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CONCERT REVIEW - AUGUST BURNS RED WITH BRAND OF SACRIFICE, SPITE, & CRYSTAL LAKE @ HOUSE OF BLUES, ANAHEIM, CA (11.25.23)

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There is a big conversation in the music industry about what is more important. Should bands be releasing new music with full length albums or are singles the better strategy. I will have to say that I am still passionate about full length albums. Yes, the singles will always be the biggest selling point, but you never know what deep cut you may fall in love with. When you fall in love with a deep cut track, you may not get the opportunity to hear the band perform it live. That is why anniversary tours can sometimes be the best times. August Burns Red decided to tour the 10th anniversary of their Rescue & Restore album, coming to the House of Blues Anaheim just after Thanksgiving. With fans giving thanks to this entire line up featuring Brand of Sacrifice, Spite, and Crystal Lake. It felt like we were waiting in a Black Friday line, awaiting the door busting deals of heavy music, a raucous crowd, and a fire mosh pit filled with crowd surfers flying over the barricade.

Opening the night is a metalcore band from Tokyo, Japan known as Crystal Lake. These guys have been on my radar for a while now, especially after missing their last tour with August Burns Red back in 2019. I craved the need to see them live ever since then, and it finally happened this night. Opening their set with “Mephisto,” Crystal Lake came out with an energy I was not expecting. With Metalcore bands, you can be used to high energy from the lead singer, and the instrumentalist moving around the stage during simpler moments in the song. Not Crystal Lake. Every member had the same fiery energy and could not be contained by one spot on the stage. New vocalist John Robert Centorrino had the ferocity in his voice but was maybe the most restrained on stage. Guitarist Yudai Miyamoto and Hisatsugu Taji, as well as bassist Mitsuru were all running around the stage constantly, slamming on their instruments, and flat out screaming at the crowd. Drummer Gaku Taura could barely be contained behind the kit. Often standing up and slamming down with full force on his cymbals. It’s a miracle they didn’t crack! The fans gave all this energy back and were constantly hurling themselves over the barricade. Making the security really stay alert and awake during this show. All this energy was kept up through their entire set of songs that featured “SIX FEET UNDER,” “Disobey,” “DYSTOPIA,” “Watch Me Burn,” “Lost in Forever,” and ending with “Apollo.” That itch to finally see Crystal Lake has been scratched, but not appeased. I await for them to come back as I need this kind of energy in my life more often.

Up next was a band called Spite, that kept the high energy going that Crystal Lake left the fans with. I was fortunate to see Spite earlier this year with Wage War, and that was an intense first viewing of the band. Now seeing them for the second time, I knew what to prepare for, but Spite continues to elevate the energy in their show and this performance proved to be even crazier. Opening the night with “Made to Please,” vocalist Darius Tehrani captivated me within seconds. His in your face attitude, his death growling vocals, and his off kilter stage personality could not be avoided. From wrapping the mic chord around himself, to playing with his hair during breakdowns, and turning into Cousin It while pig squealing, it was a sight to behold. Backed by a band that was just as charismatic, with guitarist Alex Tehrani being Spite’s own personal hype man while shredding away, he could be seen screaming at the top of his lungs with no mic to make sure the crowd was feeling the bands energy. Bassist Ben Bamford had a bit more of a laid back vibe on stage, but sync’d up with drummer Josh Miller, the low end was blasting away on the beats. Playing songs like “Caved In,” “Some Things You Should Know…,” “IED,” “Snap,” “The Root of All Evil,” “Thank You, Again,” “Dedication to Flesh,” and ending the night with “Kill or Be Killed.” Spite is a band I will no longer be passing over, and I don’t think anyone in the crowd will be either.

The third band of the night has been another band on my radar but eluded me until this night. That being Brand of Sacrifice. I’ve been seeing this band gain a lot of momentum in the last year, seeing their name on more and more prolific tours. So, I was ready to see what they had in store for Anaheim. What I was not ready for was the playfulness of their walk on song, as the Pokémon theme song played over the loudspeakers as the band stepped on stage. After the hilarity of the entire audience singing along to the Pokémon Theme, the band truly opened their set with “Dawn.” Vocalist Kyle Anderson was a beast commanding the stage with his presence alone. Once he finally released his guttural vocals, the crowd was under his control. Calling for the mosh pit to get bigger and bigger, as well as he wanted to see crowd surfers come over in waves, the audience was happy to oblige. Guitarist Liam Beeson is pulling double duty with ease, as the band recently reshuffled their members and lost their rhythm guitarist. Beeson plays his instrument with such technique that you question whether they even need a rhythm guy. Bassist Andrew Kim and drummer Chason Westmoreland are new to the band but fit right in with ease. They round off the band and match the energy that helps the tenacity that Brand of Sacrifice brings to every show. With songs played like “Demon King,” “Lifeblood,” “Altered Eyes,” “Exodus,” “Purge,” “Ruin,” “Millennium,” and ending with “Eclipse.” I feel Brand of Sacrifice, and specifically Anderson, should be talked about in the same conversations as Will Ramos of Lorna Shore.

Finally, it was time to see the band celebrating 10 years of their album Rescue & Restore, August Burns Red. I had been fortunate to see them two years prior, also at the House of Blues Anaheim, but that was with fill in vocalist Michael Felker. Though Michael brought a great voice and energy to the band, finally getting to see them with the true vocalist Jake Luhrs was a whole new experience. Seeing as this was their Holiday time tour, Jake dyed his beard white to bring more of a Santa vibe to his aesthetic. He carried himself with jolly and a playfulness that any child would be happy to tell their Christmas wish list to, yet this Santa can scream! It was a stark contrast of look to vocal presence, but the crowd ate it up. Dual guitarist John Benjamin Brubaker & Brent Rambler are masters of their craft and are riff making machines. Hearing them play riff after riff of each song on Rescue & Restore really helps show the style they had back during that time, but also how much texture they can add to each song to make them stand out. Bassist Dustin Davidson not only handles his four string with finesse, but he also helps on third guitar jumping in on the acoustic from time to time. Matt Greiner has really earned a reputation for being a slick stylistic drummer, and it’s obvious to see why live. He doesn’t just blast beat his snare, or kick away with the double bass. The man knows how to maneuver around his instrument to add groove, melody, and always hold down the pocket.

If you grew up listening to Rescue & Restore then the setlist would make you happy as they played the album in order starting with track one “Provision,” “Treatment,” “Spirit Breaker,” “Count It All as Lost,” “Sincerity,” “Creative Captivity,” “Fault Line,” “Beauty in Tragedy,” “Animals,” “Echoes,” and “The First Step.” But that could not be the only songs they played, as they came out for a five song encore. Starting out with their instrumental rendition of the Christmas classic “Carol of the Bells.” August Burns Red knows just how to add heavy guitars to a Christmas classic and keep the song festive. As the band worked through their last songs “Bloodletter,” “Revival,” “Composure,” and ending with “White Washed.” These were the last moments the crowd had to surf and mosh, and they did not let up roaring even heavier with the last few notes that range out.

I love watching the mosh pit ebb and flow during any concert, but this night I had to jump in there myself. The controlled chaos of the pit could not be passed up this night, and every mosher had to have felt the same. Though the bands genres flowed between metalcore to deathcore to progressive metal, each band kept the flames of metal burning with a passionate fury in each fan. I don’t think there was another tour happening this year that carried the same weight and ferocity that Crystal Lake, Spite, Brand of Sacrifice, and August Burns Red brought on the Rescue and Restore 10th Anniversary Tour. 

 

Matt Martinez

Editor - Orange County

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