On Tuesday, May 5th, the “Spring Horizons Tour” came to The Fillmore in Minneapolis, treating hundreds of metalcore fans to a memorable night. The co-headlining tour featured The Amity Affliction and August Burns Red.
The Amity Affliction started things off with “Kickboxer,” and the crowd immediately erupted. They followed with “Like Love,” “Drag the Lake,” and “Heaven Sent.” Vocalist Joel Birch knows exactly how to stir up a crowd. He regularly called for circle pits, split the room in half for a “wall of death,” and encouraged nonstop crowd surfing. It wasn’t all chaos, though. The band does an amazing job blending heavy riffs and screaming with beautiful melodies. While Joel Birch naturally gets a lot of attention as the frontman, the band’s new bassist, Jonny Reeves, carried a lot of the weight vocally throughout the set.
The band has been putting out music since 2003, so it was a little unfortunate for old-school fans that they didn’t play anything from their first two albums. The oldest songs in the set were “Open Letter” and “Chasing Ghosts” from their 2012 album of the same name. I get it, though; it has to be difficult to balance what longtime fans want to hear with excitement about newer material. The band’s latest album, “House of Cards,” is pretty solid. One of the highlights of the set was their newest single, “Bleed.” It’s incredibly heavy, and if you haven’t heard it yet, you’re in for a treat.
They closed with “Death’s Hand,” “Pittsburgh,” and “Soak Me In Bleach.” I’m embarrassed to admit this was my first time seeing this legendary Australian band, but they completely blew me away. I’ll definitely be catching them again the next time they come through Minnesota.
The anticipation kept building during the twenty-five-minute intermission before August Burns Red finally took the stage. They opened strong with “Meddler,” “Back Burner,” and “Invisible Enemy.” After that, they treated the crowd to “The Nameless” and “Behemoth,” two singles from their upcoming album, “Season of Surrender.” I can’t wait for June 5 because these songs are incredible. I was a little disappointed they didn’t play their latest promo single, “Sonic Salvation,” but I was still thrilled to hear the two new tracks.
The Pennsylvania band then shifted into some of their heaviest material: “Bloodletter,” “The Eleventh Hour,” and “Paramount.” Watching these five guys interact on stage is always entertaining. You can tell they’re still close friends and genuinely having a blast together. The highlight of the night was Matt Greiner’s drum solo. Not only is he one of the best drummers in metalcore, but the rest of the band joined in as well. Dustin, Brent, and JB each grabbed a floor tom while Jake contributed five perfectly timed notes on the triangle. It was hilarious.
To close out the night, they played “Composure” and “Whitewashed.” I’ve seen August Burns Red many times before, but this may have been the best performance I’ve seen from them yet. After the show, Matt and Jake jumped the barricade to meet fans. My two sons were with me, and they were thrilled to get selfies with them. August Burns Red never disappoints, and they’re some of the nicest musicians you could ever meet. If you still have the chance, I highly recommend catching this tour.
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