The Devil Wears Prada and As I Lay Dying Co-Headline U.S. Tour – REVIEW

On one of the first Fridays of spring, we made our way up to The Rave to Milwaukee to check out The Devil Wears Prada and As I Lay Dying’s co-headline U.S. tour. You can check out our review of the tour, after the break.

Walking into The Rave is always exciting with its many halls and staircases being filled with night’s acts playing on one of the venues many stages. Now the fact that The Devil Wears Prada, As I Lay Dying’s, For Today, and The Chariot were on the bill for the night added so much more to the anticipation of a good show with an amazing line up. Four bands that have clocked plenty of tour time and albums promised a great show.

The Chariot was the first band to take the stage and didn’t waste a second showing the energy that they are known for. With their perfectly timed breakdowns, dirty southern riffs and chord progressions they immediately grabbed the crowds attention. One of my favorite parts of their set was when lead vocals, Josh Scogin, would bring his two floor toms and add that extra deep drum hits during certain parts. The amount that Brandon Henderson and Stephen Harrison jump, run, spin, thrash and are still able to play their off time style rhythms is amazing to watch. With their newest album “One Wing” out last fall, The Chariot is still rocking strong since 2003. Definitely a band to see on the rest of this tour or next time they come through.

If you are looking for a band that you can feel their music through out your body at a live show, For Today is that band for you. After their lead singer let the crowd know the bands beliefs and faith in a powerful speech, the band went right in to a crowd mover “Immanuel”. With their perfectly placed riffs with in their breakdowns that just make you want to move right along to the rhythm, For Today knows how to get the crowd swaying and the pit moving. “Immortal”, For Today’s latest album, features the track “Fearless” and that captures what they are all about. Mattie, the lead vocals, does not waste any time controlling the crowd and capturing every moment of their set. For Today delivers everything you would desire in a metalcore band live and on every one of their four albums.

As the first co headliner, As I Lay Dying, stood back stage you could just feel the excitement swelling in The Rave. As the banner of their newest album artwork was reveled the never faulting drums beats, smooth and speedy riffs, famous breakdowns and inspiring vocals came blasting and pleasing the crowd. Playing a few songs of their newest album “Awakened”, As I Lay Dying always surprises you with what songs they put on their set from older albums. They also always find a way to play at least one song off of their six studio albums. “94 hours”, “Through Struggle”, and “The Sound of Truth” we all favorites of the crowd. The excitement Tim Lambesis, Nick Hipa and the rest of the band brings to the stage can never be copied. After celebrating their 10 year anniversary a little over a year ago, As I Lay Dying shows no signs of stopping or disappointing a decade worth of fans and followers.

Closing out the night was The Devil Wears Prada with a pretty long but great set. The Devil Wears Prada was not always one of my favorite bands to listen to on recordings but they definitely do not disappoint live. Playing a song from almost every album, they threw a few new ones on the set from their latest album “Dead Throne”, which were all a hit with the crowd. Getting to be around for The Devil Wears Prada full career I was surprised to see them on tour with As I Lay Dying but after the show I would admit it was a good pick in co-headliners.

If there were four bands that I would have to pick to tour together with that people wouldn’t expect to see together but blend very well, The Devil Wears Prada, As I Lay Dying, For Today and The Chariot would be my exact picks. From all ends of the metalcore, hard hitting, sweet riffing and energetic style of music this tour is one you do not want to miss, or even each band individually.

Information about the review…
Tour: The Devil Wears Prada and As I lay Dying Co-Headline U.S. Tour
Bands: The Devil Wears Prada, As I Lay Dying, For Today, The Chariot
Reviewer: Dustin Smith
Date: March 29, 2013
Venue: The Rave in Milwaukee, WI