*Trigger Warning: Mental Health, Car accidents
The metal community came together in Pittsburgh, PA at the Mr. Smalls theater on March 30th for the Dark Path tour. A band that certainly kicks ass, AVOID was a great first opener. Lead singer Benny Scholl got the crowd riled up with his quirky and unique personality. Continuously saying “Fuck the Steelers” and crowd surfing while eating a taco. AVOID mixes alternative and metal elements in their music. Scholl often starts with his smooth singing voice to his high pitched screaming side.
Hollow Front from Grand Rapids, Michigan inspired me with their heavy lyrics, bringing up topics such as mental health and war. Lead vocalist Tyler Tate has a very deep and dark vocal style. Singer and guitarist Dakota Alvarez is a very passionate musician. Dakota’s singing style has a poppy alternative and punk rock sound which adds lots of flavor and harmonization to Tate’s vocals. Unfortunately Hollow Front got into a horrible car accident in the middle of tour. Luckily none of the band mates were harmed, but their tour manager dealt with many severe injuries. Hollow Front has started a go fund me to continue touring your donation big or small would help a lot.
The very special and inspiring band Silent Planet took my breathe away. Performing songs such as “Panic Room” and “Orphan” they really know how to perform a great concert. Lead vocalist Garrett Russell puts his heart and soul into his lyrics bringing up his own personal hardships and struggles with his mental health. I had the pleasure of meeting Garrett after the show. He has a very warm and welcoming soul and the biggest smile. I watched as other fans got to meet him expressing their love and gratitude. Silent planet will be performing again in Pittsburgh with AVOID and I cannot wait to spend another amazing night watching them light up the room.
The night ended with a great performance from the headliner Fit for a King. I had the most fun during their performance joining the mosh pit and crowd surfing. The fans love guitarist Ryan O’Leary or “Tuck”. The talented man exchanged hearts and blew kisses with the crowd. Tuck also made me a bit nauseous while watching him violently spin with his guitar. As the night came to an end I got to meet some great people. My friend Morgan Weber welcomed me into the metal community that night with her stories of warped tour and how she became friends with silent planets drummer Alex Camarena. I left that concert with some amazing memories and a new appreciation for heavy metal music.
FOLLOW THE ARTISTS
AVOID INSTAGRAM: avoidkicksass
BENNY SCHOLL INSTAGRAM: benny.scholl
HOLLOW FRONT INSTAGRAM: hollowfront
TYLER TATE INSTAGRAM: tylertate_hf
DAKOTA ALVEREZ INSTAGRAM: dakotaalverez
HOLLOW FRONT GO FUND ME: https://gofund.me/c5dfa5ff
SILENT PLANET INSTAGRAM: silentplanetband
GARRETT RUSSELL INSTAGRAM: silentgarrett
ALEX CAMARENA INSTAGRAM: mralexrenec
FIT FOR A KING INSTAGRAM: fitforakingtx
RYAN O'LEARY INSTAGRAM: hustlexcrow