Date of Event: 19 February 2016

Location: GameChanger World, Howell, NJ

The lights had finally went on after the previous astounding sets from local EZcore band Bad Case of Big Mouth and Paris, France's very best Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! came to an end. You could feel it in the air. The tension and hype that was built up from waiting many a day and many a night for the opening trigger of what was about to come. I See Stars.

So many things have happened since the last time I See Stars came around like this; a full, electronic hardcore band with their additional light set up and stupid heavy bass that other bands in this genre could only dream of achieving. They toured their 2015 unplugged release Phases last year with ambient acoustic sounds and stringed instruments, very unlike their usual heavy selves. A lineup change occurred, having many question whether or not I See Stars would continue on with their electronic hardcore music, and this tour is what determined that.

Although a quick demo was uploaded to Facebook, it wasn't until February 19th when their first new single, "Mobbin' Out" dropped, showing they were staying along with their heavy guitar and synth combination. Essentially, this tour, entitled the Light in the Cave Tour, was either going to be a breath of fresh air or a strike in the heart.

It was time. The now four-piece band that crafted love in the hearts of their fans had walked up on stage. Everyone went crazy as some dubstep started playing to get the crowd moving a little, and before we knew it, they went right into one of their greatest hits, Filth Friends Unite, getting everyone prepared for what was to come. Although it would have been much more effective later in the set, it made everyone vibe enough to feel it was still going to be a strong set.

Going through their set list, which included singles like Violent Bounce, hard hitting bangers like Crystal Ball, and fan favorites like Electric Forest, they really didn't play anything that anyone at the show was upset with. Toward the middle of them playing, they did a full band rendition of the song "Youth" featured on Phases, which sounded pretty, but didn't really get the crowd moving too much, but they made up for it in the end.

The opening synth for Murder Mitten started playing and it got everyone's hot and sweaty attention as it was their so-called last song, or at least before the encore that is. Out of all the songs they had the opportunity of playing that night, that one was definitely the most adored by the fans and best performed of the night, leading into the crowd chanting their lungs out for one more song before they got totally damaged by screaming the lyrics of Ten Thousand Feet. 

As hard as Ten Thousand Feet went, almost every other time I See Stars has come to town, Filth Friends Unite had closed and finally ended the show in the best way possible, but the people who came out to GameChanger World that night were totally digging the encore picked by the band.

Prior to coming to the set, there were many questions, but the most frequently asked question was along the lines of "Will Devin Oliver (their singer) be able to hold up screaming in place of Zach Johnson (their ex-screamer)?" There may have definitely been a good surplus of people who were not happy with the performance of the band with only one vocalist in comparison to the olden days of two. Regardless of consensus, I See Stars has gone over and above expectation as always, and remains to be one of the best live performance bands in the hardcore genre.