WCAR brings Darkbloom to Fillmore Charlotte Underground
A night of gutturals and adrenaline
Thursday nights in Charlotte are always the most bustling times. The city comes alive with bright eyes anticipating the Friday air of – it’s the weekend! The announcement of The DarkBloom tour was priming us for a night of metal and escapism.
When I arrived at The Fillmore Charlotte – Underground in Charlotte, NC, the line wrapped around the building for a #CLTSellout show. The fans were decked out in their We Came As Roman’s SWAG comparing all the different times they have seen them live, and anticipation of getting to see a lot of the new album Darkbloom live tonight. Even in the crowd, I stumbled upon my son and his girlfriend, so it became a family affair. Which I love.
When our son was very young his father and I were on the guestlist because they used our road cases. He was 11 or 12 and it was a long while back (over a decade) at Amos’ Southend. He sat on the balcony after meeting the band pie-eyed and watched the show and fell in love with metal that night. While I am no different, a few years prior to that I saw my first WCAR show and have had the pleasure of following their career since. I was introduced to their first full-length album To Plant a Seed, which dropped in 2009.
Every album since has been an evolution and growth of the band I saw basically starting from high school. We all mourned the loss of band member Kyle Pavone who passed away in 2018. There was a foundation created in his name, and with that news, the band confirmed they would go on and not replace him. To honor him in the coming years they hit the road harder and spread the word on his foundation.
On October 14, 2022, the band released Darkbloom, the first album since 2017, and set off on a tour along with Brand of Sacrifice, and Erra.
The lights flickered, and the dim became bright. It was time to get brutal.
BRAND OF SACRIFICE
Openers were the Toronto-based quintet Brand of Sacrifice. Their career started in 2018, and as time flew, they found themselves established with many fans they dubbed “The Branded Ones.”
The Canadian technical slam-core/deathcore band is a long way from their home treating us to brutal harmonies and metal idealization in person.
Tonight, we heard a variety of songs from their debut and newest sophomore album Lifeblood, which earned them a Juno nomination and 8 additional Billboard chart listings. With the band’s releases to date, BRAND OF SACRIFICE has hit 50 million streams and 10 million YouTube views.
Fun fact: The band’s name is from the popular anime series Berserk by Kentaro Miura
Their live set was laced with chaotic soundscapes of gutturals and drum blasts; they are a great addition to starting a show with such energy. They ripped through fan favorite songs “Eclipse” and played the new “Exodus”, looking around, the crowd was very much into them. I felt a sense of energy from them, imperative to a show to remember. The stand-out for their set was seeing them live the pitch, tone, and set was impecable. Many fans came to see just them and hit the merch table and exited. They did miss thet rest of a good show; but it’s what I saw and heard standing near the merch table. My true opinion is they should never be an opening band again.
They command the stage – the fun part to their set is not only are they demanding circle pits and interaction they did a wall of death. For those unfamiliar with metal that is where you split the crowd right down the middle and on the announcers command the crowd runs at each other windmilling and dancing their hearts out. It’s brutal, it’s fun to see, and it’s one of those moments that work so well when you have a commanding leader such as vocalist Kyle Anderson. The bands that hit a stage and the room palpates with energy, attention, and ethereal release of endorphins experiencing something not many can achieve.
Fans at any BRAND OF SACRIFICE show will be familiar with set-closer “Eclipse” and its ending chant of, “Welcome to the new age.” With ‘Exodus’, it’s evident the band has ushered in yet another, even fresher era from which there is no turning back. I very much encourage you to seek out their music and live show.
The lights went down, and we had a moment to breathe, preparations for the next set.
ERRA
After the lights went down again, the crew came out to switch the gear, and we chatted amongst the crowd about what they were most excited about. There were fans of the ERRA close to the front (I could actually read the shirt, they are slacking!) The American Progressive Metal bands self-identify as melodic-ambient metal.
The reference is the focus of the melodies in the hooks you get drawn into. The band has released five studio albums and three EPs to date. Their latest album, titled Erra, the band entertained the crowd with a bit less crowd-surfing.
The more melodic metal seems to engage the crowd in a way of changing and belting the lyrics. it was fun to watch the play between the two vocalists.
Jesse Cash who also plays guitars and lands the cleans while J.T. Cavey controls the rest, and they mesh very well. Bass player Conor Hesse was fun to photograph, the energy of drummer Alex Ballew is explosive. After the lights went down again, the crew came out to switch the gear, and we chatted amongst the crowd about what they were most excited about.
There were fans of the ERRA close to the front (I could actually read the shirt, they are slacking!) The American Progressive Metal bands self-identify as melodic-ambient metal. The reference is the focus of the melodies in the hooks you get drawn into.
The band has released five studio albums and three EPs to date. Their latest album, titled Erra, the band entertained the crowd with a bit less crowd-surfing. The more melodic metal seems to engage the crowd in a way of changing and belting the lyrics. it was fun to watch the play between the two vocalists.
Jesse Cash who also plays guitars and lands the cleans while J.T. Cavey controls the rest, and they mesh very well. Bass player Conor Hesse was fun to photograph, the energy of drummer Alex Ballew is explosive.
I love to watch a drummer go nuts during a show. It’s invigorating and half the time though they are the foundation of a good song, do not get enough credit.
Fun Fact: Erra is the Babylonian god of mayhem.
We Came As Romans
One last time the lights dimmed, the crew changed out some of the gear, the crowd grew anxious, and the entire room now slathered in WCAR gear new and old started to chant for the band. As the first opening chord happened the energy palpable exploded. Lead singer Dave Stephens jumped on the ego riser, and we were off. They started the show with “Daggers”, their show while we can write how energetic, brutal, intense, or 90,000 words to describe you have to experience it yourself to truly understand. The bass shakes your insides and tingles your skin. Your heartbeat slowly escalates, your pupils dilate, and your body releases all the endorphins you could ask for.
This is the addiction factor to metal shows, this is the true addiction factor to a metal show. Some were lucky enough to know word-for-word the songs of the night. Shouted so hard they lost their voice as we left the venue they were cracking just as many jokes and voices.
The 16-song-set started with “Daggers” a single off of Darkbloom, led into “Golden” and then “Anchor.” I watched guitarist Lou Cotton smiles as he played next to bassist Andy Glass, and they feed off each other’s energy while engaging the crowd. Lead guitarist Joshua Moore joined in the fun, and I remembered back to the beginning. Seeing how far they have come and persevered. Drummer David Puckett slammed the skins to the rhythm of the crowd jumping. The whole crowd jumping.
Toward the end of the set, we were treated to Darkbloom single done two-ways the second Brand of Sacrifice came out to join and ended the night with “Black Hole.” The lights faded while the crowd still cheered and chanted for more. We begrudgingly packed up to leave and hit the traffic of fans elated and satisfied.
Fun fact: Lead singer David Stephens attended culinary school and if the band hadn’t worked out, he was set to be a chef.
One of my other ultimately favorite points of leaving a good concert. The adrenaline is still pumping the joy on faces, smiles and all of our life outside the venue is still off our shoulders and you hear the echoes of everyone’s favorite album of the band they just saw echoing in the crisp night air.
Tonight, was no different. I smiled and threw on as I stepped into my sports car and sped away. Pumped and excited to write about the night, get the full gallery out that you can go see here. And spread the word on WCAR to those who love metal or are trying to expand their bands to experience. 10/10 truly recommend it.
Click Here for the Full Gallery of the Evening!
If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.
#Fandamonium
