Metal shows thrive on passion, grit, and a sense of community—and all three were alive and well at The Cabooze in Minneapolis on Sunday, September 21st, as Convictions, War of Ages, and Demon Hunter delivered a night of intensity that fans will be talking about for a long time.
Convictions played with raw emotion and unrelenting energy. Their setlist, highlighted by tracks like “Stigmata,” “Sleeping Lotus,” and “Hurts Like Hell,” perfectly balanced crushing heaviness with moments of vulnerability. The band’s reputation as “aggressive worship” was on full display, with breakdowns that shook the room and lyrics that pointed heavenward. As the band closed their set with “Metanoina,” the crowd responded with immediate energy, thrashing in the pit and voices shouting back every line. This was my first time seeing the band live, and I really wished they could’ve played a longer set.
War of Ages took the stage with a presence that felt both seasoned and hungry. You could tell they’ve been doing this for years—their confidence showed in the way they locked in as a band—but nothing about their set felt routine. Every riff hit with precision, the melodies cut to the heart, and Isaiah Perez’s drumming sounded like thunderclaps in your chest. What stood out most was the intensity in how they carried themselves; it wasn’t just a performance, it was a proclamation. Between songs, they engaged the crowd in a way that pulled everyone closer, and you could sense people feeding off their passion. War of Ages didn’t just play loud—they played like faithful men with something urgent to say, and that urgency gave the whole room weight. Their set was less about showcasing songs and more about creating a moment that left you standing a little taller than when it started.
Then came Demon Hunter, the night’s headliner, and the crowd erupted as they launched into a career-spanning set. From the start of their opening song, “Sorrow Light the Way,” Ryan Clark’s vocals were the anchor of the performance. It didn’t matter whether he was delivering guttural screams, soaring melodies, or slipping into a haunting falsetto—every word landed squarely on pitch. Depending on the song, Ryan’s voice can come across brutal or beautiful, but always deeply personal.
The setlist featured songs from over half of their twelve-album discography. We all loved hearing new songs, such as “I’m Done,” and “The Pain in Me is Gone,” as well as older tracks like “Cut to Fit,” “Cold Winter Sun,” “The Last One Alive,” and “Peace.” The heaviest point of the night, without a doubt, came with “Jesus Wept.” The band also stripped down and did a short acoustic set, performing “Dead Flowers” and “I Am a Stone.” As a longtime fan, my only disappointment was not hearing any of their earliest songs. The oldest track of the night was “Collapsing” from their fifth record, and I couldn’t believe they didn’t reach back to the debut album for the fans who have been with them from the very beginning.
The way they chose to end the night couldn’t have been more different from every other metal show I’ve attended in the past (and I’ve been to a ton). For the closing song, Clark dedicated it to his late mother, and the entire atmosphere shifted. Phones lit up across the crowd, casting a glow that made the room feel almost like a sanctuary. The song itself was slow and reflective, performed with a tenderness that stood in stark contrast to everything that came before it. It was a bold move to finish a metal show with something so quiet and reverent, but it worked. In fact, it gave the night a sense of weight and closure that no wall of sound could have achieved—a reminder that heaviness can come through both volume and vulnerability.
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