The OC Observatory in Santa Ana hosted metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada (TDWP) on Sunday. “The 8:18 Tour” was in support of TDWP’s fifth studio album, appropriately titled “8:18.”
This was the tenth time I have seen TDWP live. This show, like others before, proves why I enjoy seeing them time-after-time.
Here are the highlights of the show in descending order.
The Good
1)The Devil Wears Prada-Metalcore elite
The intensity the band brought to the stage was sensational. The crowd erupted with aggression while the band rolled through their hour-long set. One could not help but head-bang to every beat the band brought. Each song was louder than the last.
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Seven of the band’s 18 songs were off the new album, including: “Gloom,” “Martyrs,” “War” and “First Sight.”
The loud, screeching vocals of Mike Hranica compliment well with clean vocalist Jeremy DePoyster (who was also celebrating a birthday). Both singers have very distinctive voices that make the band excel in their genre.
A perfect song where both singers rise to the occasion is one of the band’s more popular songs, “Danger:Wildman.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru5sK7VGgHk
2)The Ghost Inside-Hardcore dominance
The Ghost Inside (TGI) is a popular band in the hardcore metal scene and have always shown why with their live performances. Crowd surfing and stage diving was at its peak when TGI took the stage with “Engine 45.”
The band engaged aplenty with the young crowd and their songs have a lot of chants that encourage audience participation. Many times throughout their set, lead singer Jonathan Vigil aimed his microphone to the sky to let fans scream their lungs out.
These guys always bring the party with them whenever they play a show.
3)Volumes-Surprisingly good
Led by two screaming vocalists, the Los Angeles natives brought their sound (and even their dog) to the stage to excite the Orange County fans. The band only played five songs but they set the bar high for the following bands.
The two singers and even the bassist used all of the stage to play their music and interact with the audience. They walked around within the crowd, gave them the microphone and high-fived a lot of fans.
The Bad
4)Texas in July-Nothing special
When the heck did Texas in July get a new singer?
Whether it’s a temporary or permanent replacement, this lead singer was nothing special. He sounded almost pitch-perfect to the original lead singer, but was nothing special either.
These guys don’t add anything unique to the metalcore scene. They parade us with boring, generic guitar strums, less than stellar breakdowns and a sub-par lead singer.
The Ugly
5)Lacking-security
It took way too long for security to get in between the crowd barrier and stage.
After TGI’s first song, Vigil was almost begging security to come to the front and help catch crowd surfers to prevent injuries.
The venue should really do their research and hire more security for the more rowdy shows.
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