Hatebreed! It was a long awaited headlining show. Jamey Jasta is one of the most engaging vocalists in this genre, with a band that all truly look like they want to be there and enjoy what they do (except the bassist)…I don’t think he smiled once, but perhaps smiling would take away from the substantial sound they create.
I hadn’t realized that Portland, Oregon’s Dying Wish was on the tour. I had speculated that they were the local opener. Not having seen them before, I found them to be quite interesting. 
They hit the stage with a lot of energy, and the chatter in the crowd was about singer Emma Boster and her unique style of dance and headbanging. A relatively new band, Dying Wish played songs from their 2021 debut album, “Fragments of a Bitter Memory.”
Melborne, Florida’s Bodysnatcher lit the venue up with their heavy performance. 
With a new release out this year “Bleed-Abide,” they gave the crowd heavy, groove-driven, hard-hitting breakdowns with dirty controlled vocals. Bodies began flying, heads started nodding, and it was the perfect band to warm up the crowd for Gatecreeper and Hatebreed.
Hardcore death metal band Gatecreeper was my favorite of the night. From Phoenix, Arizona, the band played a long set comprised of 13 songs. 
Pummeling drums, circular riffs…a little sludgy; a lot heavy. Gatecreeper was a bit reminiscent of bands like Necrophagia and early Florida death metal…yet modernized. Vocalist Chase “Hellahammer” Mason is a beast live; throw in Matt Arrebollo on drums and you have a mega-heavy band.
Headlining, Grammy Nominated Hatebreed took the stage, and the packed house of frenzied fans lost their shit! 
Inspiring a pit as brutal as I’ve ever seen, I witnessed pit exiters with bloodied faces and limping to the downstairs resting area to take a breather. Jamey Jasta is an excellent front man, both vocally and stage presence-wise. 
This, their 20-year anniversary tour for their 2002 release of “Perseverance,” gave us songs from their entire body of work. With a simple stage set up of banners donning the Hatebreed logo on either side, the men of Hatebreed performed an enormous setlist of beloved, yet brutal songs. When it came time for “Destroy Everything,” the venue absolutely erupted!
