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Trivium, BTBAM, Whitechapel, and Khemmis Lay Waste to Boston’s House of Blues! [Photos]

Trivium brought along BTBAM, Whitechapel, and Khemmis and absolutely levelled Boston’s House of Blues! Don’t believe us? Check out Nathan Katsiaficas’ coverage.

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Florida metallers Trivium are in the closing stretch of a massive headlining run across North America that sees the band supported by progressive metal titans Between The Buried and Me and deathcore OGs Whitechapel, along with Denver doom metal legends Khemmis. Dubbed the Dead Men and Dragons Tour, the run is a celebration of Trivium’s two most recent albums, What The Dead Men Say and In The Court of the Dragon, and features enthralling production complete with a stunning backdrop and dragon totems on either side of the stage with glowing red eyes. We caught the tour on October 28th as it came to play at Boston’s House of Blues in the shadow of New Englanders’ holy shrine that is Boston’s Fenway Park.

While not completely full (the middle balcony section was seemingly closed to VIPs on this night), the venue was otherwise packed full of eager metalheads even as opener Khemmis came on to give a spirited set chock-full of guitar harmonies and soaring vocals. I expect the band will have gained quite a number of new fans from this run! 

After being warmed up, the crowd-surfing floodgates seemed to open during Whitechapel’s set, with fan after fan exuberantly thrashing atop the crowd and screaming along with frontman Phil Bozeman as they made their way over the barricade.

It’s been many years since I last saw the band, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. With a setlist mostly comprised of more recent material—as it is a supporting slot for them—it was cool to see the band throw in golden oldie “This Is Exile” alongside newer material like “Anticure,” “A Bloodsoaked Symphony,” and “Doom Woods.”

Bozeman’s insane vocal chops and the high musical acumen of his cohorts were jaw-dropping; I can’t wait to catch the band’s next headlining tour to make up for missing them the last few years. 

Up next, a complete change of pace music-wise, as things took a turn back toward the more “proggy” end of the metal spectrum with Between the Buried and Me. The band came out swinging, emerging to kick into the grindcore-esque intro of “Sun of Nothing.” If you haven’t seen BTBAM before, these guys have one of the tightest sets, despite lengthy songs with numerous tempo changes.

They did not disappoint on this night, and as crazy as the crowd was during Whitechapel, they went even more nuts for BTBAM, putting the event staff to work to keep up with all of the bodies coming over the barricade (see the photos for a few of these brave concertgoers!).

Highlights of their set, aside from the amazing set-opener, were tracks “Extremophile Elite” and massive sing-alongs during “Never Seen/Future Shock” and “The Future Is Behind Us.”

At last, it was time for Trivium! The lights dimmed, and a crowd singalong with Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills” ensued before the band began to emerge behind a white cloth sheet which gave way as the verse-riff kicked in for ninth-album title track “What The Dead Men Say.” This got the audience moving and bouncing from right out the gate—I’m not sure I’ve seen a crowd go this nuts for Trivium ever…and I’ve probably seen them upwards of ten times!

In fact, the band’s tour manager or someone else affiliated with the band was seen mid-set telling crowd surfers leaving the barricade they could surf once more before they needed to refrain so as to give the venue security a bit of breathing room. The audience’s enthusiasm makes sense, though—the band’s last two records have been a stellar return to form to the Shogun era of the band’s creativity and songwriting and absurd musicianship.

Speaking of Shogun, fans this evening were treated to a couple of tracks of that record, including “Into the Mouth of Hell We March,” with its incredible guitar leads, and the epic, 11+ minute title track, which they’ve not played live on tour since 2014!

Maybe it’s due to how late in the tour this was, but the band was completely dialled-in for the entirety of the set, which was like a hometown show (or nearly, seeing as it was 2 hours or so south) for lead guitarist and fellow Maine-native Corey Beaulieu. Frontman Matt Heafy’s vocals sounded effortless and powerful, be they singing or screaming. The remaining highlights of the night included fan-favourite oldies, “Like Light to the Flies,” “To The Rats,” and “Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr,” alongside some seriously shreddy newer material, including “A Crisis of Revelation.”

Fans definitely got a night to remember and their money’s worth with this tour! If you haven’t gotten a chance to check Trivium out on this run, you’ve got another week to do so; the remaining dates are below!

Remaining Dead Men and Dragons Tour Dates:

Nov. 05 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theatre 
Nov. 06 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom 
Nov. 08 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
Nov. 09 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren 
Nov. 10 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern 

When he's not out in the woods, clomping around in streams, or looking at shiny rocks, you can find our U.S. Managing Editor and contributing photographer Nathan Katsiaficas in the photo pit, covering everything from heavy metal to punk, alternative, indie, and hip-hop.

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