Everyone's favorite dropouts are back for a second semester as metalcore powerhouses Fit For A King and The Devil Wears Prada light up The Paramount with support from fellow dropouts Counterparts and AVOID.
A chilly Saturday night in the lively town of Huntington, New York was the scene for this installment of another show at the world famous venue “The Paramount''. Dropping out first was AVOID. AVOID is an American metalcore band from Seattle, Washington currently signed to Thriller Records. AVOID has made a substantial amount of noise in the scene recently by opening for bands such as Silverstein, Bad Omens, Pop Evil and Wage War. The band consists of Benny Scholl (Vocals), Nick Olson (Guitar), Chris Echols (Guitar) and Paul Jaton (Drums). AVOID gained a ton of recognition after a partnership with NASCAR which promoted the band and their 2020 “The Burner'' which also landed their music on the official NASCAR video game NASCAR Heat 5.
The members took the stage with a large inflatable of the beaver mascot from the widely beloved store “Bucc-ee’s” behind the drums. AVOID opened with “Whatever” a single off their 2022 album “Cult Mentality”. “Whatever” is becoming a fan favorite due to its catchy chorus and music video which featured a cameo from JT Woodruff who is the vocalist of legendary emo band “Hawthorne Heights”. Scholl is known for his high energy performances as a vocalist and frontman. He is always challenging the crowd to follow his lead as he feeds off the energy he gets back. Scholl had the fans jumping, head banging and two stepping the entire set.
AVOID played another single off “Cult Mentality” called “Cowabunga”. This song always brings out the crowd surfers and that was never in doubt tonight. One fan crowd surfed and handed Scholl a folding paper fan as security caught him over the barricade. Scholl proceeded to use the paper fan as Echols sung his parts of the chorus. AVOID turned back the clock to their 2020 EP “The Burner” and closed out their set with “Song About James” which made waves on Sirius XM when it was released. Scholl demanded the crowd to make some space on the floor for a wall of death. Scholl was granted his wish as the fans unleashed sheer chaos when given the signal. AVOID sets the tone for the night like no other as they left a great first impression on new fans.
Next to grace the stage was Counterparts. Counterparts is a Canadian melodic hardcore band from Hamilton Ontario led by Brendan Murphy (vocals), Jesse Doren (Lead Guitar), Tyler Williams (Rhythm Guitar) and Kyle Brownlee (Drums). The band is known for their deep and emotional lyrics along with skull crushing breakdowns. This is Counterparts second go around with Fit For A King and The Devil Wears Prada as they supported them on the first Metalcore Dropouts tour last fall. Counterparts has a devoted fan base that will show up early to experience them blow the roof off any venue they play. Murphy sincerely thanked everyone for showing up early and immediately commanded the crowd to pick up the energy.
Counterparts opened their set with “Love Me” the intro track to their 2019 album “Nothing Left To Love” which is also their most streamed song on spotify with over 9 million streams. Murphy belts out the lyrics as the rest of the band unleashed a breakdown that was followed by the crowd creating a massive pit that swallowed dozens of fans into the middle. Loads of crowd surfers poured over the barricade during “Bound To The Burn” a song off 2022 album “A Eulogy For Those Still Here”. Fans shouted the breakdown callout and unleashed hell in the pit that left Murphy impressed. The chaos continued as they played songs throughout their history so old and new fans had something to sing along too, but every song had them banging their heads to every second.
It wouldn't be a Counterparts show without Murphy expressing his love for his feline friends. Counterparts closed out with “Whispers Of Your Death” a single off of “A Eulogy For Those Still Here”. This has become the fan favorite song because Murphy wrote and dedicated this song to his cat “Kuma” who tragically passed away last year. Brendan expresses his love for Kuma and knows he is taking care of him and his other cat “Kori”. Murphy demanded the crowd to give it their all. Murphy wanted every single spectator moving in honor of Kuma. Murphy yelled “If you don't move for Kuma. I’ll kill you” which got a great reaction from the crowd. Murphy is known and loved for his sense of humor which is on full display every show. The crowd followed orders as the pit doubled in size and crowd surfers were giving security a strenuous workout. Counterparts once again set the tone for a high energy evening as the co-headliners were next to take the stage.
First co-headliner to hit the stage was Fit For A King. Fit for a King is an American metalcore band from Tyler, Texas which was formed in 2007. The band consists of members Ryan Kirby on vocals, Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary on bass, Trey Celaya on drums and lastly Daniel Gailey on guitar. Fit For A King built their reputation on the best aspects of metalcore being beautiful clean choruses, ferocious screams and ground shaking breakdowns. Fit For A King has developed into a cohesive unit over the years as Tuck and Gailey have been progressively improving their vocals each tour. Tuck has become known for his energy on stage as he is always jumping and spinning around on stage while Gailey unleashes each riff and breakdown with pure passion. Both of them have become diverse in their vocal ranges as they can efficiently hit lows and highs whether it's screams or cleans. Kirby has also expanded his range for his screams which were on full display tonight.
Fit For A King opened with “End (The Other Side)" which is off their most recent album “The Hell We Create” which was released in October of 2022. The crowd began a circle pit as this song kicked off extremely fast that led into a chorus that had the whole room singing along. “The Hell We Create” became the most personal record ever written by the band as it told the story of Kirby’s personal struggles and tragedy through the 2020 pandemic. Kirby used the tools around him to deal with his demons instead of letting them take over and together the band created the masterpiece we know as “The Hell We Create”. Fit For A King played “Falling Through The Sky” a couple songs later which was the third single off of “The Hell We Create”. This song had the whole room off their feet and to no surprise, plenty of crowd surfers having the time of their lives singing along to emotional lyrics behind the track.
Fit For A King turned back the clock for the next two tracks. Kirby asked the crowd if they were familiar with “Deathgrip” which is an album released in 2016. After a convincing roar from the crowd they played “The End’s Beginning” an interlude track that carried over into “Pissed Off”. The pit was already large, but it tripled in size as the pit expanded all the way to the barricade. The crowd unleashed chaos as you would expect judging by the title of the song. Unfortunately it got too chaotic as there was a fan injury at the end of the song. Dozens of people in the crowd waved down security and the band to get the person help. Tuck implored everyone to step back and give the person space. The fan got the medical attention he needed and received a rousing round of applause from the whole venue. He gave a thumbs up to the crowd as he exited the room and after a lengthy delay, everyone was ready to party. Kirby thanked security for a quick response to the situation and once again a round of applause was given.
Fit For A King played some of their heaviest songs throughout their history such as “Reaper”, “Eyes Roll Back”, “Backbreaker” and “Shattered Glass” which got the crowd in a frenzy. Fit For A King also played “Keeping Secrets”, their latest single released earlier this month. Keeping Secrets is another emotional track which is about questioning if people truly love you if you don't open up and show them the real you. Kirby stated this a theme his adopted daughter struggled with which inspired him to write this song. Fit For A King ended their set with fan favorite track “God Of Fire”. Kirby and the rest of the band demanded the crowd to give it their all and to unleash all their energy. This song originally features Ryo Kinoshita who was the vocalist of Japanese metalcore band “Crystal Lake''. Fit For A King recruited Benny Scholl of tonight's opening band to help out. Scholl and Kirby created a dynamic that brought the beast out of every spectator in the room. Kirby and Scholl brought the house down with incredible gutturals that most did not expect from the two. The set came to a close as Fit For A King made their first Long Island show a memorable one. Next up was their partners in crime.
Our final dropout of the night is The Devil Wears Prada. Formed in 2005 in Dayton, Ohio, The Devil Wears Prada is a Metalcore band that comprises of Mike Hranica (Unclean Vocals, Guitar), Jeremy Depoyster (Rhythm Guitar, Clean Vocals), Kyle Sipress (Lead Guitar, backing vocals), Mason Nagy (Bass), Jonathan Gering (Keyboards, backing vocals), and Giuseppe Capolupo (Drums). The band name was inspired by the 2003 novel of the same name written by Lauren Weisberger. The Devil Wears Prada has been in the scene since 2005 and hasn't looked back. Even through multiple lineup changes and different styles, the band has also become a cohesive unit where each member is talented in multiple aspects of performance.
The Devil Wears Prada started their set with two songs off their 2022 album “Color Decay”. “Color Decay” is a revolution in sound and style for the band. The Devil Wears Prada went from abrasive, high energy metalcore to a more melodic easy going metalcore that contains aspects of their older work and more recent work. Hranica expressed in past interviews that the album is about individualism and contrast with an end goal of making each song distinct. The album as a whole is about daily struggles and the feelings and effects caused by these struggles. First song was “Exhibition” which is also the first track off the album. Following was “Watchtower” which was the second single from “Color Decay”. Depoyster called for a circle pit as the song came in fast and furious. The fans spun the room rapidly as Depoyster graced the crowd with his easy going cleans while Hranica uncorked his classic harsh screams. A perfect example of the contrast Hranica talked about in the past.
Now it was time for the classics. Hranica asked the crowd if they were ready for an old song. He got an encouraging response and said “Four words. I, Know, A, Ghost” It was time for “Danger:Wildman” the hit track off 2009 album “With Roots Above And Branches Below”. The whole crowd screamed “I KNOW A GHOST” and chaos ensued in the pit. It was time to play more songs off “Color Decay”. Next were emotional ballads “Salt” and “Broken”. Depoyster demanded the crowd get off their feet for these songs and for crowd surfers to get busy. He also reminded the crowd to keep the pit open even though it's a slower song. Two emotional songs complimented by a pit that didn't skip a single beat. Hranica showed his diverse talents and jumped on guitar while he sang. All members chipped in on vocals at some point during the set. This goes back to the band evolving as a cohesive unit over the years. Four members do vocals simultaneously during some multiple parts of the set. And it was to perfection as they were in unison. The Devil Wears Prada also changed the pace of the set by playing “Reasons” a collaboration single which was recorded with electronic artists Excisions and Wooli. Fans were thrilled to hear this live as the booming instrumentals complimented the electronic elements to perfection.
The Devil Wears Prada approached the end of their set. It was time to get every last bit out of the crowd. Next was “Sacrifice” , the lead single from “Color Decay”. This track was released two years before the album release and has easily become a staple to the set. The band called for a wall of death and the crowd delivered. The room split in half and dozens of fans ran into each other at full speed. As the song ended the band stepped off the stage. The crowd chanted ‘PRA-DA, PRA-DA”. The crowd would not be left hanging as the band came back out for the encore. It was once again time to turn back the clock to some of their older work. The Devil Wears Prada would go back to their second studio album “Plagues” which was released in 2007. They closed the set with “Hey John, What’s Your Name Again?”. The song started with Hranica’s legendary screams and the pit was on a different level. The fans wanted to end their Saturday night as perfect as possible. Every activity you could see in the pit was on display. The song ended and the band gave a heartfelt thank you to the Long Island crowd. Depoyster stated Long Island is a second home to them as they recorded multiple albums in the area.
That's a wrap on the second semester of the metalcore dropouts tour. An eventful night full of chaos and antics. The tour will trek the rest of the country until the end of February. The bands do not have anything else planned at the moment, but The Devil Wears Prada has been teasing new music recently on social media. New York anxiously awaits the return of some of the best live bands in all of the scene.
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