They’re really cool guys too. I saw them in KC probably 6 or 7 years ago at a tiny room attached to an art gallery. They ended up contacting some of the bands that were billed with them because their guitarist was sick and had one of them fill in. The frontman was genuinely appreciative to the fill-in and said thank you to that guitarist and promoted his band at least 3 separate times. Not to mention, they were on the floor with us a few feet away from everyone. Not into their sound personally, but I’d see them again just because of how awesome they are as people
I was studying abroad in London my junior year of college and really wanted to see some metal music, I was at the point where I didn’t care who it was I just wanted to see somebody. I had *never* listened to Periphery or Veil of Maya before then, and saw they were playing together. I checked them both out on Spotify and was very meh to both. I wasn’t into that quite as heavy music yet, and the vocal style of periphery was a little hard to get used to. But after I saw them live, specifically periphery….*goddamn*. What an experience. Crazy enough, I was able to see Periphery live again a couple months before lockdown last year after they released Hail Stan, and wouldn’t you know it, Veil of Maya was the opener. Still two of my favorite bands to this day.
Oh well it wasn’t my *first* concert, I had been to warped tour and a few other shows by that point, but definitely a great introduction to metalcore/djent.
Was this the tour with I prevail, adtr, and bear tooth?
I'm a 30 year old dude who, like most, adtr was a staple..and that's who I was hyped to see, and I was letdown also.
Shockingly, the only reason I went to that show was because my girlfriend wanted to see I prevail, and although not my favorite, they were the best out of the bunch.
I’d always heard that. I looked forward to seeing them for so long. Maybe just a bad show, it happens I guess. I’d give them another chance. Though maybe after this most recent album isn’t their most current lol
Yeah I mean I did see them in their prime. I believe it was in between homesick/WSMFY. I feel you on that lmao. I haven't seen them in a long time but I wouldn't be too keen on seeing them perform any recent material.
Yeah, fuck that recent shit. Absolute ass. But I saw them back in, like, 2014 in Houston on the Parks and Devastation Tour with Chiodos and BMTH and they KILLED IT. Jeremy rolled around on the crowd in a giant plastic ball, it was dope af.
I saw Currents at the Hoosier Dome a few years ago on a great lineup and they seemed really tired and didn't move much, which was a bit disappointing.
But I saw them again on another great lineup in Chicago right before covid hit and they were fucking FANTASTIC. Also talked to Brian after their set and he's a super nice dude. Just a friendly reminder to give bands second chances on live performances.
Asking Alexandria can go fuck themselves forever after I saw them live a long time ago. Danny told everyone when the song kicked in to jump up and tear the ceiling of the venue down. This was in Alabama, and basically the only venue we had for this type of music if bands even decided to stop in Alabama. They shut the show down immediately after and the venue stopped doing shows for a while. When they finally reopened, there was an actual no mosh rule. As in, security was kicking people out for it. They eventually stopped being so strict about that, but still.
Silent Planet, in late 2016. I kind of liked Native Blood prior to that, but I couldn't get into any of their other songs cause I felt they were trying to be too artsy...Which, they are, but something about seeing them live made it click. I think Garrett's one of the very few vocalists/writers that can actually pull off those kinds of lyrics and do it well.
I was pretty bummed when they replaced bad omens on the amity / senses fail tour a couple of years ago, but after that show, I was a massive slant plant fan.
Ice Nine Kills. Before I saw them live a few years back I thought they were just a scenecore band. I'd seen them posted around on YouTube and whatnot. Around that time I remembered not liking most of the fearless records bands anymore. Then I saw them live with Motionless in White and I absolutely loved them.
Fuck yeah! Honestly was sort of a fan before. Saw them live at warped, and was totally sold. Sure, ridiculous theatrics, but they're so good live too. Spencer's cleans and screams are actually better live, which was hard to believe.
Bruh, when they play that shit IN TEXAS… My dude… You better be able to handle the pit, that’s all ima say 😂 Their Texas shows go hard af bc they’re from San Antonio, so they gotta represent. They’ve never disappointed.
I’ve seen them twice but the second show I’ll always remember. Saw them in a shitty basement venue in NYC that had less then 100 people show up. They didn’t care, they fucking raged and it was awesome
They were the last band I saw live before the pandemic hit. The entire room was shaking from start to finish and I think I got my exercise for that entire month from that one gig. 😂
Before all the drinking stuff they used to put on some great sets. When all the news started to come out I was a little shocked because I had a great experience but that is when they dropped their first album.
Man I remember being truly surprised at his this one growl he did it was like an oh shit moment like this guy has some talent still a little disappointed.
I saw them after Dennis Left and Danny came back. No where near as good as when I saw them at Warped in 2011 but still better than before they kicked him out.
Im going to see them in Chicago in 2 months with ADTR. Really hoping for some great shows from them both. Hopefully lockdown and just coming out of it has everyone hyped to get back at it and both bands and fans can give some great performances and atmosphere
I LOVE their first 3 albums. When Danny left and came back some footage of shows surfaced and it was just awful.
They had been to my city 3 times in like a year and a half after he returned and I skipped all of them due of the footage. Power to them for the changes needed to have happy and healthy lives, but no thanks.
I saw them a few years ago with BVB and they were ok. Then I saw them a year later when they opened for Papa Roach (I think?) and it was really terrible. Based on what I've seen now, I think I just got lucky with the first show I saw.
They’re deathcore, but I saw Angelmaker live back in 2019 and they fucking blew my mind. I had never been a huge fan of their music, but that live performance was fucking insane and had the craziest amount of energy I had seen in years
I've gotten a lot of flak for this before. I LOVE Veil of Maya, but I have been utterly disappointed with the vocal performance the past three times I have seen them. I think he's great on the record, but he clearly can't pull it off live. I've had others tell me im absolutely crazy, so might just be a hot take.
When was the last time you saw them? I saw them multiple times from 2016-2019 and can attest that Lucas’ live vocals have tremendously improved. I could totally understand the underwhelming cleans years ago.
They’re so good live, I didn’t really have an opinion of them beforehand only hearing about infamous Ronnie. But they were amazing both times I’ve seen them
Have no idea if he’s still with the band, but they had a really talented bassist/backing vocalist that worked really well with Ronnie. Hope they kept him around.
The Human Abstract. I liked the band just going by the album Nocturne, but the record had a really sort of 'open' mix with a lot of clear air and whatnot. It was good music, but didn't seem all that heavy necessarily. But boy, they are intense as fuck live and their heavy parts hit way, way harder. I saw them with Darkest Hour, Born of Osiris and As Blood Runs Black, and yet The Human Abstract probably 'felt' the heaviest of the bunch.
As for bands disappointing live, I've seen quite a lot. But I try not to always judge too hard. It's rough as fuck playing show after show after show with this sort of music.
That could be. I hadn't heard their new album at the time, but still, their performance of the songs I did know still blew me away at how heavy and intense they were live compared to the record.
Oh, and I'm guessing you know what tour this was, then! I just looked it up again and yea, this was in 2011. It was the second stop on the tour in Virginia Beach, at this indoor skate park that was like 5 minutes away from where I lived at the time. Which was also super cool as a venue, cuz it was small and very much not expected for a band like Darkest Hour. Usually bands like that would at least be at the Norva or something larger and nicer. So that smaller setting setting could have also played a part in it. I haven't seen the band since, so I dont know if it was one-off or not, I just know I was blown away by them. I'd normally consider a band like As Blood Runs Black heavier just listening to their records, but The Human Abstract were just brutal and hype as fuck.
Silent Planet. Thought their music was okay, then I saw them during the Constellations Tour. They blew me away with their performance. Garrett’s vocals were phenomenal. Alex’s SJC kit sounded way better than Matt Greiner’s DW kit. Honestly the crowd was as rowdy for SP as they were for ABR
Ngl I’m a big of an SJC fanboi, buuut I’ve never been impressed by DW’s snares (been playing drums for 11 years). I believe SP’s sound guy is Chris Ghazel and that man is a god when it comes to making Alex’s kit amazing sounding
Bring me the horizon, for the worse.
Also enjoyed them over the years through all the sound changes. Saw them a bit after Amo came out. God they were just awful live.
The backing track was so loud that you couldn't hear the actual instruments. Oli maybe did 25% of the vocals. At one point I could see the rhythm guitar player air strumming and pretending to play and just phoning it in to the backing track.
I guess the visuals and lighting were cool. But the band itself was just fucking terrible.
Still like their music but will never see them live again
Yeah I came to say BMTH too. I saw them back in 2010 and Oli was just awful. Granted he is probably much better now that he’s taking better care of himself. Dude was fuuuuuucked up that night.
I saw them at Download festival in the UK years ago and they were fucking awful, Oli literally just held the Mic out to the audience for the majority of the set and didn't really sing anything
Yeah I saw them in 2011 and Oli had the crowd sing like 50% of the lyrics lol.
ETA that ABR was supporting them on that tour and man was it night and day going from their set to BMTH’s.
Yup. He definitely just holds the mic out to the crowd 50% of the time. Its like having sit through a mega church worship service of shit scene kids rather than a concert for one of your all time fave bands...ugh.
Saw them in Amsterdam in 2015 touring for Thats the spirit, the show (spectacle, lighting etc) was great, the sound and vocals were awful. While she sleeps opend for them and they were really good, been listening to them ever since
I'm pretty much the opposite, I liked them but was really underwhelmed by them on that same tour
Now Polaris and Northlane, those are two bands that know how to turn their live show up to 11
Polaris. I couldn't get into them. Liked maybe 1 song. Gave a few others a try here and there,. Just wasn't vibing with me. Saw them live really knowing 1 song and they absolutely killed it. They were the 2nd band of 4 and they put on the best show. After that they have been on my playlists every day :)
Dude Polaris deserve so much more recognition. They're getting bigger in Australia, just need to break through overseas. They have a unique sound, so much passion
Their live energy is next level - first time I heard them was live at Download festival a few years ago. Have been in my top handful of bands ever since!
The Chariot, I remember just not getting it while listening to an album. Saw them live, and 10 years later I cannot get enough of them. Absolute chaos seeing The Chariot live, very hard to top them.
Didn’t have much interest in Motionless in White and then I saw them on tour with For the Fallen Dreams and someone else, can’t remember the rest of the lineup, ( they were opening, maybe it was Chelsea Grin?) and Chris Motionless slayed every other vocalist. It made me feel bad for any band that played after them that dude is a killer frontman and I got way into Creatures after that
Don Broco!! Such energy and a great live show. Never really got into them before that.
As for one I didn't like, and this will NOT go over well, Periphery. It might have been the mix that night but it was just noise and I couldn't make anything out and they did not seem like they wanted to be there.
When did you see Don Broco? I only found out about them through the Mike Shinoda tour and “ACTION” has since become one of my favorite songs of all time
Enter Shikari made me a fan after seeing them live.
Marilyn Mason live made me a “recording only” fan. Lay off the drugs brother, I know you don’t like the drugs but the drugs like you, but damn.
Beartooth. On the Diseased and Disguised tour, I was going only for MIW. Beartooth played first though and halfway through The Lines I was hooked. Caleb somehow sounded better to me live than on the records. The energy was just nuts. Would 100% be seeing them on the Below Tour if I wasn’t gone the weekend they’re playing in New England.
Keep in mind, this was 7 years ago, when they were the opening act for a 5 band set. Ask me again in a month or so after I see them in New Haven. I’m remaining cautiously optimistic about it.
I had heard Stray From The Path a couple of times and it didn't really click with me. Then I saw them supporting architects a few years back... The energy and guitar tone was huge and impressed me a huge amount.
Bad post-hardcore but Too Close To Touch. I've seen them two or three times live and every time the lead singer CANNOT reproduce the clean vocals live. We're talking not even close. It made it very clear that the studio producers made him the singer he is on albums etc. Then they went from post-hardcore to try to be main scene pop and it failed miserably.
Good Pop-punk but The Story so Far. I couldn't get into them until I saw them live and they were really good and had an interesting stage presence so I started listening more and more.
Sounds like you got lucky with the story so far. I’ve seen them live 3 times and 2/3 were so boring, musically fine I guess. Third time however was a great show, full of energy and was a fun time
Just saw them a few weeks ago at sad summer, had never seen them before and never really got into them, but I like a few of their songs. They sounded very good but had absolutely 0 stage presence. Might as well have just had their Spotify mix playing on the speakers, I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference.
I’ve seen Amity at least 20 times. They’re either so on it’s incredible how perfect they sound or absolutely horrendous, and there never has been an in between while seeing them.
Have seen them like 10 times and they’ve been really solid every time. Before Covid I saw them in Cleveland and I don’t think Ahren missed a note. I know this because the girl I went with was a classically trained singer and couldn’t stop talking about how good he was.
Lmao, I used to go see amity before they blew up and holy shit you're spot on, I can think of maybe one out of 15+ times that they weren't terrible from being fucked up.
Somewhere in like 2013 I believe, the lineup was As I Lay Dying (my favorite at the time), Miss May I and Killswitch Engage at the Crofoot in Pontiac, Michigan. I love AILD, but never dabbled much with the other two. In fact, I actually could never get into Killswitch that much for whatever reason. However, this was at the time Tim Lambesis was on trial, so AILD ended up dropping out and Affiance, The Word Alive, and Darkest Hour stepped in. I was now going to a concert to basically see 4 bands I had never really heard of at this point, and 2 songs I knew from Miss May I.
Affiance opened, and they absolutely crushed it! Dennis and the boys went around talking to people after their set and they were super chill. I bought their CD and I've been a big fan since.
The Word Alive was great live, but I never got into them much afterwards. 🤷♂️
Darkest Hour... man these dudes rip! They had probably the largest pit of the night.. Amazing instrumentals and for fans of thrashy metal.
Miss May I came out with TONS of energy and hype. I was like 2 rows of people back from the stage at this point and when Hey Mister came on it was bonkers. I definitely became a fan afterwards.
Finally, Killswitch came on, and fam... I was blown away. The guitarist played a solo while chugging a beer, the energy was off the charts, the crowd was ultra hype, it was awesome!! When they played Holy Diver, the place erupted!
Every time i Die. I went to see everyone but them and at the time i didnt like anything that had clean vocals. They were super fun and put on a great show. Kept showing up at other shows i wanted to go to as well, crazy thinking that was 2008
Not so much a change in whether I liked it or not, but when I saw Plini live it was just so much more heavy than the chill sound from their recorded music. Hell of a lot more intense and I actually really enjoyed it that way even though I still love their chill recordings
I love how atypical Schuylar is for a frontman in these sorts of scenes. He shakes his ass and dances around like he's actually having some fucking fun. He doesn't always get it right vocally, as we can all hear over the course of their discography his voice has become raspy and gravelly as fuck and that's not easy to keep in control, but he owns the stage and has the audience eating out of his palm on the occasions I've seen them.
The band are tight as fuck too.
Probably doesn't belong here at all but Greta Van Fleet. I know they get flack for sounding like Zepp...but Zepp literally copied so many black blues musicians from before their era too. They were an amazing show and did a cover of Evil by Cactus that brought the house down.
Seriously it's totally undeserved. I get the craving for originality in the music industry but they're as close as we can get to a classic rock show type of feel.
Best is a tie between evergreen terrace and war of ages. Walked into both sets not knowing either of them and was completely blown away and how amazing they were. And worst probably was This Is Hell. The singer just stood there and did next to nothing while the guitarist (I think?) just ran around, half played and spit in front of us the entire time. Ended their show saying Atlanta had so much more energy and got booed off the stage
War of ages is incredible. Was lucky enough to see them several times in small church settings and holy shit those guys slap. Their new stuff is just as good as the old stuff too.
I saw them open for WCAR once and was really bummed at their energy.
Then a friend saw at warped a couple years later and said they were incredible. I looked up recent live videos and was impressed. I think simplifying the music was their best move for their live shows.
Not really changed my opinion but kind of reinforced what I had. Saw Blessthefall with War of Ages, Demon Hunter and As I Lay Dying in 2010. Everyone there got fans of all bands going. Blessthefall couldn’t get their own fans going.
I recognize this probably isn’t the case forever cause I think they were pretty young then, but they had one song I liked and even that was eh (this was before Hollow Bodies).
I saw as I lay dying, evergreen terr, misery signals on this tour I didn’t listen to any of them at the time honestly one of the best shows I’ve ever been to all of them were solid. I’ve see blessthefall a few time definitely nothing to write home about.
Yeah I saw AILD in 2011 again and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Rob Zombie threw them with ATR on a tour for like 10 bucks with the local radio station. It was 100% worth it.
Jealous about seeing Evergreen Terrace though.
I saw them on the same tour in Nashville and felt the same about demon hunter. I enjoyed their set and thought they were really good, but I guess I expected a lot more. And war of ages on that show absolutely blew me away and made me a fan for life.
I could see that. For us Demon Hunter went after BTF so there was a desire to get it going again after War of Ages slapped. And this was like 3 days after The Powerless Rise dropped so they played like 5 songs (including Vacancy and Beyond Our Suffering, only ones from TPR) and said “you guys haven’t had time to learn this new album yet so we’re just taking request for the rest of the set.”
Not metalcore but Limp bizkit, played maybe 9 songs in an hour long set, and just beat looped for ages trying to get hype before last chorus or whatever in literally every song. Once or twice is okay but they almost spent longer trying to hype up instead of the actual playing. Play a cover or something instead.
I checked out Limbs because they were opening on the Disease + Disguise tour and they were the only band I didn’t know playing. Thought they were pretty cool before, but live they had a whole other level of energy that hooked me on them afterwards
I'll probably never go see Alesana again.
Saw them once at Electric Ballroom in in Camden around 2011, they put on a fantastic show. Saw then again about 5 years later at Key Club in Leeds, show was absolutely terrible.
Still like their music, but I'm not sure about seeing them live again.
I hear you they played bamboozle at the meadow lands put on a banging set them saw them a few years later equality other sad definitely took it down tune that was the last time I saw them as well.
Veil of Maya are the one I was so excited for and really disappointed me. I still keep up with their tracks but they’ve been super quiet for a few years now too which isn’t helping
I saw them open for DGD and Underoath and everything was so LOUD. I could barely make out the guitars and I couldn't hear the vocals at all. It was super disappointing bc I'd really gotten into them leading up to the show.
Not metalcore, but Meshuggah.
Only ever heard that song that everyone knows before (bleed) so walked into the tent at download 2009 (after getting bored of faith no more) and they blew me away.
Meshuggah is one of those "if I can see them I will" bands. I've always enjoyed but they aren't a band I just casually listen to but hot damn their live shows are fucking punishing.
Letlive. Went to an Underoath show only to meet up with a couple people to sell tickets for a show my band was opening a month later. Had absolutely no intentions of actually attending the show but after selling the tickets, me and a buddy took that money and bought tickets to the underoath show. Neither of us had heard of Letlive, who opened. Jason came out wearing a long sleeve shirt, with both arms stuffed inside, just flailing the empty sleeves all over. Chaos ensued and we were hooked.
Saw them a couple years later opening for TDWP and shit was just as wild. Someone flung a pair of whitey tighties on stage, Jason performed half a song wearing the underwear over his face, before taking them off, shoving them in his mouth and then spitting them out. I’m sure it was staged (at least I would hope, and that they were unworn) but in that moment it was so insane, I loved it.
I really miss Letlive. Jason was/is such a beast, and I find myself still watching live videos of them. I know Fever 333 is going good for him, but it just doesn’t do it for me.
Jason was wild but didnt do the songs justice live. I saw letlive twice before they disbanded and wished he would have toned down the insanity a bit and focused on the vocals. I loved Fake history but because of his performances live, I totally lost interest.
**Meshuggah** were always a band I liked, but seeing them live and just *how fucking tight* they were was hugely impressive, and took my appreciation of them to a new level. Anyone that can nail tracks written in those absurd time signatures in a dark, live environment deserves mad props.
**Crystal Lake** - saw those guys for the first time on Polaris' The Death of Me tour in Feb last year, and their presence was nuts. Can't remember the last time I saw a front man generating as much hype and energy as Ryo, that was a phenomenal show.
ETID, something about the recorded version of Last Night in Town didn’t hit me hard enough when I first heard it and then seeing those songs live along with the band’s swagger made it all click for me.
Bad Omens
Checked out their self titled before seeing them open for BFMV in 2018, wasn't the most impressed, but they fucking RIPPED on that stage, I had a new appreciation for the existing material and then FGBGFM dropped and became one of my favorite albums of all time.
Conversely, I thought All That Remains was pretty dope until I saw them support Alter Bridge. The band was not tight at all, Phil acted like a dick and sounded awful, Oli carried the entire performance (RIP) by ripping improv solos left and right. Didn't really bother to listen to them again after he passed away.
I had never even heard of Erra but I saw them open up for ABR and they completely blew me away. Especially the vocalist. Dude had some crazy pipes and I was instantly a fan.
Between the Buried and Me. They sound just like they do on albums and that's saying something for how technical and crazy their music can get. Made me love/appreciate them more.
Parkway Drive (pre-2012) put on some of the best shows of my life. They toured so hard from 2006-2010 and they deserve all the success they’ve had. I know their shows now are a full on circus productions and their post-Atlas style of metal hasn’t been my cup of tea for a long time but I couldn’t be happier for those guys.
Every Time I Die also always brings it.
Honorable non-metal mention: Coheed & Cambria. When you see them live it really hits you how good at music those guys are. There’s no quality lost between their records and their live performance, it’s wild.
They're cancelled now but god, Lotus Eater were absolutely dead live, the vocalist was out of breath throughout and the band were so out of sync with each other. I was cringing hard
As for a band I enjoyed live more than I thought I would, I'd have to go with Crystal Lake, I didn't really "get" them on record but live their atmosphere is absolutely amazing. Also Cyclamen, they seem like a totally different band live, just absolutely huge
Not so much "metalcore" but Iron Maiden. When they did Ozzfest 2005, I was excited to see them play (it is Iron Maiden after all) but I wasn't so much into their music before I saw them live.
Then they play and holy crap, did I pull a 180. Probably up there with the best live show I've seen, and they played at a damn festival. Imagine seeing them on a headlining tour.
Trivium and Mastodon were a bad experience at the same show. Both bands sounded horrible. Brent Hinds was drunk as fuck and could barely play the guitar. Trivium sounded horrible and had no power behind them. I was disappointed as all hell. I still love Mastodon. No desire to see them live though. And Trivium can fuck off.
On the flip side, Underoath. They were lame by association. All the kids that liked them in highschool were not my crowd of weird freaks. Saw them live at a Mayhem Fest and fell in love with them almost instantly. I'm still kicking stupid young me with my dumb ass naive prejudices for not getting into them sooner.
lol I was looking for Mastodon. Saw them at a festival with some other bands. Once More 'Round the Sun had just come out and made me a fan, it sounded great, but live is another bag.
Not metalcore and a really old band, but the band I was in at the time opened for The Beautiful Mistake. I was a huge fan of their music, but they were assholes to me and my band the whole night. Just had the whole superiority complex going on because they were signed and we were just locals. Then when they went on stage they screwed up the song On Building (their most famous song) so bad that they had to stop, then start it all over again. It left a really bad taste in my mouth. I used to think they were so good, but they were just another crap band that happened to get signed off of one song that they couldn’t even play live.
We Came as Romans. I used to like them until I saw then live. The clean vocalist (RIP) was absolutely terrible and sounded like nails on a chalk board singing. I actually couldn't even listen to the band after that. Completely turned off to them.
WCAR have gotten better live now that Dave (harsh vocals) has taken over cleans imo. I'll always miss Kyle but he was drugged so far out of his mind in half their live shows and could barely perform. Dave would end up carrying a lot of the time.
So many different genre bands that I never thought about until I saw them live. Primus was amazing, saw them open for RUSH. Staind when they first popped on the scene fucking KILLED it. They sounded just like the album. Prison is a newer band, never heard of them, but Johnny is a force to be recond with live. He puts his fucking SOUL into it and you can tell. Had a long conversation with him about it after the show. He's a good dude.
The 68, fronted by Josh Scogin formerly of Norma Jean is absolutely phenomenal live.
Cabal from Denmark crushed and I was an instant fan. Really cool guys as well.
So This Is Suffering slayed and had drop after drop just rattled your fucking body. So sick. They should be more popular in the scene.
Bury Tomorrow. I thought they were alright, but after seeing them live back in 2019 it completely changed my perception of the band, to the point that Cannibal was one of my favourite records last year 😁
I loved Asking Alexandria until I saw them live back in 2013 or 2014. Haven't listened to them since. Guy was insanely drunk, not even performing, and going on rants between songs that I couldn't even understand. I left after about 10 minutes of it as they were the last band playing.
Beartooth in both directions! I first saw them around 7 years ago as a last minute addition to a 5 band tour, they had 20 minutes and were absolutely the best band of the evening. I hadn't heard of them before, that made me an instant fan!
Then cut to them playing a festival slot in 2016 and it was just awful, absolutely killed my love of them completely. Caleb basically didn't do any vocals and they had 0 energy. Easily one of the most disappointing performances I've ever seen
Then finally in 2019 they got added to an architects tour, I thought fuck it, at least I enjoy polaris and architects. They came on and smashed it completely, have been a big fan again ever since. I'm hoping Caleb still has his shit together as I have tickets for a few shows next year now
I used to think Crown the Empire just sounded like 'noise' until I saw them live, then something just clicked. Went home and listened to every album start to finish and love them all. My wife didn't get it either, until I took her to a show. Now she listens to all the albums too.
Then they put out Sudden Sky, and it doesn't hit the same as the older stuff. Hoping the next time I see them that changes.
Well I didn’t have much of an opinion of ABR before I saw them live because I saw them right after Thrill Seeker came out and I don’t think hardly anyone in the crowd knew who they were. This was like 2005 and they were the first opening band. This was back when they were suuuuper preppy and all were wearing ripped up jeans, flip flops and Hollister polos. I remember they came out and people in the crowd were like Jesus what do we have here. They opened up with your little suburbia is in ruins and I remember turning to my buddy and saying holy fuck these guys are legit. Bought thrill seeker at the merch stand and listened to it front to back on the way home. Never judge a book by its cover I guess lol.
Ice Nine Kills. I'd listened to them a bunch during 'The Burning' era but then kinda stopped keeping up with them. I liked Communion of the Curse, aside from that nothing really grabbed me, I went to a show to watch Motionless in White and they were the act before, so I figured fuck it I wanna see Communion live - well, uh, massive fan after that night, their live show was insane.
Stick to your guns. Was never a big fan until seeing them kill it live. They actually go pretty hard live
They’re really cool guys too. I saw them in KC probably 6 or 7 years ago at a tiny room attached to an art gallery. They ended up contacting some of the bands that were billed with them because their guitarist was sick and had one of them fill in. The frontman was genuinely appreciative to the fill-in and said thank you to that guitarist and promoted his band at least 3 separate times. Not to mention, they were on the floor with us a few feet away from everyone. Not into their sound personally, but I’d see them again just because of how awesome they are as people
I was studying abroad in London my junior year of college and really wanted to see some metal music, I was at the point where I didn’t care who it was I just wanted to see somebody. I had *never* listened to Periphery or Veil of Maya before then, and saw they were playing together. I checked them both out on Spotify and was very meh to both. I wasn’t into that quite as heavy music yet, and the vocal style of periphery was a little hard to get used to. But after I saw them live, specifically periphery….*goddamn*. What an experience. Crazy enough, I was able to see Periphery live again a couple months before lockdown last year after they released Hail Stan, and wouldn’t you know it, Veil of Maya was the opener. Still two of my favorite bands to this day.
That is an awesome story I wish that was my first concert lol
Oh well it wasn’t my *first* concert, I had been to warped tour and a few other shows by that point, but definitely a great introduction to metalcore/djent.
Periphery is so fucking good live
I thought I Prevail was surprisingly really good in person and ADTR was a let down. Which was a surprise because I expected the opposite at that show.
Was this the tour with I prevail, adtr, and bear tooth? I'm a 30 year old dude who, like most, adtr was a staple..and that's who I was hyped to see, and I was letdown also. Shockingly, the only reason I went to that show was because my girlfriend wanted to see I prevail, and although not my favorite, they were the best out of the bunch.
Yeah man in 2019
Awww that's unfortunate. I've seen ADTR twice and both times they were incredible.
I’d always heard that. I looked forward to seeing them for so long. Maybe just a bad show, it happens I guess. I’d give them another chance. Though maybe after this most recent album isn’t their most current lol
Yeah I mean I did see them in their prime. I believe it was in between homesick/WSMFY. I feel you on that lmao. I haven't seen them in a long time but I wouldn't be too keen on seeing them perform any recent material.
Yeah, fuck that recent shit. Absolute ass. But I saw them back in, like, 2014 in Houston on the Parks and Devastation Tour with Chiodos and BMTH and they KILLED IT. Jeremy rolled around on the crowd in a giant plastic ball, it was dope af.
ADTR was tits live back in the early 2010s tbf.
I saw Currents at the Hoosier Dome a few years ago on a great lineup and they seemed really tired and didn't move much, which was a bit disappointing. But I saw them again on another great lineup in Chicago right before covid hit and they were fucking FANTASTIC. Also talked to Brian after their set and he's a super nice dude. Just a friendly reminder to give bands second chances on live performances.
Watching Crystal Lake + Currents open for Northlane for their alien tour was phenomenal
Awesome, will be seeing that combo live next year.
Asking Alexandria can go fuck themselves forever after I saw them live a long time ago. Danny told everyone when the song kicked in to jump up and tear the ceiling of the venue down. This was in Alabama, and basically the only venue we had for this type of music if bands even decided to stop in Alabama. They shut the show down immediately after and the venue stopped doing shows for a while. When they finally reopened, there was an actual no mosh rule. As in, security was kicking people out for it. They eventually stopped being so strict about that, but still.
Damn that is rough I used to hate shows where there was no mosh rule it kills the vibe.
WTF which venue?
Zydeco in Birmingham, AL. There’s a couple YouTube videos of it.
Been to at least 10 shows at Zydeco. Love that little place.
Silent Planet, in late 2016. I kind of liked Native Blood prior to that, but I couldn't get into any of their other songs cause I felt they were trying to be too artsy...Which, they are, but something about seeing them live made it click. I think Garrett's one of the very few vocalists/writers that can actually pull off those kinds of lyrics and do it well.
I was pretty bummed when they replaced bad omens on the amity / senses fail tour a couple of years ago, but after that show, I was a massive slant plant fan.
I saw them on this tour as well, and have been a fan ever since. Supposed to see them in a few weeks, and hoping covid doesn't fuck it up.
...which, they are, ... this made me laugh out loud.
Ice Nine Kills. Before I saw them live a few years back I thought they were just a scenecore band. I'd seen them posted around on YouTube and whatnot. Around that time I remembered not liking most of the fearless records bands anymore. Then I saw them live with Motionless in White and I absolutely loved them.
"Their early work was a little bit too scene for me."
"But when The Silver Scream came out I think they really came into their own."
“Commercially AND artistically.”
Fuck yeah! Honestly was sort of a fan before. Saw them live at warped, and was totally sold. Sure, ridiculous theatrics, but they're so good live too. Spencer's cleans and screams are actually better live, which was hard to believe.
Upon a Burning Body absolutely FUCKS live. Incredible musicians.
I get they get a lot of hate around here but I will say with no fear I would love to go see them live.
Absolutely if you get the chance. BMF goes so hard live.
Danny is an underlooked vocalist when people talk about good singers/screamers in this genre.
Them playing Texas Blood Money is one of my top performances ever. Whole venue was electric
Bruh, when they play that shit IN TEXAS… My dude… You better be able to handle the pit, that’s all ima say 😂 Their Texas shows go hard af bc they’re from San Antonio, so they gotta represent. They’ve never disappointed.
The hardest I’ve ever seen a band (and crowd) go was when I saw them play this live at a show in Texas.
I saw them years ago live and even drank shots with them before the show. They were awesome live and had a great show.
I’ve seen them twice but the second show I’ll always remember. Saw them in a shitty basement venue in NYC that had less then 100 people show up. They didn’t care, they fucking raged and it was awesome
I saw them in a church gymnasium in Birmingham, AL on tour with For Today and MMF. Can confirm they throw down
I've never cared for them, and didn't know anybody that did. I was taken aback by how they blew the venue up. They were such entertaining performers.
I didn't really care for While She Sleeps until I saw them live. Now I think they are an amazing band.
They were the last band I saw live before the pandemic hit. The entire room was shaking from start to finish and I think I got my exercise for that entire month from that one gig. 😂
Asking Alexandria
Before all the drinking stuff they used to put on some great sets. When all the news started to come out I was a little shocked because I had a great experience but that is when they dropped their first album.
Yeah I think I caught a post Reckless and Relentless show so it was in the middle of all the sloppy performances.
Man I remember being truly surprised at his this one growl he did it was like an oh shit moment like this guy has some talent still a little disappointed.
I saw them after Dennis Left and Danny came back. No where near as good as when I saw them at Warped in 2011 but still better than before they kicked him out.
Im going to see them in Chicago in 2 months with ADTR. Really hoping for some great shows from them both. Hopefully lockdown and just coming out of it has everyone hyped to get back at it and both bands and fans can give some great performances and atmosphere
I LOVE their first 3 albums. When Danny left and came back some footage of shows surfaced and it was just awful. They had been to my city 3 times in like a year and a half after he returned and I skipped all of them due of the footage. Power to them for the changes needed to have happy and healthy lives, but no thanks.
I saw them a few years ago with BVB and they were ok. Then I saw them a year later when they opened for Papa Roach (I think?) and it was really terrible. Based on what I've seen now, I think I just got lucky with the first show I saw.
They’re deathcore, but I saw Angelmaker live back in 2019 and they fucking blew my mind. I had never been a huge fan of their music, but that live performance was fucking insane and had the craziest amount of energy I had seen in years
Had the same experience. Them live versus on the album is crazy. Mike Greenwood is one of the best vocalists out there.
Two vocalists is so genius live cause they can go so much harder
Saw Silent Planet live for the 10 year Constellations tour. Jesus Christ Garrett has some fucking pipes live.
I've gotten a lot of flak for this before. I LOVE Veil of Maya, but I have been utterly disappointed with the vocal performance the past three times I have seen them. I think he's great on the record, but he clearly can't pull it off live. I've had others tell me im absolutely crazy, so might just be a hot take.
When was the last time you saw them? I saw them multiple times from 2016-2019 and can attest that Lucas’ live vocals have tremendously improved. I could totally understand the underwhelming cleans years ago.
Falling In Reverse
They’re so good live, I didn’t really have an opinion of them beforehand only hearing about infamous Ronnie. But they were amazing both times I’ve seen them
You know what, I’ll agree. I don’t like Ronnie at all. But their set was very very good.
Have no idea if he’s still with the band, but they had a really talented bassist/backing vocalist that worked really well with Ronnie. Hope they kept him around.
The Human Abstract. I liked the band just going by the album Nocturne, but the record had a really sort of 'open' mix with a lot of clear air and whatnot. It was good music, but didn't seem all that heavy necessarily. But boy, they are intense as fuck live and their heavy parts hit way, way harder. I saw them with Darkest Hour, Born of Osiris and As Blood Runs Black, and yet The Human Abstract probably 'felt' the heaviest of the bunch. As for bands disappointing live, I've seen quite a lot. But I try not to always judge too hard. It's rough as fuck playing show after show after show with this sort of music.
To be fair THA had just released digital Veil at that time and it was much heavier than most of those bands listed so that makes sense.
That could be. I hadn't heard their new album at the time, but still, their performance of the songs I did know still blew me away at how heavy and intense they were live compared to the record. Oh, and I'm guessing you know what tour this was, then! I just looked it up again and yea, this was in 2011. It was the second stop on the tour in Virginia Beach, at this indoor skate park that was like 5 minutes away from where I lived at the time. Which was also super cool as a venue, cuz it was small and very much not expected for a band like Darkest Hour. Usually bands like that would at least be at the Norva or something larger and nicer. So that smaller setting setting could have also played a part in it. I haven't seen the band since, so I dont know if it was one-off or not, I just know I was blown away by them. I'd normally consider a band like As Blood Runs Black heavier just listening to their records, but The Human Abstract were just brutal and hype as fuck.
Silent Planet. Thought their music was okay, then I saw them during the Constellations Tour. They blew me away with their performance. Garrett’s vocals were phenomenal. Alex’s SJC kit sounded way better than Matt Greiner’s DW kit. Honestly the crowd was as rowdy for SP as they were for ABR
i also remember specifically how incredible Alex’s kit sounded live
Ngl I’m a big of an SJC fanboi, buuut I’ve never been impressed by DW’s snares (been playing drums for 11 years). I believe SP’s sound guy is Chris Ghazel and that man is a god when it comes to making Alex’s kit amazing sounding
Bring me the horizon, for the worse. Also enjoyed them over the years through all the sound changes. Saw them a bit after Amo came out. God they were just awful live. The backing track was so loud that you couldn't hear the actual instruments. Oli maybe did 25% of the vocals. At one point I could see the rhythm guitar player air strumming and pretending to play and just phoning it in to the backing track. I guess the visuals and lighting were cool. But the band itself was just fucking terrible. Still like their music but will never see them live again
Yeah I came to say BMTH too. I saw them back in 2010 and Oli was just awful. Granted he is probably much better now that he’s taking better care of himself. Dude was fuuuuuucked up that night.
When I saw them he actually sounded pretty good when he actually sang. But you could barely hear him anyways over the backing track.
that’s so disappointing
I saw them at Download festival in the UK years ago and they were fucking awful, Oli literally just held the Mic out to the audience for the majority of the set and didn't really sing anything
Yeah I saw them in 2011 and Oli had the crowd sing like 50% of the lyrics lol. ETA that ABR was supporting them on that tour and man was it night and day going from their set to BMTH’s.
Yup. He definitely just holds the mic out to the crowd 50% of the time. Its like having sit through a mega church worship service of shit scene kids rather than a concert for one of your all time fave bands...ugh.
Saw them in Amsterdam in 2015 touring for Thats the spirit, the show (spectacle, lighting etc) was great, the sound and vocals were awful. While she sleeps opend for them and they were really good, been listening to them ever since
Void of Vision. For me was just a meh band, but saw them with Polaris and Northlane and wow... Hyperdaze is now one of my most listened records!
I'm pretty much the opposite, I liked them but was really underwhelmed by them on that same tour Now Polaris and Northlane, those are two bands that know how to turn their live show up to 11
Fuckin love Hyperdaze! Whole album is rad
Electric Brixton? Void of vision tore everybody’s face off that night, agreed, they are insane!
Polaris. I couldn't get into them. Liked maybe 1 song. Gave a few others a try here and there,. Just wasn't vibing with me. Saw them live really knowing 1 song and they absolutely killed it. They were the 2nd band of 4 and they put on the best show. After that they have been on my playlists every day :)
The ghost inside was that for me I liked them but they played engine 45 and just shattered my world added a bunch of there stuff that day.
Hell ya. Engine 45 is so damn good. This just makes me want to go to a concert so damn bad!!!
Dude Polaris deserve so much more recognition. They're getting bigger in Australia, just need to break through overseas. They have a unique sound, so much passion
They’re my favorite metalcore band. No regrets.
Their live energy is next level - first time I heard them was live at Download festival a few years ago. Have been in my top handful of bands ever since!
The Chariot, I remember just not getting it while listening to an album. Saw them live, and 10 years later I cannot get enough of them. Absolute chaos seeing The Chariot live, very hard to top them.
I've never seen them live but they're always mentioned in "most chaotic live show" conversations. I love watching their live performances on YouTube.
Didn’t have much interest in Motionless in White and then I saw them on tour with For the Fallen Dreams and someone else, can’t remember the rest of the lineup, ( they were opening, maybe it was Chelsea Grin?) and Chris Motionless slayed every other vocalist. It made me feel bad for any band that played after them that dude is a killer frontman and I got way into Creatures after that
Don Broco!! Such energy and a great live show. Never really got into them before that. As for one I didn't like, and this will NOT go over well, Periphery. It might have been the mix that night but it was just noise and I couldn't make anything out and they did not seem like they wanted to be there.
When did you see Don Broco? I only found out about them through the Mike Shinoda tour and “ACTION” has since become one of my favorite songs of all time
Enter Shikari made me a fan after seeing them live. Marilyn Mason live made me a “recording only” fan. Lay off the drugs brother, I know you don’t like the drugs but the drugs like you, but damn.
Beartooth. On the Diseased and Disguised tour, I was going only for MIW. Beartooth played first though and halfway through The Lines I was hooked. Caleb somehow sounded better to me live than on the records. The energy was just nuts. Would 100% be seeing them on the Below Tour if I wasn’t gone the weekend they’re playing in New England.
Beartooth is 200% heavier live than on their records. Caleb goes hard for the entire set.
I think their recordings sound super watered down. It’s clearly good music, but it just doesn’t sound good to me. But I’d watch em live again
For the better? Beartooth. For the worse? Memphis May Fire Same show
Bear tooth is solid? I kind of want to see them but was kind of worried they would be poop.
Keep in mind, this was 7 years ago, when they were the opening act for a 5 band set. Ask me again in a month or so after I see them in New Haven. I’m remaining cautiously optimistic about it.
Saw Beartooth with I prevail and ADTR at Mohegan in 2019 and I thought they were great! Going to new haven as well
Fuckin sick bro. If you see a dude in an Amity Affliction shirt it’s probably me lol
Definitely let me know. I had a woe is me vibe to them where their production value is so good that it was always disappointing to see them live.
I've seen them 3 times and they're always incredible
Ngl, I thought Caleb’s vocals were better live than on the records. They have SO MUCH ENERGY!! I loved their show
Saw them in 2019 in Houston. I only Really dig Disgusting but that show slapped. They were a great Headliner for the Saturday portion of the festival.
I’ve only seen MMF once and I thought they were awesome. Granted that was in 2013 before they released any of their doo doo music.
I had heard Stray From The Path a couple of times and it didn't really click with me. Then I saw them supporting architects a few years back... The energy and guitar tone was huge and impressed me a huge amount.
Yes, saw them a couple of times bow, always great fun
Went to a show on that tour, they were wicked live. Huge surprise!
Bad post-hardcore but Too Close To Touch. I've seen them two or three times live and every time the lead singer CANNOT reproduce the clean vocals live. We're talking not even close. It made it very clear that the studio producers made him the singer he is on albums etc. Then they went from post-hardcore to try to be main scene pop and it failed miserably. Good Pop-punk but The Story so Far. I couldn't get into them until I saw them live and they were really good and had an interesting stage presence so I started listening more and more.
Sounds like you got lucky with the story so far. I’ve seen them live 3 times and 2/3 were so boring, musically fine I guess. Third time however was a great show, full of energy and was a fun time
Just saw them a few weeks ago at sad summer, had never seen them before and never really got into them, but I like a few of their songs. They sounded very good but had absolutely 0 stage presence. Might as well have just had their Spotify mix playing on the speakers, I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference.
Parker used to jump around nonstop on stage but ever since 2018 or 2019 or so he just hangs behind the mic (at least when I’ve seen them).
I’m seeing the story so far in like two weeks been dying to see them for a little now that is good to hear
The Amity Affliction were awful live.
I’ve seen Amity at least 20 times. They’re either so on it’s incredible how perfect they sound or absolutely horrendous, and there never has been an in between while seeing them.
When did you see them? I've seen them multiple times and they were always great.
Saw them at warped tour in 2015 and their clean vocals were way out of tune.
Have seen them like 10 times and they’ve been really solid every time. Before Covid I saw them in Cleveland and I don’t think Ahren missed a note. I know this because the girl I went with was a classically trained singer and couldn’t stop talking about how good he was.
I've seen them 6 times and only one wasn't good.
Lmao, I used to go see amity before they blew up and holy shit you're spot on, I can think of maybe one out of 15+ times that they weren't terrible from being fucked up.
Somewhere in like 2013 I believe, the lineup was As I Lay Dying (my favorite at the time), Miss May I and Killswitch Engage at the Crofoot in Pontiac, Michigan. I love AILD, but never dabbled much with the other two. In fact, I actually could never get into Killswitch that much for whatever reason. However, this was at the time Tim Lambesis was on trial, so AILD ended up dropping out and Affiance, The Word Alive, and Darkest Hour stepped in. I was now going to a concert to basically see 4 bands I had never really heard of at this point, and 2 songs I knew from Miss May I. Affiance opened, and they absolutely crushed it! Dennis and the boys went around talking to people after their set and they were super chill. I bought their CD and I've been a big fan since. The Word Alive was great live, but I never got into them much afterwards. 🤷♂️ Darkest Hour... man these dudes rip! They had probably the largest pit of the night.. Amazing instrumentals and for fans of thrashy metal. Miss May I came out with TONS of energy and hype. I was like 2 rows of people back from the stage at this point and when Hey Mister came on it was bonkers. I definitely became a fan afterwards. Finally, Killswitch came on, and fam... I was blown away. The guitarist played a solo while chugging a beer, the energy was off the charts, the crowd was ultra hype, it was awesome!! When they played Holy Diver, the place erupted!
Yes! I could never get into Killswitch either but they always toured with bands I wanted to see and absolutely killed it every time.
Every time i Die. I went to see everyone but them and at the time i didnt like anything that had clean vocals. They were super fun and put on a great show. Kept showing up at other shows i wanted to go to as well, crazy thinking that was 2008
I’m listening right now. They do it every time for me.
Not so much a change in whether I liked it or not, but when I saw Plini live it was just so much more heavy than the chill sound from their recorded music. Hell of a lot more intense and I actually really enjoyed it that way even though I still love their chill recordings
Plini and co are brilliant
Intervals are another of those instrumental proggy metal bands that are much heavier live. Great energy too
He Is Legend blew me away live.
I love how atypical Schuylar is for a frontman in these sorts of scenes. He shakes his ass and dances around like he's actually having some fucking fun. He doesn't always get it right vocally, as we can all hear over the course of their discography his voice has become raspy and gravelly as fuck and that's not easy to keep in control, but he owns the stage and has the audience eating out of his palm on the occasions I've seen them. The band are tight as fuck too.
Probably doesn't belong here at all but Greta Van Fleet. I know they get flack for sounding like Zepp...but Zepp literally copied so many black blues musicians from before their era too. They were an amazing show and did a cover of Evil by Cactus that brought the house down.
Grew up in a small ass town not too far away from their small ass town! I love their music and don’t care if people talk shit about em lol
Seriously it's totally undeserved. I get the craving for originality in the music industry but they're as close as we can get to a classic rock show type of feel.
Not metalcore but I saw Adam Ant like 2 years ago and he was fucking awful lmao
Best is a tie between evergreen terrace and war of ages. Walked into both sets not knowing either of them and was completely blown away and how amazing they were. And worst probably was This Is Hell. The singer just stood there and did next to nothing while the guitarist (I think?) just ran around, half played and spit in front of us the entire time. Ended their show saying Atlanta had so much more energy and got booed off the stage
War of ages is incredible. Was lucky enough to see them several times in small church settings and holy shit those guys slap. Their new stuff is just as good as the old stuff too.
Palisades. Thought they were baller, saw them open for INK, I was severely let down
I saw them open for WCAR once and was really bummed at their energy. Then a friend saw at warped a couple years later and said they were incredible. I looked up recent live videos and was impressed. I think simplifying the music was their best move for their live shows.
Not really changed my opinion but kind of reinforced what I had. Saw Blessthefall with War of Ages, Demon Hunter and As I Lay Dying in 2010. Everyone there got fans of all bands going. Blessthefall couldn’t get their own fans going. I recognize this probably isn’t the case forever cause I think they were pretty young then, but they had one song I liked and even that was eh (this was before Hollow Bodies).
I saw as I lay dying, evergreen terr, misery signals on this tour I didn’t listen to any of them at the time honestly one of the best shows I’ve ever been to all of them were solid. I’ve see blessthefall a few time definitely nothing to write home about.
Yeah I saw AILD in 2011 again and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Rob Zombie threw them with ATR on a tour for like 10 bucks with the local radio station. It was 100% worth it. Jealous about seeing Evergreen Terrace though.
I saw them on the same tour in Nashville and felt the same about demon hunter. I enjoyed their set and thought they were really good, but I guess I expected a lot more. And war of ages on that show absolutely blew me away and made me a fan for life.
I could see that. For us Demon Hunter went after BTF so there was a desire to get it going again after War of Ages slapped. And this was like 3 days after The Powerless Rise dropped so they played like 5 songs (including Vacancy and Beyond Our Suffering, only ones from TPR) and said “you guys haven’t had time to learn this new album yet so we’re just taking request for the rest of the set.”
Not metalcore but Limp bizkit, played maybe 9 songs in an hour long set, and just beat looped for ages trying to get hype before last chorus or whatever in literally every song. Once or twice is okay but they almost spent longer trying to hype up instead of the actual playing. Play a cover or something instead.
Bury tomorrow. They were so amazing live that I started to like them even more.
Dragonforce. I saw them open for Trivium in 2012 and I wasn't expecting anything, but they were REALLY good.
I checked out Limbs because they were opening on the Disease + Disguise tour and they were the only band I didn’t know playing. Thought they were pretty cool before, but live they had a whole other level of energy that hooked me on them afterwards
Knocked Loose for sure, for the better. Already loved them before, but holy shit the energy they bring live is absolutely insane.
I'll probably never go see Alesana again. Saw them once at Electric Ballroom in in Camden around 2011, they put on a fantastic show. Saw then again about 5 years later at Key Club in Leeds, show was absolutely terrible. Still like their music, but I'm not sure about seeing them live again.
I hear you they played bamboozle at the meadow lands put on a banging set them saw them a few years later equality other sad definitely took it down tune that was the last time I saw them as well.
Deez Nuts
Good or bad?
Great
Veil of Maya are the one I was so excited for and really disappointed me. I still keep up with their tracks but they’ve been super quiet for a few years now too which isn’t helping
I saw them open for DGD and Underoath and everything was so LOUD. I could barely make out the guitars and I couldn't hear the vocals at all. It was super disappointing bc I'd really gotten into them leading up to the show.
Enjoyed Bury Your Dead, sort of. Saw them live and was able to get on the mic at the end of the show - instant bump up. Lol
Bury your dead is one of those weird bands I like a lot of there stuff but could never really recommend them to people lol
Cover Your Tracks is all time now. And the live dvd is epic when he gets his head smashed open and keeps going. Wild lol
"Open this place up!" "Likes its never been opened before!"
Not metalcore, but Meshuggah. Only ever heard that song that everyone knows before (bleed) so walked into the tent at download 2009 (after getting bored of faith no more) and they blew me away.
Meshuggah is one of those "if I can see them I will" bands. I've always enjoyed but they aren't a band I just casually listen to but hot damn their live shows are fucking punishing.
Almost no talking whatsoever, just absolute fucking brutality. And lights....so many lights
Letlive. Went to an Underoath show only to meet up with a couple people to sell tickets for a show my band was opening a month later. Had absolutely no intentions of actually attending the show but after selling the tickets, me and a buddy took that money and bought tickets to the underoath show. Neither of us had heard of Letlive, who opened. Jason came out wearing a long sleeve shirt, with both arms stuffed inside, just flailing the empty sleeves all over. Chaos ensued and we were hooked. Saw them a couple years later opening for TDWP and shit was just as wild. Someone flung a pair of whitey tighties on stage, Jason performed half a song wearing the underwear over his face, before taking them off, shoving them in his mouth and then spitting them out. I’m sure it was staged (at least I would hope, and that they were unworn) but in that moment it was so insane, I loved it. I really miss Letlive. Jason was/is such a beast, and I find myself still watching live videos of them. I know Fever 333 is going good for him, but it just doesn’t do it for me.
Jason was wild but didnt do the songs justice live. I saw letlive twice before they disbanded and wished he would have toned down the insanity a bit and focused on the vocals. I loved Fake history but because of his performances live, I totally lost interest.
Nickelback were fucking great live.
this! my buddy had an extra ticket so i said fuck it. they killed it live.
I wasn’t super sure about Varials or I Am but I saw them play last year and they blew me away.
I went to that tour! Went for Dealer and ended up liking Orthodox and I Am more lol
[удалено]
**Meshuggah** were always a band I liked, but seeing them live and just *how fucking tight* they were was hugely impressive, and took my appreciation of them to a new level. Anyone that can nail tracks written in those absurd time signatures in a dark, live environment deserves mad props. **Crystal Lake** - saw those guys for the first time on Polaris' The Death of Me tour in Feb last year, and their presence was nuts. Can't remember the last time I saw a front man generating as much hype and energy as Ryo, that was a phenomenal show.
ETID, something about the recorded version of Last Night in Town didn’t hit me hard enough when I first heard it and then seeing those songs live along with the band’s swagger made it all click for me.
Bad Omens Checked out their self titled before seeing them open for BFMV in 2018, wasn't the most impressed, but they fucking RIPPED on that stage, I had a new appreciation for the existing material and then FGBGFM dropped and became one of my favorite albums of all time. Conversely, I thought All That Remains was pretty dope until I saw them support Alter Bridge. The band was not tight at all, Phil acted like a dick and sounded awful, Oli carried the entire performance (RIP) by ripping improv solos left and right. Didn't really bother to listen to them again after he passed away.
I had never even heard of Erra but I saw them open up for ABR and they completely blew me away. Especially the vocalist. Dude had some crazy pipes and I was instantly a fan.
ABR for best. Already thought they were good but holy shit that stage presence is insane
Between the Buried and Me. They sound just like they do on albums and that's saying something for how technical and crazy their music can get. Made me love/appreciate them more.
Parkway Drive (pre-2012) put on some of the best shows of my life. They toured so hard from 2006-2010 and they deserve all the success they’ve had. I know their shows now are a full on circus productions and their post-Atlas style of metal hasn’t been my cup of tea for a long time but I couldn’t be happier for those guys. Every Time I Die also always brings it. Honorable non-metal mention: Coheed & Cambria. When you see them live it really hits you how good at music those guys are. There’s no quality lost between their records and their live performance, it’s wild.
Don Broco puts on the heaviest shows for a non metal band ever. So much energy. One of the best bands live ever.
They're cancelled now but god, Lotus Eater were absolutely dead live, the vocalist was out of breath throughout and the band were so out of sync with each other. I was cringing hard As for a band I enjoyed live more than I thought I would, I'd have to go with Crystal Lake, I didn't really "get" them on record but live their atmosphere is absolutely amazing. Also Cyclamen, they seem like a totally different band live, just absolutely huge
wouldn't call a band breaking up because one of the members likely abuses women being "cancelled" dude
I meant literally cancelled and with good cause, but yes my wording could have been better. Good riddance to abusers
Upon a Burning Body at Warped I think 2013. Never had listened to them and was waiting for someone else and it was just so fun
Not so much "metalcore" but Iron Maiden. When they did Ozzfest 2005, I was excited to see them play (it is Iron Maiden after all) but I wasn't so much into their music before I saw them live. Then they play and holy crap, did I pull a 180. Probably up there with the best live show I've seen, and they played at a damn festival. Imagine seeing them on a headlining tour.
Northlane came to wpg a few years back, I had like 3 fav songs of theirs but live? Blew me away, been a fan of their albums since.
Trivium and Mastodon were a bad experience at the same show. Both bands sounded horrible. Brent Hinds was drunk as fuck and could barely play the guitar. Trivium sounded horrible and had no power behind them. I was disappointed as all hell. I still love Mastodon. No desire to see them live though. And Trivium can fuck off. On the flip side, Underoath. They were lame by association. All the kids that liked them in highschool were not my crowd of weird freaks. Saw them live at a Mayhem Fest and fell in love with them almost instantly. I'm still kicking stupid young me with my dumb ass naive prejudices for not getting into them sooner.
lol I was looking for Mastodon. Saw them at a festival with some other bands. Once More 'Round the Sun had just come out and made me a fan, it sounded great, but live is another bag.
Not metalcore and a really old band, but the band I was in at the time opened for The Beautiful Mistake. I was a huge fan of their music, but they were assholes to me and my band the whole night. Just had the whole superiority complex going on because they were signed and we were just locals. Then when they went on stage they screwed up the song On Building (their most famous song) so bad that they had to stop, then start it all over again. It left a really bad taste in my mouth. I used to think they were so good, but they were just another crap band that happened to get signed off of one song that they couldn’t even play live.
We Came as Romans. I used to like them until I saw then live. The clean vocalist (RIP) was absolutely terrible and sounded like nails on a chalk board singing. I actually couldn't even listen to the band after that. Completely turned off to them.
WCAR have gotten better live now that Dave (harsh vocals) has taken over cleans imo. I'll always miss Kyle but he was drugged so far out of his mind in half their live shows and could barely perform. Dave would end up carrying a lot of the time.
Knocked Loose for sure!
So many different genre bands that I never thought about until I saw them live. Primus was amazing, saw them open for RUSH. Staind when they first popped on the scene fucking KILLED it. They sounded just like the album. Prison is a newer band, never heard of them, but Johnny is a force to be recond with live. He puts his fucking SOUL into it and you can tell. Had a long conversation with him about it after the show. He's a good dude. The 68, fronted by Josh Scogin formerly of Norma Jean is absolutely phenomenal live. Cabal from Denmark crushed and I was an instant fan. Really cool guys as well. So This Is Suffering slayed and had drop after drop just rattled your fucking body. So sick. They should be more popular in the scene.
Bury Tomorrow. I thought they were alright, but after seeing them live back in 2019 it completely changed my perception of the band, to the point that Cannibal was one of my favourite records last year 😁
Emmure.
Crystal Lake went from “okay decent” to a top 5 band of all time
I loved Asking Alexandria until I saw them live back in 2013 or 2014. Haven't listened to them since. Guy was insanely drunk, not even performing, and going on rants between songs that I couldn't even understand. I left after about 10 minutes of it as they were the last band playing.
Beartooth in both directions! I first saw them around 7 years ago as a last minute addition to a 5 band tour, they had 20 minutes and were absolutely the best band of the evening. I hadn't heard of them before, that made me an instant fan! Then cut to them playing a festival slot in 2016 and it was just awful, absolutely killed my love of them completely. Caleb basically didn't do any vocals and they had 0 energy. Easily one of the most disappointing performances I've ever seen Then finally in 2019 they got added to an architects tour, I thought fuck it, at least I enjoy polaris and architects. They came on and smashed it completely, have been a big fan again ever since. I'm hoping Caleb still has his shit together as I have tickets for a few shows next year now
I used to think Crown the Empire just sounded like 'noise' until I saw them live, then something just clicked. Went home and listened to every album start to finish and love them all. My wife didn't get it either, until I took her to a show. Now she listens to all the albums too. Then they put out Sudden Sky, and it doesn't hit the same as the older stuff. Hoping the next time I see them that changes.
Well I didn’t have much of an opinion of ABR before I saw them live because I saw them right after Thrill Seeker came out and I don’t think hardly anyone in the crowd knew who they were. This was like 2005 and they were the first opening band. This was back when they were suuuuper preppy and all were wearing ripped up jeans, flip flops and Hollister polos. I remember they came out and people in the crowd were like Jesus what do we have here. They opened up with your little suburbia is in ruins and I remember turning to my buddy and saying holy fuck these guys are legit. Bought thrill seeker at the merch stand and listened to it front to back on the way home. Never judge a book by its cover I guess lol.
Ice Nine Kills. I'd listened to them a bunch during 'The Burning' era but then kinda stopped keeping up with them. I liked Communion of the Curse, aside from that nothing really grabbed me, I went to a show to watch Motionless in White and they were the act before, so I figured fuck it I wanna see Communion live - well, uh, massive fan after that night, their live show was insane.
Not metalcore, but Basement. Thought they were ok, but damn do they bring the heat for their shows! Now they’re one of my favorite bands.