This past Saturday, October 7th LANDMVRKS, Counterparts, Fit For A King & The Devil Wears Prada brought 'The Metalcore Dropout Tour' though Charlotte, NC. With 27 dates and one of the most stacked "metalcore lineups" i've seen in a minute; to no surprise, the event sold out multiple days before it began; so, accordingly...I prepared for madness. Charlotte is known for going buckwild, especially for metal/hardcore adjacent "heavy" type music, and this show was no exception. While all 4 bands performed, this piece will focus on who I personally thought had the best sets: Counterparts & The Devil Wears Prada.
LANDMVRKS
Coming into the night, I had not heard of this band. I looked them up on the way to the venue and quickly discovered they are a heavy band not from the USA. They mix the new wave of 'rapcore' and metalcore well, they have had multiple features from easycore vets Chunk, No Captian, Chunk! to up & coming rapcore emcees. Their set was solid, Limp Bizkit is coming back in style, so this rap fusion being popular makes sense. Like if Suicideboys played instruments live, had good songwriting & breakdowns/call out parts.
COUNTERPARTS
As a preface to this piece, I am an avid Counterparts fan, and also have a song featuring Brendan, so I am implicitly biased toward this band. (Shameless plug to check out our song here)
The last time Counterparts played in North Carolina was last year in Greensboro at Hangar 1819. Much smaller of a venue than The Fillmore, last time around, the band was headlining. With that, comes more stage time & more time to play additional songs. So while the set might not have been as long or as intimate, its still safe to say that they went above and beyond for a band supporting 2 coheadlining bands on tour for 27 days. I was pleasantly surprised by their song choices, even with the smaller amount of time this go around. Its very clear that every member of this band is extremely proficient at their respective instruments. Aside from just being good, they are so very tight. Stemming from Kyle Browning's nearly robotic drumming, building with the syncopated string section, and getting topped off with the energetic and mind blowing live vocals from Brendan. Abundant crowd surfing and moshing, as expected. I don't think the crowd, however, expected it to get that rowdy that fast. Counterparts will always be a goated band in my eyes, and I can't wait till they reach (the much deserved) level of headlining larger auditorium type tours.
FIT FOR A KING
I remember discovering this band right before Covid, and thinking to myself "this band is gonna exponentially grow within the next few years." While they aren't a Bad Omens level of "big," they certainly have cemented their spot into the current metalcore scene. With multiple members of the band already being balls deep in the music industry(not saying that as a bad thing, it just is what it is haha), its not a surprise they landed a co-headlining tour spot with one of the biggest metalcore bands to ever exist. Their projections are only heading up as they continue to put up numbers online, team up with the legends within the bag of music they play, & put on a tight show. I couldn't find anything negative to say about the set if I tried, it was that good(And I wasn't expecting to like it that much) I left with nothing but respect for this band.
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Plain and simple, this band fucks, and has fucked for a looooooong fucking time. I remember seeing them at Warped Tour back in the day and just thinking "holy shit this is awesome."
Emerging from Dayton, Ohio, in '05, TDWP swiftly became torchbearers within the Metalcore scene. The band's lineup, consisting of Mike Hranica, Chris Rubey, Jeremy DePoyster, Andy Trick, and Daniel Williams, represented a perfect synergy of talent, creativity, and mind blowing songwriting. You read that right, TWO THOUSAND AND FIVE. (dies of old age) How does a band in this genre not just last, but prosper, for almost 20 years?
Their debut album, "Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord" (2006), was a breath of fresh 'core' air, blending ferocious intensity with profound lyrical storytelling. Next they released
"Plagues" (2007) which was great, but not THAT ALBUM. "With Roots Above and Branches Below" (2009) solidified their reputation, and status within the scene as more than your "run of the mill" metalcore band.
They have released multiple albums since then, but that was the one that really pushed them into the limelight. With their rich discography and (seemingly unyielding creativity, TDWP continues to push the boundaries of metalcore, leaving an indelible mark on the genre. At first I didn't like them co-headlining with FFAK, but thats because I knew how good TDWP is but I slept on FFAK.
So heavy, so much intrinsic energy, so tight, TDWP will always be a goated band in my eyes.
Make sure to check out the remaining dates of their tour here.
All words & photos: @SAUCEWITHSPOONS