There’s a bar on Main Street here in Buffalo by the name of Broadway Joe’s that local promotion company New Hope Buffalo Booking hosts most of its shows at. The venue is small, cramped, and generally frowned upon by many people in the local music scene whether they admit it outright or not.
However, the normally sparse bar filled up with around 130 people on Monday night when King Conquer, The Last Ten Seconds Of Life, Adaliah, and Sworn In brought the heaviest music Broadway Joe’s has heard in a while.
After inclement weather forced The Eat Your Heart Out Festival in Poughkeepsie, NY to be cancelled this past weekend, these four hard hitting metal bands were ready to hit the stage and perform with an intense energy no matter the crowd size. The intense hate moshing, two stepping, and mic grabbing that the crowd engaged in only amped the bands up more and made the show one of the most successful ones New Hope Buffalo Booking has ever had.
Adaliah, Sworn In, and The Last Ten Seconds of Life were refreshing to listen to and each band brought their own unique twist within the breakdowns and bass drops. Illinois based band Sworn In captured the majority of the crowd’s attention performing tracks such as “Apex” and “Letdown” from their latest EP Start/End (available for free online). Their new single “Three Cheers” received a resounding roar of approval from the crowd when their vocalist showcased his gutturals as he prowled on stage, stomping with every crash of cymbals. All of the members had a fantastic stage presence and were my favorite national opener of the night.
While the opening acts held their own, nobody could compare to King Conquer. With 35,000 likes on Facebook, this Deathcore band deserves way more. Their songs are technical and well produced on recordings but hearing them live is a whole new experience. Seeing the passion on vocalist James Mislow’s face as he growls is mesmerizing. He focuses and puts both his brain and his heart into performing with his equally talented band. King Conquer performed “Wasted Potential” and “Extinguisher” off their full length album America’s Most Haunted. New singles “Tyranny” and “A Day Late and A Dollar Short” from their upcoming album 1776 were also on the set list and pleased the audience to where they chanted for an encore.
Local bands Deliver The Fallout, Scenery With Solace, and Through The Hourglass had the honor of sharing the stage with the bands and did well. However, Through The Hourglass delivered the most energetic set with vocalist Derek Bajdas utilizing every square inch of the stage and calling up other local vocalists for “Colors” and “Ifuxwitit”. Seeing so many people support these locals and cheer them on was heartwarming and exemplified the need to focus on hometown acts and preservation of the scene.
The Eat Your Heart Out Tour will continue through February 26, concluding in King Conquer’s home state of Florida.
