After The Burial: Live Review

By Taylor Younani

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September 3rd, Key Club, Hollywood CA: After weeks of anticipation, "The Anti-Hero Tour" launched September 3rd at Hollywood's famous "Key Club".

Starting the night off was a local metal band known as "The Dark Alliance" only to be followed by underground New York hardcore punk/metal fusion group called "Stray From The Path". The next band to take the stage, "The Word Alive", were a group of young guys from Arizona who just finished quite a long stint with the Vans Warped Tour. As if the lineup could not have gotten any better, breakdown experts "For Today", powerfully fill the slot opening up for the true stars of the night, progressive masters "After the Burial". No matter what type of metal you are more inclined to listen to, this night seems to have a little bit of everything and should surely please everyone in attendance.

As I made my way into the Key Club, the opening band, "The Dark Alliance", had already begun playing. Normally, I am never interested in listening to the local bands, however having met the guitarist outside, I figured I might as well give them a listen. To my surprise, I really enjoyed what I heard. The riffs were extremely powerful, and the rhythm section was fantastic. Although they didn't incorporate as many breakdowns as the other bands of the night, the crowd seemed to really enjoy their performance. It was quite refreshing to see such a young groups of musicians with such talent in a world full of "guitar collectors", rather than actual guitar players. Their twenty minute set was an absolutely great way to open what would surely be a epic night of music.

The next band to hit the stage were a group of guys from New York going by the name of "Stray From the Path". Having heard some of there stuff before, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect, however I tried my best to see them without any previously conceived biases I had. This would normally be the part of the show that I would head to the merch tables to check out the shirts, however I decided to stick around. In general, my music taste tends to stay away from hardcore punk, however as the band's set progressed, I really enjoyed what I heard. The band brought with them a great amount of energy, and the crowd really enjoyed the music being played. Their songs were complex, and incorporated many different aspects of music, be it the breakdowns, two-steps, or even the obviously punk influenced guitar parts. One thing I absolutely despised about this band was the crowd that they drew. Having been to many metals shows, I have seen every type of pit there is to see: circle pits, slam dancing, the wall of death, etc. but never have I seen the type of hardcore dancing I saw at this show. The fans were the absolute WORST hardcore dancers of all time. Not only were they bad at doing it, but their technique was just downright weird. People throughout the crowd were laughing at their pathetic attempts to stand out. Knowing that the rest of the night had multiple breakdowns in store for us, I was not at all eager to witness the movement that would soon ensue in the pit.

Following Stray From the Path was Arizona metal heads "The Word Alive". Having missed this band both times I attended Warped Tour this past summer, I was quite excited to see what the band had to offer in a live performance. Seeing as though the bands first full length album, "Deceiver", had just come out a few days prior to the Key Club show, the band felt it was crucial to open up with the powerful opening track called "The Hounds of Anubis". As the lead singer Tyler shouted "I'm the king of the world!", the rest of the band immediately kicked in with power that you don't normally see from a post-hardcore band. Their new sound is noticeably different than their old, and in my opinion, suits the band better. After playing a few of the tracks off the new album, my buddy and I stood their in awe. Their technicality and time became way more impressive and it was clear by the way the crowd reacted. Setting aside some time to play a couple old tracks, "Casanova Rodeo" and "Battle Royale", the band managed to play a little bit under half of their new album, which was just fantastic considering they only had a 30 minute slot. I could see that many people in the crowd truly enjoyed their performance, however there was quite a handful of people who could care less seeing as though "For Today" was up next. Despite the crowds lack of energy, the band produced a phenomenal set, truly making me regret having not seen them in the past.

As the night was slowly coming to a close, Christian band "For Today" made it's way onstage only to be greeted by a pit already in full form. The band opened up with a song off their new album, "Breaker", entitled "Seraphim". Which was, in my opinion, the perfect way to open up a show. The energy that the band brought to their performance drove the crowd absolutely wild, to the point that people were actually jumping on each others backs. Seeing as though their album had just been released, the band continued to play another song called "Devastator" to please their true fans. I was honestly blown away by their performance. I had heard good things about them, but their performance had absolutely no flaws. Their songs were played exactly as they were on the albums, and the sound was just fantastic. However there was one thing about their set that I really disliked. I felt as though I was at church. I have no problem with their lyrics being Christian, considering many of the bands I listen to are Christian bands, but their passion was so over the top. The singer took about three minutes during the middle of their set to talk about Jesus and how he is coming back to save all of us. Seriously? That was three minutes you could have used to play another song. I paid money to see your band play, if I wanted to listen to someone talk about Jesus, I would have gone to church. Despite the fact that many people in the audience felt as confused as I did about the bands sunday school lecture, the band managed to finish the show off with a bang, closing with their crowd pleaser, "Agape". After sitting through about forty minutes of "For Today", I can only assume they want us to, "Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength.", seeing as though that is the closing line in "Agape". I might not love the same Lord as they do, but I sure as hell love their music, and can't wait to see them again.

The band that brought an end to my night of metal were a group of guys from the Twin Cities whom I have been wanting to see for about two years now. After the Burial bring with them elements of many different genres of metal. They have a progressive aspect to their music through their complex guitar riffs and drum parts. The vocalist Anthony has a death metal feel to his vocals at times, and yet the band still manages to add breakdowns to their songs. The band opened up with "Berzerker", which is honestly the best way to open up a show. This song is so heavy and brilliant, that I bet most of the artists there wished that the song had been their creation. Not only did this band play much of their latest album, but they also played a couple of songs off their old album, which is truly a treat considering it is quite difficult to find that album anywhere online other than Youtube and iTunes. The audience was even able to hear a new song that has not even been recorded yet. I mean, everything about After the Burial's set was truly amazing. Their energy was unsurpassed, and the sheer musicianship that each player brought to the band was enough to make anyone quit playing music out of guilt and embarrassment. As my night was coming to a close, I was absolutely thrilled to hear two of my favorite After the Burial songs as their closers. "Aspirations" was a simply perfect way to usher in the last song of the night, "A Steady Decline". To be honest, I don't think I have ever been more pleased with a band's performance in my entire life. After the Burial were everything that I expected, and more.

This night was truly one of the better concerts I had been to in a long time, despite the horrible hardcore dancers and the sermon midway through. I cannot wait for each band to come to town again, however this tour was most definitely once in a lifetime. For those that missed "The Anti-Hero Tour", I am sorry.

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