Concert review: The Amity Affliction | 05.31.24, The Pageant (with photo gallery)

Photo of the Amity Affliction’s Joel Birch by Laura Jerele

w/ CURRENTS, Dying Wish, and Mugshot

When was the last time you spent a Friday night at a quadruple heavy metal extravaganza? Well, for me that was Friday night at The Pageant for the sold-out showcase of The Amity Affliction, CURRENTS, Dying Wish, and Mugshot.

Crowd surfing? Check.
Circle pits? Check.
Head banging? Check.
A sea of black concert shirts? Check.
Lots of little kids with their parents? Surprisingly – check!
Heavy metal bachelorette party complete with four unsuspecting bridesmaids in tow? CHECK! (Congrats again, Amber!)

This was a LOUD one, each band is definitely heavy in their right, melodic in their own ways, and thrashy as hell. There was also a tremendous amount of gratitude expressed for the loud and fun crowd, and as lead singer Brian Wille of CURRENTS stated, this was the loudest crowd of the tour so far! (Well done, Saint Louis!) Dying Wish was an interesting mix of female and glitter-boots and guttural vocals and growls. They were most certainly the most unknown act on the bill (lead singer Emma Boster took a poll by a show of hands if this was the first time people heard them and the results were most hands in the air), but they certainly earned fans fast by the sound of the audience roaring back at them.

CURRENTS, live at the Pageant. Photo by Laura Jerele.

Headliners The Amity Affliction seem to balance very melodic metalcore with old school heavy metal and somehow they never lose sight of the importance of groovy melodies. Yeah, this is aggressive and in-your-face, but it’s also bouncy and, at times, somewhat hip-hop influenced. Clean vocals switch with super harsh growls with ease and I swear, my throat hurt just hearing it! Lead vocalist Joel Birch was full of brute force and also a bit can’t-catch-me, don’t-look-at-me the way he flew across the stage with his baseball cap tightly down, covering most of his face. Oh, and that stage was wicked with multiple risers, including one nearly the length of the front of the stage creating askew views. Nearly everyone on the floor had to break their necks looking up when the band jumped onto it. Not sure how this show was both brutal and melodic, but it was! | Laura Jerele