By Andrew Bansal
September 20th 2015, The Troubadour, West Hollywood CA: Longstanding Boston MA metal band Unearth released their sixth studio album ‘Watchers Of Rule’ in 2014, and continuing on the touring cycle in support of the album, are currently on a US run with opening act Wovenwar (plus Extinction A.D. (for some shows), comprising headline shows as well as a handful of gigs as main support to Atreyu, including an appearance at the Troubadour in West Hollywood last Sunday September 20th 2015. Atreyu, Unearth and Wovenwar arrived at a sold-out Troubadour, and lived up to the ticket holders’ expectations with an intimate evening of high-energy American metalcore/modern metal.
At 8 PM, Wovenwar took the stage for a 30-minute set. For those unfamiliar, Wovenwar was born out of the ahses of As I Lay Dying in 2013, when members of that band recruited Shane Blay of Oh, Sleeper as their frontman. They released their self-titled debut album in 2014 via Metal Blade Records, and even though they played a string of headline gigs that year, this was Metal Assault’s first sighting of the San Diego metalcore quintet. The Troubadour was already packed to capacity by the time they started their set. Playing to a largely new audience, they created a positive impression, and despite the mid-range of the guitars missing from the sound mix to some extent, the vocal melodies came through strongly and were the main feature of the set. Besides Shane Blay’s lead vocal delivery and frontmanship, bassist Josh Gilbert played a huge role with his vocals, and the last three songs of the set with Blay donning a guitar and making it a three-pronged guitar attack certainly stood out as the most enjoyable segment, the set-ending ‘Prophets’ in particular. Wovenwar bring a lot of experience and pedigree to the table and based on this performance, are solid representatives of the genre they’re pursuing.
Next up, Unearth played a 45-minute set that impressed one and all in attendance, and they proved that even in 2015, 17 years into their career, they possess every positive trait they started out with, whether it be the individual and collective musicianship of all five members, the energy, or the sheer entertainment value that comes from the antics and acrobatics of guitarists Ken Susi and Buz McGrath. Unearth presented an ideal blend of tunes, including material from ‘Watchers Of Rule’, their marquee album ‘The Oncoming Storm’, and suitable selections from the rest of the discography. The Maiden-esque guitar harmonies sounded crisp and crystal clear, and the modern metal elements were just as powerful, as the breakdowns initiated a slew of mosh pits in the crowd. Ken Susi and Buz McGrath jumped off the amp stacks several times during the set and landed successfully each time. Towards the end, Susi and McGrath ventured all the way up the staircase on the left side of the stage, into the balcony, and played the last song from there, with McGrath positioning himself on the actual railing and naturally turning all heads downstairs around and up. Amongst the wave of bands they emerged from in the late 90s, and now, long after that wave has receded, Unearth still remain flawlessly strong. An undeniably triumphant performance.
And lastly, Atreyu appeared on the stage at 10:25 in front of this crowd of highly enthusiastic fans of theirs. These fans were singing along to every word of nearly every song, and the atmosphere inside the Troubadour was filled with excitement. Even though Unearth fits the inclinations of metalheads far better than the Orange County-based Atreyu, the latter has also been a band for the same duration, and the catchiness of the vocal harmonies in some of their tunes cannot be ignored. Ending a three-year hiatus, they made a comeback recently and released their sixth album ‘Long Live’, their first since the 2009 effort ‘Congregation Of The Damned’. Based on the material they presented off of the newest album, it is one of their better efforts, and judging by the crowd response, they deserved to headline this show.
With three great performances, the audience was treated to an enjoyable evening from beginning to end. Metalcore was a lot more popular a decade ago, but despite its reduced fan-base, there is clearly still an audience that loves and supports it. Seeing a three-band metalcore show at a place like Troubadour was in many ways a throwback to the starting phase of the sub-genre. Hosted by similarly sized smaller venues back in the day, metalcore garnered fans rapidly because of its high-octane nature in the live setting. For longtime fans, this Troubadour gig was a glorious reminder of that period, and for newcomers, it was a taste of what it was like.
Overall, Atreyu, Unearth and Wovenwar combined to put forth a tremendous show that vindicated its sold-out status.
Unearth remaining tour dates:
with Wovenwar:
9/22 – Las Vegas, NV @ LVCS
9/23 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
9/24 – Portland, OR @ Analog Cafe & Theater
9/25 – Walla Walla, WA @ Main Street Studios
9/26 – Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
9/27 – Vancouver, BC @ The Venue
with Atreyu and Wovenwar:
10/11 – Baltimore, MD @ Sound Stage
10/12 – Norfolk, VA @ The norVA
with Wovenwar and Extinction AD:
10/14 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony
10/15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Rex Theater
10/16 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballroom
10/17 – Toledo, OH @ Frankies
10/18 – Buffalo, NY @ The Studio @ Wating Room
Atreyu / Beartooth / Wovenwar tour dates:
10/02 – Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom
10/03 – Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life Festival (Atreyu only)
10/05 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House
10/06 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre
10/07 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
10/09 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
10/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Rock Allegiance (Atreyu only)
11/14 – Orlando, FL | Kink Music Festival (Atreyu only)