There is something desperately wrong with American metalcore. The fusion genre, which blends elements of metal and hardcore punk into blisteringly technical, mosh-worthy anthems, is in a period where it is struggling to find itself. Every Time I Die and Atreyu personified this identity crisis Monday night at the 9:30 club.
Judging by Monday's show, metalcore is drifting back to its roots, borrowing more and more from the glamour and cheesiness of '80s ballad rock. The bands performed in what seemed more like a Led Zeppelin laser show than a metalcore concert, complete with four giant sets of floodlights and strobes that bathed the audience in light in beat with the music.
Every Time I Die did not disappoint but the lights definitely drained the audience of enthusiasm. The crowd enjoyed the brutal "Champing at the Bit," one of the singles off their last album, "Gutter Phenomenon." But even during a face-melter like "Off Broadway," the lights blinded the crowd and killed the mood.
When ETID played "Kill the Music," off "Gutter Phenomenon," vocalist Keith Buckley invited Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Dimitri Minakakis to perform with him. The sentiment was nice and it was a special treat. Dillinger isn't even on tour with ETID. But the execution of the song left something to be desired and seemed like it could have been practiced a few more times.
An unremarkable set from From First to Last cleared the stage for Atreyu, the night's headliner. After taking 45 minutes to get to the stage, the Orange County metalcore ambassadors let loose on Monday's crowd. Historically, the O.C. was a bastion of West Coast hardcore, home to bands like Agent Orange, Social Distortion and Youth Brigade. But Atreyu takes a step away from punk history and finds themselves, like ETID, in unfamiliar territory.
They entered the stage like prize fighters, a fitting way considering the stage looked like a WWF set, with lots of metal platforms and chain links. After thrashing through some singles from their latest album, "Death Grip on Yesterday," lead vocalist Alex Varkatzas introduced their song "The Theft" as "the closest thing [they] have to a slow jam." He requested the audience hoist lighters and cell phones in the air and sway with the music. This takes a pretty blatant cue from cheesy ballad metal. And though Atreyu had some gnarly breakdowns during their set, the lighter/cell phone debacle is a hint at where metalcore may be going. Welcome to the radio-rock jungle.
