venue to allow stage diving that night, which made the show so much better. The band played 23 songs, 12 of which were all from albums ranging from “Gutter Phenomenon” to their latest release, “Ex-Lives”. After the first 12 songs, they walked off stage for a short intermission and then returned to play their 2003 release, “Hot Damn!”, front to back. Nothing more needs to be said.

Show Review: Parkway Drive w/ The Word Alive, Veil of Maya (Atlanta, GA)

The venue was packed before the first band ever graced the stage. Tons of kids in line waiting for a band that hadn’t since their fall US tour with Bring Me The Horizon, and Architects UK.

While She Sleeps, a metal band from Sheffield, England were up first. The vocalist, Lawrence Taylor mentioned during their set that it was the band’s first time in USA and were loving the reactions from different crowds and cities. They got the crowd off their feet and moshing, which is suprising for an opener. In case you missed this tour, you can catch them on the entire Vans Warped Tour this summer.

Veil of Maya put on a perfect show, in every sense of the word. Marc Okubo's guitar playing was phenomenal, Danny Hauser was slappin’ da bass like a boss, Sam Applebaum hit the drums like Chris Brown hit Rihanna and Brandon Butler screamed his way through a mix of old and new hits. Opening with the instrumental, “Pillars” from their second album, “The Common Man’s Collapse" and transitioned in to another song from that album, "We Bow In Its Aura". The rest of their set included a few of my favorites such as "Unbreakable", "Crawl Back", "It’s Not Safe to Swim Today", and fan favorite, "Punisher"

The Word Alive came on stage next and frontman Telle Smith commanded the crowd with “2012”, a song from their 2010 debut, “Deceiver”. Their set included a majority of songs from their latest record, “Life Cycles”. He didn’t do his signature back flip but they still put on an amazing show.

After what seem liked forever, it was Parkway Drive's turn to play. The crowd was already push-moshing before the band came on while “Sparks”, the intro track to their newest record, “Atlas” played over the PA. “Old Ghost/New Regrets” was up next on the setlist. Winston McCall, the ferocious vocalist, noted he had been coughing up blood the last few days but the band sounded better than the last two times I had seen them. During the end of the set, Winston asked the crowd if they'd rather hear a new song, “Swing” or an old song, “Romance Is Dead”. The crowd opted for the latter and erupted in the pit when guitarists Luke and Jeff played the opening riffs.

Winston also added it had been two years since Parkway Drive had made it from down under for a North American tour. Tons of crowd surfing, stage dives (when the security guards weren’t looking), and sing-a longs made the night unforgettable. Don’t miss the rest of this tour!

Show Review: Underoath (Farewell Tour) w/ mewithoutYou, As Cities Burn, Letlive

On their farewell tour, Underoath played a two night stint at The Masquerade in Atlanta, GA. I was lucky enough to catch the second night/next to last show. While having friends letlive, As Cities Burn, and Mewithoutyou help along with the tour, Underoath made this a night that Atlanta could never forget.

Letlive, who was personally asked by Underoath to be on this tour, performed first to get this Atlanta crowd fired up. Lead vocalist Jason Butler was all over the stage, whether it be hanging from the ceiling or singing in the crowd. Butler’s screams and his bands instrumentals had this crowd in the palm of his hands, controlling their every move.

Atlanta were definitely not strangers to letlive; they were singing the lyrics along with Jason, including one of my favorites, “Muther”. At the end of their last song, Butler grabbed one of the drum cymbals, gave a crowd member a drumstick, held the cymbal in front of the fan and let him strike it after the instrumentals had stopped.

As Cities Burn played next;  being on the same record label as Underoath, fans were also familiar with this band. They didn’t go as hard as letlive but they still gave this crowd a hell of a performance. This progressive rock band was anticipating Atlanta for Underoath’s arrival. With Tj Bonnette screaming and his younger brother, Cody Bonnette singing clean vocals, you could just hear how much potential ACB brought to the stage. This reunited (although they broke after the tour ended) band earned great amounts of respect for Atlanta and also myself, with it being my first time ever hearing them.

Mewithyou seemed out of place on this tour but their soft-paced music allowed to the crowd to rest up before the headliner came on.

Finally, Underoath made their way on stage. Chills went down my spine, anticipating their first song. Neon lights, strobe lights, and a projected video filled the stage. So much creativity filled Underoath’s stage. From crowd surfing, to slam dancing, and to mosh pits, Atlanta was delivering a show just as well as Underoath. The city holds a special place for the band, as Spencer noted during their set. They had recorded many a time at Matt Goldman Studios for their last couple of albums.

While announcing that this was Underoath’s last show in Atlanta, Spencer received boos from the crowd, he then said “Boo? Don’t boo me, it’s hard enough as it is, I’m trying not to cry, I’m trying to be a man!” while he burst into laughter. 

With the crowd knowing all the lyrics, ranging from Underoath’s new and old songs, this show was a successful night for this band. There’s no doubt that Underoath’s frontman, Spencer Chamberlain did what he does best, impressing his fans, what he’s been doing for the last 10 years. Thank you for everything, Underoath.

- AJ

Attila Interview Questions

We’ll be interviewing Attila on Thursday at the Outbreak Tour if anyone has some last minute questions to contribute.

Cartel Announce Hometown Show

Cartel have announced that they will be playing at Swazye’s in Marietta, GA on September 29th. The 250-cap venue is where the band played their first show in 2003, and the show is in celebration of the venue’s 10 year anniversary. Tickets are on sale here.

Track By Track: Cardona’s “Seasons”

Looking to push for something different, Cardona are a five piece ambient/post hardcore/groove metal group pulling together an original/universal sound to connect with all listeners. With the release of their debut EP, “Our Thoughts Manifest This World,” the group quickly developed a stronger following in the following weeks after the release. With a new debut album “Seasons” topping the charts on Got-Djent.com with the single entitled “Seasons (ft. Daniel Adel)”, the band is quickly becoming an established name in the metal scene. Vocalist Samuel takes us through their new album, Seasons.

Insight

The first song on the album, this piece starts out talking about opening one’s mind. Accepting the fate of every man before you, one has to deal with the all the hate and stress the world offers. In order to even have a chance on this earth you have to be able to adapt to every challenging moment or you’ll be left in the wake.

Our Thoughts Manifest This World

Continuing the story, our thoughts is about using the collective mind force of all those alive to progress. With everyone going through life struggling with the same problems, we ignore the fact that people have similar problems. We go through life fighting a war alone. These “problems” that seem to be so overwhelming at times are universal. If we could just work together as a unit instead of individuals we would see that we could accomplish so much more, giving people hope for a better tomorrow.

Seasons

Seasons is basically the theme of the album. Like being lost in a dream realm, this song show how disorienting life can be. One major incident from the past can send a person into a vicious cycle of hate and sorrow. The cycles play out like the seasons; starting off to face the problem in spring and you’ve already failed come fall. Having to cope with that failure or loss, winter can be devastating eye-opener to those that can’t beat the cycle. Many people lose hope when they realize the same problems that affect them last year continue to plague them. We just have to learn to buckle down and face our fears, which is where our song Ariadne plays in.

Ariadne

Ariadne is about perseverance. Everyone is on their own path trying to reach an end. All plagued by hardships, we must continue to press forward regardless of what falls and who falls around us. Sometimes all we have left is the sheer remembrance of the fallen to keep us going, but we cant allow ourselves to get caught up in the sorrow of their grief or you might as well be dead. In plainer terms, push forward no matter what, but don’t forget the one’s who’ve fallen around you trying to accomplish the same thing.

Providence

To me, this song is our heaviest on the album lyrically. The whole first section is saying how cold-hearted the world is. Some people live in a bubble and are completely oblivious. They just walk their path aimlessly, forgetting all the while that we should all be lucky to be alive. People get so caught up in griping about the day to day problems, that they lose sight of all the accomplishments they’ve made to get to the point they are currently at. For some it is going to take an extremely tragic or devastating event to awake them and appreciate what they once had.

Atlantis

Being the final song on the album, Atlantis wraps everything up. This song brings a closure to this constant struggle that has maintained itself throughout the album. From the beginning of the album you’ve been trying to figure out why all these terrible things have to happen to you, or why that one traumatic event is still eating away at you. By Atlantis you’ve come to the conclusion that any action, regardless of outcome, is in the past. There is nothing you can do to change what’s happened, so you can’t allow yourself to get caught up in cycle that’s only going to keep you stuck in the rut. We hold on to things that do nothing but hurt us, and wonder why we are depressed. In order to move forward you must turn around and let go. Being stuck in the past is only going to have you back where you started.

Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount launch ZK Productions

Producers Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount (Mayday Parade, We Are The In Crowd, Cartel, The Ready Set) have launched a new studio in Alpharetta, GA. Click here to see pictures of the new studio, hear clips of work, book time, and contact them.