Fans from all over the state gathered at The Blind Tiger in Greensboro, NC for a night of local powerhouses joined together to celebrate the release of A Light Divided’s newest record, ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’. This was a free show for fans of all ages to come out and just enjoy a night of awesome bands and share in the celebration as a metal community. For me personally, it was great to see so much support for the local bands, running into many familiar faces and even making some new connections with some folks.
The first band to hit the stage was Charlotte’s own, Vices & Vessels. The band set the night off with their mix of post-hardcore and metalcore, giving the fans a bit of brutality at the start of the night. Vices & Vessels had many in the crowd headbanging as they delivered their powerhouse set.
The second band to take the stage was Greensboro metalcore band, Fear The United. This band had a good amount of energy on stage, but with the horrible lighting in the venue during their set, it made it very difficult to capture the band in its entirety. Overall, I think the band did a very good job of helping to get the crowd’s energy up and helping to build upon the excitement that Vices & Vessels started.
After the stage was cleared, fellow Greensboro Symphonic Metal band, Raimee hit the stage. This band always has a great stage presence about them, leaving everything that they have on the stage. One thing that is always important about live performances is, if the band has energy then it will radiate to the fans in the crowd delivering a great experience for all in attendance. Raimee did just that, between their interactions with members in the crowd to their cover of Coheed and Cambria’s ‘Welcome Home’, the band was firing on all cylinders through their set.
The main support for the night was Charlotte’s hard rock band, Reason Define. It has been about 2 years since I’ve seen this band live, their album release party was actually the first show that I covered for Antihero Magazine, so it was good to see things come full circle. The band, who recently returned home from touring delivered a stellar performance with tons of energy. I don’t think a single person in the building was not singing along with the band or moving their bodies in some form. Things did get a little out of hand when an intoxicated fan climbed on stage in an attempt to crowd surf kicking the guitar of Shelby McVicker on his way down. Which did cause a short distraction on both the stage and in the crowd but was short lived as the band finished their set not missing a beat.
Lastly, the night’s headliners and the reason why everyone was gathered there on this night, hit the stage. This was my first time seeing A Light Divided live, I have been friends with members of this band for a while now, but I never really had the time to make it out to one of their shows, but man was I missing out. With a setlist focused heavily on the new album, the band delivered one of the highest energy performances that I have ever seen from a local band. You could tell that the band was excited about the show since every single member has a smile on their face for the entire performance.
You can check out A Light Divided as the tour the East Coast through the beginning of November, if you have a chance and they are coming close to you, go to the show, you won’t be disappointed. You can listen to ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ on all major streaming sites and well as buy physical copies from the band on tour and from the band’s website at www.alightdivided.com.
A Light Divided
Reason Define
Raimee
Fear The United
Vices & Vessels
