Mosh Lives Tour 2014
Dubbed the most controversial tour of the year, the Mosh Lives Tour made true on its promise to deliver uncompromising raw energy with the likes of Sworn In, Gideon, Thy Art Is Murder, Volumes, and of course the ever popular Emmure. Emmure, being one of the most controversial bands in the scene, makes them the perfect choice to headline. This tour did a great job of bringing a variety of metalcore groups spanning the different styles of the genre that rocked the Glass House in Pomona, California.
The tour kicked off with the Illinois band Sworn In. This angry and energetic group can get any crowd of metalheads moving. Their generic metalcore riffs and high-intensity energy got the floor separating quickly with multiple circle pits breaking out in various places. Sworn In kept security on their toes from the beginning with a never-ending wave of crowd surfers. The band did a great job of establishing a good vibe early in the show giving people something to mosh to before the headliner. Sworn In was under a red stage light for most of their set which created an intense and very metal environment. This atmosphere got their loyal followers excited and threw new fans equally into their set. Sworn In successfully set the bar high for the rest of the night.
Next up was the Christian metal band Gideon. Hailing from Alabama, Gideon showed off their southern style with members wearing a mix of camo pants, simple t-shirts, and blue jeans. They also have a very typical metalcore sounding vibe but brought some impressive breakdowns and nu-metal influence to the stage. It is obvious why Gideon quickly gained a nationwide following with their unique southern style and raw on-stage energy. The band had a lot of loyal followers come out to The Glass House as many people throughout the venue moshed along with each song they played. All in all, the band put on a very powerful performance that kept the energy in-room high after Sworn In.
The next band brought the most surprising performances of the evening. The mates from Sydney, Australia in Thy Art is Murder have been gaining fans for quite some time. Their album Hate is known as one of the best death metal albums to be released in recent years. Most of the crowd seemed to be die-hard fans, who started to go crazy during soundcheck, and didn’t quiet down for the band’s entire set. Red blood-colored light set the scene as frontman CJ McMahon came out prepared for a downpour. He wore a raincoat with the hood up, but that only added to their intense image. They kicked off their set with the thunderous sound of “Defective Breed” off their album Hate and kept the monstrous and heavy sound going. Thy Art of Murder concluded with their hit song “Reign of Darkness” causing the Glass House to erupt in fan-fueled choruses. At this point, the venue was absolutely nuts! There was no shelter for anyone trying to avoid the giant circle pits, but there was still more to come.
Fourth on the bill was Volumes, a Los Angeles metalcore band playing their hometown show, or the closest to it. Volumes had a very large number of dedicated fans turn up to this show, mostly teenagers with baggy pants and backward snapbacks. Volumes brought a different vibe but a similar sound to the venue than the previous bands. Instead of hardcore, southern, and the brutal image the previous three bands brought respectively, the members of Volumes are flashy young guys that just look like they are from Los Angeles. The band kicked off their set with the song “Wormholes” off their latest album Via. This intense song got the younger members of the crowd jumping and pushed some of the older and maybe more ‘traditional’ members back to grab another beer. Nonetheless, Volumes’ sound greatly resembled that of Emmure’s which made them a good addition to this tour and maybe brought some kids out who otherwise would have stayed home. The band continued their high energy set and kept reminding the crowd how much they liked playing for their hometown. The band even made a good gesture playing the song “Limitless”, the favorite song of a fan who recently passed away from a nasty disease. The band progressively got the whole crowd into their set and concluded with “The Columbian Faction” which paved the way for the mighty Emmure.
Emmure came out with a bang as they jumped right into “Solar Flare Homicide” which has now become the norm, however that song is just an epic starting track. The seemingly effortless 2-step dance moves and arm gestures of frontman Frankie Palmeri lived up to his reputation of intense stage antics. The band also brought an impressive light show as they had a combination of the American colors flashing behind them their whole set. The crowd stayed with them from start to finish as they played many of their hit songs spanning many albums such as “Demons with Ryu”, “10 Signs You Should Leave”, “R2 Deepthroat” and “Sunday Bacon”. They also gave the Glass House a treat as they played a new song off their upcoming album Internal Enemies titled “Nemesis” which got this reviewer even more pumped for the album’s upcoming release. Continuing the high energy and heavy sound Emmure, delivered a steady backdrop for Frankie’s moves. They concluded their set “When Keeping Real Goes Wrong” and then came out with “Children of Cybertron” as an encore. On select dates, the band had encored with multiple songs. Nonetheless, they gave an intense heart-pounding show for the fans lucky enough to attend.
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