Underoath, Spiritbox, Bad Omens, and Stray From The Path Rock Boston’s House of Blues! [Photos]

One of the few “nostalgia” metalcore bands that continues to put out great music, Underoath has been on the road in support of their latest release Voyeurist along with Canadian rising stars Spiritbox, spooky metalcore act Bad Omens, and hardcore punk act Stray From The Path. We caught up with the tour in its second-to-last week, as it came to play a near-sold out House of Blues in Boston, MA on March 14, 2022.

The venue was already pretty full as the night got started with a set from Long Island’s Stray From The Path. While these guys have been around for a while, they’ve really come a long way in their live performance! They kicked things off with “The House Always Wins” and “Outbreak.” The band really got the crowd moving and cheering as frontman Drew York emphatically exclaimed “Fuck Nazis! No alt-right, no thin blue line, no racists, you aren’t welcome here!” and went straight into their song “Goodnight Alt-Right.” York bounced his way around the stage as his cohorts thrashed the hell out of their instruments, and the band continued with “Fortune Teller.” Stray From The Path ended their performance with an ass-beater of a track, “First World Problem Child.”

Bad Omens picked up where Stray had left off, energizing the crowd with their dark brand of metalcore. They started their performance off with the title track from their latest release THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND before continuing with “ARTIFICIAL SUICIDE,” during which frontman Noah Sebastian donned a balaclava as he meandered around the stage and between crooning and guttural growled vocals. The crowd for their part seemed to be hung on every word, and offered up their own voices, singing along throughout the set. The band closed out their performance with “Limits” and “Dethrone,” off their 2020 release Finding God Before God Finds Me.

The mood in the venue was electric as the audience awaited the appearance of Spiritbox, who had been elevated to direct support after the unfortunate demise of Every Time I Die. The lights, which were adorned with the logo from the band’s debut album Eternal Blue, dimmed to a deafening cheer from the crowd as the band started to emerge and even louder as frontwoman Courtney LaPlante appeared, with the band launching straight into hit single “Rule of Nines.”

If you have not yet witnessed the perfection of Spiritbox’s live performance yet, you’re missing out—they are one of a small number of bands that manages to sound even better live than on recordings! They continued with more fan-favorites, “Circle With Me” and “Blessed Be.” LaPlante gave a shoutout to her extended family from Holyoke, MA in attendance and promised the audience never to take getting to play live music for granted again—making them promise as well not to take it for granted, in this post-pandemic world.

Spiritbox continued with all the hits, closing with “Holy Roller,” which saw much of the crowd yell back the opening lines before bringing the roughest mosh pits of the night, and title track, “Eternal Blue.” It was thrilling to get to catch a date of their first major run across the states, if you missed out and can’t make the remaining tour dates, the band is playing several festivals in the US after their upcoming run in Europe.

At last, it was time for Underoath! First, a person with a mask displaying digital static came out to lead the audience in a mindfulness exercise. Then, the band came out before a stage backlit with tall LED screens and lit by a gorgeous lighting display to the track, “Damn Excuses” off of their latest album. Frontman Spencer Chamberlain was an absolute blur as he whipped around the stage, singing or screaming every word as the audience sang along at their loudest! Their set continued with “Breathing In a New Mentality” and “On My Teeth,” off of 2008’s Lost in the Sound of Separation and 2018’s Erase Me respectively. But it wasn’t until they brought out longtime fan-favorite “In Regards to Myself,” that the crowd completely went nuts!

The rest of the set was just one great big sing-along, be it newer material or old, and the hits just kept coming! The band’s stage show was captivating on its own, be it drummer Aaron Gillespie, beating the hell out of his drums as he belted out vocal melodies, bassist Grant Brandell inspiring a greater response from the front row as he galavanted around the stage, or guitarist Timothy McTague thrashing around with his guitar!

Underoath closed their set with another throw-back hit, “A Boy Brushed in Red living in Black and White” from 2004’s They’re Only Chasing Safety, and newer track “Pneumonia.” They returned for an encore of another new track, “Thorn,” before playing one of their most famous tracks to close the night, “Writing on the Walls.” If you haven’t caught the tour yet, there are just a few dates left, see below!

Tour Dates:

03/22 – Cincinnati, OH @ ICON
03/23 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore
03/25 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle