Where to start… The moment I heard it was a sold-out show at Trees in Dallas, Texas, I knew it was about to be a wild night. Erra joined by Alpha Wolf and Invent Animate, was surely going to be a hell of a night. Unfortunately, Thornhill was unable to perform as they were dealing with trying to get their gear to the US from Australia. They were extremely missed that night. I know I was looking forward to seeing them again. Outside of that, I knew the night was going to be a quite the experience.

Starting out the show were the dudes in Invent Animate. Having seen them just 3 months prior at the same venue, I had an idea of what I was getting myself into again, but boy did they top that last performance. I loved the fact that they were not only more polished, but they brought the energy that night. I love it when an opener can really set the tone for what is about to happen. They started out their set with “monarch”, an Invent Animate classic, and then transitioned into “Cloud Cascade”. The crowd surfing did not take long to commence as those two songs go extremely hard. The crowd did not let up through the five-song set. They went on to play another hit, “The Sun Sleeps”, and ultimately ended with “As It Never Was” to close out the performance. 10/10 will see again.

Next up were the heavy hitting Aussies in Alpha Wolf. A band that I did not here of until three months prior when they came through Dallas with Invent Animate and Polaris. Another band that I just had no idea were so talented. Getting their start in 2013, 2022 has been one hell of a year for the guys in Alpha Wolf. They are what you call metal core at its finest. Not one point in their set, did they let you stop moving. They got their set started with “Ultra-Violet Violence”. At this point, the crowd had really begun to settle in and it as getting harder and harder to move around. Again, it was a sold-out show, so it was really getting packed and hot as hell in there. Alpha Wolf continued to play banger after banger until the end of their set came and they played “Akudama”. Really never a bad time when Alpha Wolf Comes to town.

Lastly, the kings themselves in Erra took the stage. This was my first time seeing them live and all I had heard were fantastic things about their stage presence. At this point Trees was packed in like sardines. There were only a few places that allowed you to stand and thankfully, I had found a great spot. The band walked out on stage and JT, the lead vocalist, took the stage. From there, the crowd went wild. Immediately jumping into their hit song “Gungrave”, Erra was off to the races. It had been since May at So What! Fest that I got this type of heavy energy on stage, and I was there for it. JT has a way with his vocals that really captivate and draw you in. The lighting a production was also really fun to watch as they played. That’s another really fun part about headliners, you never know what cool things they will have set up on stage. The 13-song set was heavy as can be but we all knew it had to come to an end. They encored with their most popular song, “Snowblood”, and called it a night.

It was a sweaty packed night in Dallas, Texas but well worth it. Catch them on this tour, you won’t regret it.