Suicide Silence & The Black Dahlia Murder destroy the TLA in Philly
On October 10th 2014, The Blackcraft presents Black Dahlia Murder, Suicide Silence, Chelsea Grin, & Alterbeast tour has taken control of The Theater Of The Living Arts close to being SOLD OUT. The crowd mostly wearing RIP Mitch Lucker shirts and Suicide Silence shirt along with very dark emo clothes and Black Dahlia Murder shirt filling the venue on almost every single attendee. What struck me about this show was the vast diversity in the crowd from young to old from men/women to children everyone was there and having a great time.
Beginning the night was Alterbeast, who we unfortunately missed out opportunity to photograph as we were interviewing Mark of Suicide Silence at that time, but we were fortunate enough to be able to catch the ending half of their set which was great and very different from music I am used too, They put on quite an energy filled set.
Taking the stage next was Chelsea Grin, who came out swinging with their fast drumming and hard-hitting breakdowns. Singer Alex Koehler wasted no time in getting the crowd warmed up by initiating a wall of death. The crowd, almost sold out, was digging it up, even as people were still coming inside were loving it. Those in attendance will tell you that if you like deathcore, Chelsea Grin is a band to see. I couldn’t agree more. They have a catchy death core sound with unique instrumentals though out their entire set, Alex Koehler with a unique vibe to himself with a very rapper antics when performing.
Suicide Silence taking the stage next, A band who is well respected within this music scene. Eddie Hermida does a fantastic job with vocals and he is a great entertainer. His talents combined with his sick band made for an EPIC show! So fucking good! The sound was amazing too. Hermida’s vocals were on point for the entire performance, and his crowd reception was awesome as he began a wall of death multiple times throughout the night. Suicide Silence blew the roof off The Theater Of The Living Arts, and put on an unforgettable performance, finishing up with “You Only Live Once” which was the first track recorded with the new vocalist after Mitch Lucker’s death, where Eddie demanded the crowd go crazy!
Black Dahlia Murder up next, a melodic death metal band from Michigan. BDM swept onto the stage with front man Trevor Strnad fist pumping the air vigorously while demanding everything from a Wall of Deaths to a Circle Pit. Opening the 13- song set was “In Hell is Where She Waits for Me,” “Elder Misanthropy,” and “A Vulgar Picture” during which fans would climb and pretty much beat the hell out of each at any opportunity. Unsurprisingly, there were injuries during TBDM’s set which is not uncommon for this type of show environment, nor is it a surprise to see injured individuals smiling as if they just won a trophy. It’s safe to say that show goers got their money’s worth, even though a fourth band would have perfected the evening. Although TBDM didn't blow my mind like Suicide Silence did and blown my expectation by 100% they were a great band to see live.
