Live Gig Review and Photos: DJ
Tuesday nights are always tough for live gigs, we know most folks are just stuck in the daily grind of a typical work week. But sometimes we have to get out and pump a little coverage for up-and-coming bands living the busy and often not very glamorous life of riding city to city on a van or bus and hitting all kinds of smaller venues in hopes of trying to “make it”. Here we have headliners Attack Attack! the Ohio-based Metalcore group that once upon a time called it quits, a few years later to be reborn again with some of the old members. Was also excited to check out Texas Rockers Kingdom Collapse as they have a cool single that’s making waves and breaking ground in the Rock scene at the moment.
We head into the night and we arrived promptly to check out the opener Astoria State composed of Danny Resnick (Lead vocals, Guitar) / Jesse Carroll (Guitar) / Cameron Horst (Bass Guitar) / Jon Longley (Drums), a band I was not familiar with. With an interesting sound, mixed with a bit of alternative and harder Rock, they kicked off their set with plenty of energy from their front man Danny Resnick as he jumped into floor ground and headed back to the bar area while singing. On light crowd, nights guess you can afford to mingle with the crowds in ways you normally wouldn’t. A couple of tunes I believe stood out for me were “Damage”, “Leave It To Me” as the intimate performance brings the band out in a better light to fans not familiar with their music. Although not as heavier as Kingdom Collapse or aggressive as Attack Attack!, I appreciate the guys pursuing their dreams and hitting the road as we all know is hard for any touring band these days to make it, let alone one that is just starting. Also thanks to guitar player Jesse who I met on the way out of the venue and handing me a copy of their EP. Thanks, man for anyone interested I suggest you click here find out more about the guys: https://astoriastate.com/
Next, we have the Texas-based Kingdom Collapse who have been making waves with their single “Break Free”, which is a follow-up to THREE consecutive rock hits that have each become SiriusXM Octane’s #1 Most played songs. (i.e. Uprise, Unbreakable, Save Me From Myself), two of which also charted on the Billboard and Mediabase Top 40 charts for Mainstream Rock. They also have the ultimate touring road warrior label as they have gone on tour with bands such as From Ashes To New, Fire From The Gods, Adelitas Way, Nonpoint, and Hinder.
The guys waste no time as their charismatic frontman Jonathan Norris comes out firing on all cylinders with “Break Free” and another banger in “Unbreakable”, the guys sound tight as hell, and guitar player David Work has some keen guitar riffage. The drum and bass are solid and empowering, these guys sure seem to be headed somewhere as you can tell with the enigmatic energy they have tons to prove and are loving every minute of it. More hits keep coming with “Save Me From Myself”, as frontman Norris gets in the fan’s faces as he delivers a smoldering performance. The guys are as advertised and one which we think could keep breaking ground in the mainstream rock category. Hopefully, with more exposure, the band can secure a proper record deal. Check them out recommended!!! https://www.kingdomcollapse.com/
Finally, the Ohioans metalcore veterans hit the stage to some oddly strange trees planted around the stage area.. already we can tell this is going to be some wild performance. I’ll be honest as not the biggest fan of the guys, only familiar with some of their stuff, I had no idea what to expect with their set. But they came out and with tons of energy put on a pretty sick show. Frontman Chris Parketny put on a good show. These guys are heavy, hard, and fast. Metalcore is not for everybody but honestly thought they engaged the small audience as if they were playing to a larger crowd. One of the tunes that stood out was “Smokahontas” and “All My Life” as both were played with high impact, causing a mini to mosh amongst the crowd that was there that night. Another twin guitar annihilation came with “Stick Stickly” as the growls break ground into some punkish groove, this has always been one of the band’s most recognizable songs from their earlier days. The same impactful energy ends what turned out to be a pretty cool Tuesday night. We wrap up and head out into the night. Another gig in the books. Make sure you check out all bands on tour and keep supporting the Rock and Metal folks!!! https://www.attackattackshop.us/