August Burns Red

August Burns Red | We Came As Romans | Hollow Front |Void of Vision – Portland, Oregon – Roseland Theater – August 6, 2022 Show Review

There is no doubt that August Burns Red was the Headliner! Wait! I’m getting ahead of myself.

It was a hot Saturday night in Portland, Oregon when this group of bands came to town. Up first was Void of Vision, a metalcore band from Australia. With nearly 10 years into the game, they made it known that their job was to get the crowd warmed up for the night, and they did just that. Noting it was their first time in Portland, they met the expectations of what their website says: “…Void of Vision have used their platform as a projection of anger, apathy, darkness, and despair. Whether faithful fan or peripheral onlooker, the band’s……. and live performance elements make [de] their bleak sentiments clear for anyone to see.”

The singer was fascinating to watch, and they had the crowd jumping from the start.

The long-awaited arrival of Michigan’s Hollow Front was realized as they took the stage next. We missed them on the Fit for A King tour due to an accident where they had to miss Portland and Idaho. They made up for lost time and had a touching moment when one of their crew played guitar on a song. This crew member had been very hurt in the accident and there were hugs of joy and admiration as he removed the guitar strap from his shoulder. Relatively new, their debut album has had millions of streams. Hollow Front has the ability to capture the attention of unfamiliar fans with their easy to follow, solid song construction. I really enjoyed this band.

Fellow Michigan metalcore band, We Came As Romans was up third, and were the ones I came to see. The super-hot Andy Glass was mesmerizing as he orbited his bass around his body with extreme energy and precision. This band was on fire and, while not as heavy as August Burns Red, they were a great fit.

I know they played:

Darkbloom
Wasted Age
Daggers
Plagued
Hope
Tracing Back Roots
Cold Like War
Lost in the Moment
Black Hole

But I lost track and am not sure if they played Carry the Weight or Learning to Survive. I was camera down, staring at Mr. Glass, up front, hot and sweaty.

Now for August Burns Red. So, as we waited for the set change, towards the end System of a Down’s “Chop Suey!” played. You know, the modern version of “Bohemian Rhapsody” for the crowd to congregate and bond.

We all sang:

“Wake up
Grab a brush and put a little make-up
Hide the scars to fade away the shake-up
Why’d you leave the keys upon the table?
Here you go create another fable

Grab a brush and put a little makeup
You wanted to
Hide the scars to fade away the shake-up
You wanted to
Why’d you leave the keys upon the table?
You wanted to

I don’t think you trust
In… My… Self-righteous suicide
I… Cry… When angels deserve to…” (the lights go dark)

AND THEN…

Jake Luhrs, vocalist for August Burns red screams “DIE”! and the entire band finishes the entire song with such fervor and zeal. The crowd went into a frenzy! There were bodies everywhere, flying over the railing, crowd surfing, moshing…it was awesome.