Shows Attended:
6/1: Knocked Loose/Loathe/Show Me the Body/Speed, Roadrunner, Boston, MA
8/19: King Gizzard and the Lizard Ward/Geese, The Stage at Suffolk Down, Boston, MA
9/5: St.Vincent/Yves Tumor, MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Boston, MA
9/24: Remi Wolf/Lava La Rue, MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Boston, MA
10/28 Lorna Shore/Whitechapel/Kublai Khan TX/Sangsugabog, MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Boston, MA
11/2 The Black Dahlia Murder/Dying Fetus/Spite/AngelMaker/Vomit Forth, The Palladium, Worcester, MA
Honorable Mentions: Show Me the Body, Yves Tumor, Loathe
10.The Black Dahlia Murder:
This was the first chance I'd gotten to see Black Dahlia since Trevor Strnad's passing and unsurprisingly, they still bring it live. Brian Eschbach does a good job of keeping Trevor's spirit alive with both his vocal delivery and goofy stage presence and the whole alternating lead guitar dynamic that exists between Brandon Ellis and Ryan Knight is an absolute treat to watch. If the sound mix wasn't so muddy and they hadn't committed the painful crime of dropping "A Shrine to Madness" for "Utopia Black" since the Worcester show was after Halloween, this set probably would've been 1-2 slots higher.
9.Dying Fetus:
Breathtakingly heavy and fun as all hell, Dying Fetus remains one of the most powerful live forces in death metal. All of the material from their latest record Make Them Beg for Death sounds terrific live and the heightened emphasis on cuts from 2012's Regin Supreme was much appreciated as that record remains their finest work in my eyes.
8.Kublai Khan TX:
Outside of my top pick, there isn't a single set that I'll remember more from this year than Kublai Khan TX's 35-minute slot opening for Lorna Shore. The juxtaposition between their chunky, breakdown-happy beatdown hardcore/metalcore sound and vocalist Matt Honeycutt's-who sounds exactly like Stone Cold Steve Austin when he speaks-ramblings about things like what makes a great Texas breakfast (apparently it's eggs, bacon and a little bit of hot sauce) and insistence on referring to the crowd by names like "Babygirl" and "Darling" was oddly mesmerizing. Their delightfully loud drums and bass that I felt in my chest was the perfect cherry on top of this strange gem of a set.
7.Spite:
Outshining standout veteran acts like The Black Dahlia Murder and Dying Fetus isn't easy to do, but Spite pulled it off. The Bay Area deathcore outfit eviscerated the stage with their relentless energy (particularly from vocalist Darius Tehrani) and uniquely hard-hitting sound that draws influences from nu and industrial metal in addition to the typical death metal/hardcore inspirations you see in the genre. I hope to get the chance to see them play a longer set in a smaller venue soon.
6.Whitechapel:
My experiences seeing Whitechapel in the past have been all over the map, so it was awesome to see them absolutely locked in here. Phil Bozeman sounded as sharp as ever vocally and the band was consistently tight as they ripped through a cool career-spanning set that nicely blended their super heavy early material ("Prostatic Fluid Asphyxiation", "This is Exile") with the more melodic stuff they've made recently ("A Bloodsoaked Symphony", "Brimstone"). Anyone catching them on their headliner this spring with Brand of Sacrifice, 200 Stab Wounds and Alluvial should be in for a great time.
5.Lorna Shore:
Seeing Lorna Shore lives comes in with some baked-in sound mixing problems brought on by their heavy use of symphonic instrumentation played off of tape. Personally, I'm willing to accept that because everything else about their show is so great. Will Ramos' rare vocal range somehow becomes even crazier in a live setting and getting the opportunity to see a modern deathcore classic in Pain Remains played in its entirety was just as gloriously epic as I'd hoped it would be.
4.Remi Wolf:
In a just musical landscape, Remi Wolf would already be a superstar. She's got an incredible voice, endearingly goofy sense of humor and a completely distinct sound that fuses together pop, funk, R&B, indie rock and hip-hop elements. Her live show brings all of those things together in a joyous 90-minute blast of pure unadulterated vibrant fun that provides an infectious high that you don't want to ever come down from. Hopefully, we'll get one last crack to see her play in 5,000-capacity venues before she graduates to arenas or stadiums.
3.King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard:
Shitty late summer nights full of pockets of rain and the constant threat of thunderstorms is one of the charms of living on the coast of Massachusetts. This was the finest one of those nights I've ever experienced as the soundtrack to standing in this wet, gray abyss was provided by none other than King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. While their epic nearly 3-hour set didn't carry quite the same high that their Boston Calling set from May 2023 did, it was still a magical tour through their dynamic discography. Among the highlights from this set were the infectiously goofy grooves of the tracks from their new record Flightb741-which had released 10 days prior to this show, the hypnotic manic jazz rock of "Magma" and an unplanned version of "Parhelion" that featured an audience member on lead guitar as a tribute to his late friend.
2.Knocked Loose:
One of the main reasons Knocked Loose has risen to the top of the heavy music ranks is their ability to stay hyperfocused on delivering brutality in a lethally effective manner. This gift goes into overdrive in a live setting. The devastation they leave on the stage with their staggeringly visceral sound is simply magnificent and provides the kind of inspiration for wide-eyed young -core fans that will go on to make their own great music someday in the same way that bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge and Every Time I Die did for their generation.
1.St. Vincent:
Honestly, Annie Clark is one of the only performers on the planet that could top the live shows of both Knocked Loose and King Gizz. Seeing her headline was something that I was eager to do after watching her burn up the stage at Boston Calling in 2018 and she somehow managed to obliterate that incredible performance here. Her vocal/guitar prowess, crisp sound mix, and hypnotic lighting choices created the kind of surreal euphoric atmosphere that you're chasing every time you go out to see a live show. It's easily among the most jaw-dropping live sets I've ever seen, and I'll cherish the memories from it for as long as I possibly can.
