W♥M (Archive)

Every Time I Die at Skyway Theatre, Minneapolis (05 Dec 2015)

Tour Dates 12/09/15 San Antonio, TX Alamo City Music Hall 12/10/15 Dallas, TX House Of Blues 12/11/15 Houston, TX Warehouse Live - Ballroom 12/12/15 New Orleans, LA House Of Blues 12/14/15 Nashville, TN Rocketown 12/15/15 Atlanta, GA Center Stage Theater 12/16/15 Charlotte, NC Amos' SouthEnd 12/18/15 Norfolk, VA The NorVa 12/19/15 Baltimore, MD Baltimore Soundstage 12/20/15 Lancaster, PA Chameleon 03/19/16 Self Help Festival 05/08/16 Concord, NC Carolina Rebellion Read More Every Time I Die Every Time I Die: From Parts Unknown. This album is the culmination of every single album ETID have put out. We all knew that the boys from Buffalo had the ability to make a mind shattering …

Every Time I Die is an extremely popular metalcore band from Buffalo, NY. They got their huge break after their song "The New Black" was featured on Guitar Hero 2 but have had a huge base of fans ever since they started in 1998.

I have seen ETID over a dozen times live and it's all about their live shows. The amount of energy these guys have is unreal. The band is fronted by Keith Buckley who is considered a bit of a god among men in the scene. Many would consider him to be the reason why the band has so much energy and is so fun to watch live. He is always all over the stage, doing flips off the stage into the crowd, everything. Just downright fun to watch.

A couple of days ago, Keith Buckley made a statement that there had been complications in his wife's pregnancy and he would be flying home to be with his wife and unborn daughter. Just as the saying goes, the show must go on. I have to be honest, the second I saw Keith issue that statement, I started wondering if I was even going to go to the show anymore. He was the main reason I love ETID's live show so much and ETID was really the only band I was dying to see on the bill last night. Keith had said that he would have some friends covering vocals for him and I instantly started playing the guessing game in my head as to who it could be. I tried to think of everyone and honestly, in my head, nobody could do ETID justice.

Oh how wrong I was. Tyler from Exalt took the stage and blew me away with his energy. He jumped into the crowd twice, just like Keith would do. He didn't sing (and be sing, I mean scream) all of the words perfectly much like Keith. He was all over the stage at all times like Keith always is. All of that being said, he was obviously not trying to be Keith. He respected the stage and the crowd. He knew the circumstances of why he was on that stage. He gave it his all as Tyler from Exalt.. not Tyler from Exalt trying to be Keith from ETID.

ETID didn't give up and go home when their frontman had to be rushed home. They pulled themselves up by the bootstraps, figured it out, called some friends, and made it through. Resilience. It's the name of the game in this scene and can make or break a band. ETID proved why they are so successful in this scene and I'm sure Exalt gained many new members and a huge new fan base that they more than deserve.

Stick To Your Guns

All of the openers were amazing last night. The highlight for me was Stick To Your Guns. I've seen these guys multiple times and each time they completely blow me away each time with the amount of energy they have and the amount of energy the crowd has. These guys are one of those bands where if you don't know what to do in the pit, you want to get out of the way. There were a few fights during their set last night just due to the different styles of dancing in the pit. You had the hardcore kids and the metal kids clashing in a self-governing pit... there's bound to be issues. The great thing about shows up here in Minnesota? None of the fights were serious, people were pulled apart before it got too bad and apologies were made. No hard feelings. Resilience.

Wage War

The other two openers were awesome too. Polyphia wowed the audience with their instrumental songs. They were technical, amazing, and perfect.

Wage War played a heavy hitting set that warmed the crowd up and got them moving. Wage War's Blueprints is available now on Fearless Records.

I would definitely keep my eyes on both of these bands if I were you. There are big things coming for the both of them.

August Burns Red

The headliner of the night was August Burns Red. I have seen August Burns Red three times in the past year now and each time they wow me with their pure talent. They have stopped preaching and have turned into a band that is just about the music... Last night was the first time when I truly found myself enjoying their set.

August Burns Red's latest album, Found in Far Away Places is out now on Fearless Records. Their single "Identity" was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Metal Performance category.

Postscript: Keith Buckley's wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Both baby and mommy are healthy and good.

Every Time I Die at Skyway Theatre, Minneapolis (05 December 2015)

langen ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

By The Thousands at Amsterdam Bar, St Paul (24 September 2015)

poster Read More By The Thousands By The Thousands by By The Thousands Nate Lund RJ Johnson Matt Weber Kazuki Yamamichi nicholas kuchis Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app ....

All of the bands, including headliner Reflections, Toothgrinder, Yüth Forever, Exalt, Soulkeeper, etc., that played last night at the Amsterdam Bar & Hall in St Paul, were on point. There was not a single band that I didn't enjoy.

The worst thing about being an adult and wanting to go to a bunch of all ages shows? You usually miss the first band or few because the show starts way earlier than when you get off work. Last night I only caught two songs of the first band, Aurae, and it was the first time in a while that I was truly disappointed that I didn't get to the show right on time.

This was the third time I had seen these guys play. It has only been a couple of months since the last time I saw them but they completely blew me away last night. I support the local scene no matter what, but it is rare that a local band that I'm not friends with has me this hooked. The kids in this band look young enough to be my own children but the amount of talent they have is far more than some of the kids I went to college with who studied music full time.

Maybe it's their professionalism that has me in love. Their set got cut way short last night. Like short enough that they barely had time to tell the crowd who they were. They didn't complain. They didn't take to Facebook and rant about it. They got off the stage and thanked people for their time. That sounds little and insignificant but I can't tell you how many bands I've seen that have their sets cut short and act like little babies about it. Keep your eyes on this band. Seriously, there are big things to come for this band.

By The Thousands was the main reason I went to the show last night. They are amazing musicians and continue to gain the popularity in the scene that they deserve. I remember being one of the only people at some of their first shows. Last night, they had a bigger crowd than majority of the other opening bands and out of majority of the local bands here in the Twin Cities, they are more than worthy of this.

Their music is perfection. It's technical and precise but not overwhelming. When a sample doesn't play on time, they don't stop the song to fix it, they wait it out like true professionals, never missing a beat. It's heavy with bass drops and breakdowns that take your breath away. It's the fact that the second they start playing, you can't help but move a little bit. Each song was heavy and perfect. I have seen these guys countless times now but last night was, by far, the best. It's been amazing to see them grow as a band and I am more than honored to call these boys my friends.

By The Thousands at Amsterdam Bar & Hall, St Paul (24 September 2015)

langen ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com