SUPPORTED BY SPIRITBOX, BAD OMENS AND STRAY FROM THE PATH
American metalcore band Underoath is currently wrapping up their Voyeurist North American tour, where they are supported by Spiritbox, Bad Omens and Stray From The Path. On March 20th they stopped in Starland Ballroom which is in South New Jersey town Sayreville.
Written by Andris Jansons
Voyeurist tour is about to come to the end with few shows left. And while the bands have been touring already since February 18th, they did not show any signs of fatigue. Actually, on contrary, all bands were performing with extreme energy.
First one on this night were Long Island natives Stray From The Path. While bands musical style can be interpreted in many ways, I really got that hardcore punk feeling listening to their songs, their onstage persona and lyrics. While they opened set with The House Always Wins, it was the second song Outbreak that made me think “Well, this is punk rock!”. You know, whenever you hear “Fuck The System” said repeatedly, you make no mistake.
What can I say? The band was simply amazing, and full of energy. Vocalist Andrew Dijorio was all over the stage, delivering powerful social messages with poise and passion. The band performed variety music from their ten studio albums, and also played their latest single Guillotine.
See full photo gallery from Stray From The Path performance here.
Next came American metalcore band Bad Omens. Band just released their new album The Death Of Piece Of Mind. You can read about it here. All first songs from their set were from the new record – The Death Of Peace Of Mind, Artificial Suicide (bands vocalist Noah Sebastian wore a mask while performing it), Like A Villain and What Do You Want From Me?. Rest of the songs were taken from their second studio album Finding God Before God Finds Me.
It was not my first time seeing Bad Omens live. They never disappoint. High energy performance is what you can expect from them every time. Bad Omens are poised for a success as their newest album has reached 11th position on Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums. After finishing tour with Underoath, Bad Omens will continue to tour with In This Moment.
See full photo gallery from Bad Omens performance here.
Bad Omens were followed by a Canadian sensation Spiritbox. Band released their debut album Eternal Blue in September of 2021, and instantly gained good reviews. Band is widely considered as metalcore. They opened the set with Rule Of Nines, standalone single not included in their debut album or any preceded EP’s. There was one more single like that called Blessed Be, while other songs from set were from Eternal Blue.
Bands vocalist Courtney LaPlante was beautifully transitioning her voice from melodic singing to a growl, while her husband Mike Stringer was shredding on the guitar. On the song Holy Roller she was joined by none other than Will Ramos from Lorna Shore. Needless to say, that this collaboration received very loud and positive reaction from the fans. Band wrapped up their set with title song Eternal Blue.
See full photo gallery from Spiritbox performance here.
Underoath performance was preceded by a masked man delivering a message to the audience. With his mask being illuminated as electronic human face, he asked audience to raise hands and fell the atmosphere and this specific time and place. As soon as the man delivered his message and disappeared into the darkness, Underoath stormed the stage under the pulsating lights and exploded with Damn Excuses, the song from their latest album Voyeurist. They followed with Breathing in a New Mentality and On My Teeth. Their set consisted with representation of the most of their albums while leaving out their earliest ones.
See full photo gallery from Underoath performance here.
With Underoath hard hitting style is hard to imagine that they did not use a single profanity in any of their songs, until that happy day when we first heard On My Teeth. While it was understood concept for a band that has been strongly labeled as a Christian band, though band themselves are distancing themselves from that label.
Vocalist Spencer Chamberlain delivered in your face aggressive performance, while bands guitarists played so close to the edge of the stage that any fan could easily reach out to them. Christopher Dudley was trying not to get lost between all the instruments that he is in charge of playing, and he did not miss a beat while doing all that with an extreme level of energy. And that was exactly the feeling you got, no matter where you stood, right by the stage or further away, full onslaught of in-your-face aggressiveness and energy. Absolutely astonishing performance!
