On April 5th, 2024- Alpha Wolf performed at The Masquerade on their “Half Living Things” tour with special guests: Chamber, UnityTX, and Emmure! This show was one of the craziest shows I’ve been to! I don’t think I’ve seen these many crowd surfers before at a show!
Chamber
Chamber was opening up the night and I thought this venue was going to be demolished by how many attendees went INSANE in the crowd. I saw Chamber last year and I almost left the venue with a concussion because of how aggressive everyone in the crowd got. I honestly hid in the corner the whole time. Chamber formed in Nashville, TN and currently consists of: Jacob Lilly (Vocals) , Chris Smith (Bass) , and Taylor Carpenter (Drums). They released their newest album last year in July “A Love To Kill For” and stated in an interview; “It’s an album about people getting lost or mired in bullshit, whether that’s addiction or narcissism or selfishness. There are all sorts of ways the people you love can fail you in search of themselves, and ways people don’t come back from that” The album was produced by one of my favorite individuals out there; Randy LeBoeuf who I saw last year at Christmas Burns Red performing with Kublai Khan! Chamber stated they want to make f***** music that's crazy because everyone is crazy in their own ways!
UnityTX was up next and I actually listened to the band on the way to the venue, so I could get an idea of who they are and what they sound like; I NOW understand why Alpha Wolf added them to the lineup! UnityTX formed in 2014 in Dallas, Texas and they are considered rap/metal hardcore. The band released their newest single; “Playing Favorites” that currently has almost 100k plays on spotify! Their most popular songs are “ROC SH!T” from the album “Ferality” and “Cross Me” from “MadBoy” Their performance was out of this world! The vocalist was constantly jumping in the air and hyping the crowd up! Also chanting “ATL ATL ATL” with everyone! Their set was very difficult to photograph due how dark it was and the amount of movements was too fast to capture at times!
Since; I didn’t know much about who this band is besides listening to them on the way to the venue, I had to ask a few attendees what songs were performed because I had no clue. I usually want to go into shows knowing the band's music, but at the same time; I do love being surprised because I feel like live performances sound better than in the studio, especially not knowing the band at all!
Emmure
It was time for Emmure which has been my top favorite band for over 13 years! I saw them last year when they performed with We Came As Romans and yes; I crowd surfed to them because that was one show I decided to not photograph to actually enjoy the atmosphere and be with friends! Emmure formed in 2003 in New Fairfield, Connecticut before they went to Queens, New York! The band's name was created after the word “Immurement” which is a form of execution which definitely matches their energy on stage and their overall music. At the moment; Emmure consists of; Frankie Palmeri (Vocals) , Joshua Travis (Guitar) , Zach Allard (Drums) , and Zack Davis (Bass) If you love rapping and deathcore mixed together; Emmure is for you! Throughout the years; Emmure has never disappointed me and they continue to make bangers! And another reason why I love them is because they referenced their songs to video games and comic books!
Their performance was nothing, but spectacular and dark. Yes, dark in both ways. Lights and how they performed their set. When you listen to Emmure live; it makes you want to destroy everything around you and cause complete chaos! When they performed “Shinjuku Masterlord”; I put down my camera and released all my emotions at once during this song. This song has been one of my favorites and to hear it live finally; YES! I lost my mind! Just because I’m there to photograph this event doesn’t mean I can’t participate and enjoy the environment and let loose like everyone else! Their whole set was by far one of my favorites besides previous shows such as Void of Vision and Chelsea Grin!
Alpha Wolf
Finally! It was time for Alpha Wolf to come on stage! Personally I’ve never listened to this band before, but all my friends told me to give them a chance because their stage presence will make me change my mind. Alpha Wolf formed in 2013 in Burnie, Tasmania; but currently located in Melbourne, Victoria consisting of; Sabian Lynch (Rhythm Guitar) , John Arnold (Bass, Back Vocals) , Scottie Simpson (Lead Guitar) , Mitch Fogarty (Drums) , and Lochie Keogh (Lead Vocals). The band released their album “Mono” in 2017 and this album involves lyrics about trauma and depression, which I can relate to and many others. Alpha Wolf currently has almost 1 million spotify listeners and I hope after this tour; they hit that 1 million mark! They recently released their newest album “Half Living Things” on April 5th, 2024 and “Sucks 2 Suck” and “Bring Back The Noise” being the most popular songs off the album with over 4 million plays combined! With recent research on this band; I’ve seen people saying that this album is Alpha Wolf’s best work yet.
During their set; I was standing next to a mother and young daughter; The daughter looked like she was about 6 years old and the mother stated that her daughter is obsessed with this band and that they are basically going to 10 tour dates. I was shocked when she said this. The daughter stated; “This band makes me so happy. Mommy makes me happy” This whole interaction made me happy myself because I love seeing the younger generation enjoying this type of music. I kept my eyes on this young girl the whole night and the amount of energy radiating off her, I wish it would transfer to me because I was exhausted running up and down the stairs all night. Alpha Wolf performed songs such as; “Double-Edge Demise” , “Acid Romance” , and “Haunter”; the only reason I knew the songs is because they announced what songs they were performing. Like I said before; I’ve never listened to them, so I didn’t know the song names at all. Everytime I say that a tour is the best I’ve seen another TOUR takes the spot and their set was one of those sets where it left you speechless and not wanting to take your eyes off them. I talked to a couple in the crowd and they told me that Alpha Wolf is like a drug to them because they just feed off the energy and they get such a high off of them.
Tonight was very memorable, especially meeting the family I spoke to because this is what shows are all about. Bringing the new generation to these events and exposing them to different genres of music. Seeing the younger generation basically rocking out harder than the older generation will make you realize that we have nothing to worry about and that this genre of music will never die down.
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