Against The Sun’s headlining show at House Of Blues with HVNTED, Alibis, Fused by Defiance, and Carry The Day was a night for the moshers. If you wanted to go to a show where things get wild, this would be the lineup you’d want to see. Every lead singer that night got into the crowd’s faces, and the audience moshed like there was no tomorrow. The lineup was also filled with bands that are good friends with each other, with multiple being from the LA Rock Collective.

HVNTED started the night. I’ve seen HVNTED multiple times, and they get better every time. Their setlist that night included “Fiend,” “Shapeshifter,” “Flush,” “Katelyn Dilaine,” "Playing Fiction," "Sinning on Sunday," and “Toro.” They did a mixture of their own songs and covers but still put all their energy into each song. One of my favorite moments was when their lead singer Will pointed his mic at the crowd. You could tell the audience was having a good time, moving along to each song. I also appreciate how clear Will’s vocals always sound whenever he performs. You can tell Abe is the extrovert in the group from how he poses when he sees a camera while on stage. “Katelyn Dilaine” is one of those songs with lyrics that will stick in your head, especially the line “I'm sick of pretending.” The lyrics themselves are relatable, but the way Will sings them adds power to the song. The way the band members interact on stage is always fun to watch. They all work really well together, and their bond with each other is refreshing to see. The instrumentals and vocals have a good balance; neither overpowers the other but works together instead. HVNTED used to always wrap up their sets with “What’s New Scooby Doo,” and I have my fingers crossed they bring it back. The band easily looks like they could be cast in Scooby Doo as well.

Following HVNTED was Alibis. Their lead singer, Rainy Terrell, came out in an eye-catching outfit. She wore a red dress with a red veil, somewhat similar to an outfit Lydia from Beetlejuice wore. Alibis' setlist that night consisted of songs such as “Sellout,” “Mother,” “Unworthy,” "Damn Love,” "You Outta Know," and “Darkside.” One of the things that impressed me about Alibis was how well they handled things when sound issues occurred. Rainy kept the audience entertained while the sound issues were being fixed. Her vocals are haunting but in a beautiful way—they'd send a shiver down anyone's spine. The instrumental parts went hard as well. Rainy's movements reminded me of actresses performing in Broadway musicals. At times, the guitarists would do cool poses as well. At one point, Rainy went up to the barricade and sang right in front of the crowd. Overall, I loved that they added an elegant, theatrical feel to their performance.

Fused By Defiance brought a heavier sound to the night and also multiple circle pits. Their setlist consisted of songs such as “Insanity,” “Hollywood,” “Scene Kids,” “Cancel Culture,” and a surprise cover of “Let The Bodies Hit The Floor.” They had multiple surprise guests come up on stage and perform with them, as well as plenty of head-banging moments. Lead singer Taji even jumped into the audience and helped bring more chaos to the moshing. She had the whole audience singing along and moshing—definitely an artist who knows how to take charge of a room. One of the highest energy bands I’ve seen. If you have any tiredness in you, catching them live will knock it all out of you. There are plenty of hair-flipping moments as well, so they’re the perfect band to photograph. The moment that really sold me was when they decided to do “Let The Bodies Hit The Floor” and had a singer from another band come up. I’m still not sure if it was somewhat planned or a complete spur-of-the-moment choice, but either way, it was epic. Joining her on stage was the lead singer of Where It Lies. She was also rocking one of the iconic Against The Sun flannel shirts with the red and black pattern.

The last band before Against The Sun was Carry The Day. I’ve photographed Carry The Day in the past, but they have definitely improved a lot since then. The band felt more confident. They started the set by having their backs toward the crowd before turning around. When they performed “Picture Perfect,” I really resonated with it. It’s a song that essentially expresses how picture-perfect people are really just uninteresting and not actually genuine. I feel like everyone has either felt like they had to be that person or were around people like that at some point in their lives. The lyrics from it, "Sometimes the ones that you're around will be the ones that put you down," hit hard. They also had the whole room get down on the ground and then jump up. People in the front were headbanging, and around that time, the lead singer ran out into the audience. Some of the best band moments were when the lead singer interacted with the drummer and when two of the guitarists were playing each other’s guitars. At one point, Jack from HVNTED stopped the lead singer of Carry The Day from falling while he was singing by the barricade.

Now, finally, it was time for the band everyone had been waiting for to step up to the plate. A good number of people were even rocking Against The Sun shirts that night. Against The Sun hit the ground running by opening up their set with their new song “BMM,” a heavy song that I’m sure many fans of metal would appreciate. Other songs included on their setlist that night were “The Enemy,” “Back To Ruin,” "Empty Space," “Resentment,” “Video Games,” “JAD,” "Undone,” “Falling Apart,” and “Ashes.” One of the things Against The Sun often says is that they’re either the heaviest band on the bill or the complete opposite. One of the things I love about Against The Sun is that they can go from really heavy, high-energy songs to softer songs like "Undone" that may or may not make you cry. Brad’s clear vocals and Alex’s screams especially fit well together during their live performances. The energy was off the charts during “The Enemy,” which is honestly one of my favorite Against The Sun songs. Alex was shredding guitar hard enough that I’m surprised his fingers didn’t fall off. You also have to appreciate Brad for how fast he can move around the stage while playing guitar. Every time I see this band, I swear they have more energy, and their fanbase just keeps growing. They’ve come a long way since Brad sang a cover of “Since You’ve Been Gone” in junior high. There were also wholesome moments during the set, such as Connor smiling while playing drums and the Brad and Brad moments (yes, there are two Brads in this band).

 Both Alex and lead singer Brad at different moments got right in front of the crowd, and the audience loved it. The lyrics from “Ashes” felt ten times harder when Brad sang them right at the audience. I also really appreciate how all of their original songs have some kind of message attached to them and paint a vivid picture, such as “Jad” on the tragedies of gun violence and “The Enemy” on, well... listen to the lyrics if you want to find out. During their cover of Lana Del Rey’s song “Video Games,” the whole audience was waving their hands in the air. It takes talent to make a Lana Del Rey song heavy, and they pulled it off. In fact, I like their cover more than the original song, but that’s just my opinion. At the end of their set, Brad jumped into the air, and Connor jumped out of his seat. Connor also has one Against The Sun song he sings called “Happy,” and I think it would be pretty cool if Connor did another song because “Happy” is one of those songs that will emotionally get you.

If you missed this show, you missed a night of history, and I’m sorry for your loss, but don’t worry—there will be more. This show was just the beginning of something bigger, and I’m excited to see how the future of these bands shakes out. It also is one of those communities where even bands that weren’t performing that night came out to show their support.