So this makes the 3rd show this week, with one more to go! This fine September 13th, we were off to check out Falling in Reverse with Slaughter to Prevail, Hollywood Undead, and Point North in Mansfield, MA.
Point North was the opener. They have a solid heavy rock sound, but like all bands tonight, they’re not the ones producing all the music. This band had a drummer, two guitarists, and a singer. No bass player which is funny since this bass was absolutely insane at times. There were a lot of prerecorded sounds and tracks to bring their show to life, which is fine with this genre, but I do love a good ole rock band. The singer did use a wired mic though which is pretty awesome and old school. I also must be getting old because I swear the drummer didn’t look a day older than 15. As far as songs, I’m sure the full setlist is online but the one I can confirm they played was 2 Liter Spite.
Hollywood Undead was second to play and it did seem a bit surprising to me since they have a ton of singles out there. But that’s how it was. This ended up being the 3rd time I’ve seen these guys…this year! But I think this performance was probably my favorite of the three, I just wish they had more time. They’re a fun band with energetic songs, a good stage presence, and catchy hooks. They’re another band with lots of prerecorded tracks. At one point, there was only a single guitar and drums being played, while most of the other sounds came from the keyboards and probably some laptops somewhere. They opened with Riot which is a fun one, and had Everywhere I Go (the song that first introduced me to these dudes) later in the set. For Comin’ In Hot they brought a fan up on stage to play guitar with them. His name was Nick and at one point they had the whole crowd cheering him on with chants of “Big dick Nick” which was pretty damn funny. As usual, lots of bantering, joking, and a gag with their drummer singing Bohemian Rhapsody (same gag all 3 times). But they were enjoyable.
Slaughter to Prevail was third and I knew of the band by name only, but didn’t know a single song going into this show. What I do know, is that I cannot think of another band I’ve seen that was as heavy as these guys. I’ve been to many metal and hardcore festivals over the years, I’ve seen death metal bands, but these dudes were just a different kind of heavy. Maybe they’re using computers to help produce a thicker sound, or maybe they’re just heavy as all hell. I don’t know. While I still don’t know the songs after seeing them, this set left an impression.
When they first came out to the stage, the whole band was wearing masks. The singer (“Alex Terrible”) took his off almost immediately but the rest of the band kept theirs on all night. He has a very intimidating stature when performing, but when talking between songs he seems pretty down to earth.
The dude can sing in a screaming, growling, low guttural voice while also rolling his R’s at the same time and it was the craziest sound. The graphics behind them on the screen were pretty crazy too. The singer told us he’s 32 now, but still feels like the same kid who was screaming in his bedroom, while his parents thought he was insane, and being on stage each night is a dream come true. While the music was crazy, Ronnie from Falling in Reverse assured us all later that he’s the nicest guy. I can’t say that I’m going to start listening to these guys as it’s just not my style, but it was definitely an experience.
Falling In Reverse (FIR) closed out the night and this was a cool show. Their first single was released in 2011 but I didn’t really know this band until 2019’s Popular Monster started making its way into my streaming and SiriusXM. But that’s ok, I’ll be late to the party. They opened with Prequel and then Zombified. Zombified is such a great tune, and the lyrics are all about cancel culture, people disagreeing with your words or something you said 10 years ago, which is very fitting lately (sadly). The next song, God is a Weapon, had to be restarted because of a fan medical issue. My guess is drunkenness as the booze was flowing heavily, but I could be wrong.
Their full set list is online here if you’re interested.I’ll say the night was filled with an excessive amount of pyrotechnics, and they filled the back of stage with lots of videos to the songs and random graphics. This is definitely singer Ronnie Radke’s band. He is front and center the whole time, walking on a riser, while the rest of the band is behind the riser and never equal level with him (except the drummer who has his own riser). He really didn’t interact with the band at all either except for one dude who plays guitar and sings. Sorry, not sure of dude’s name. They walked around the arena together during No Fear which was pretty cool. But it seems to be a rotating cast of band members.
They did All My Life, and without Jelly Roll who is featured on the album version. I really think Jelly Roll should be like Slash in the early 2000s and just show up everywhere. Even South Park caught onto this and had a whole episode about Slash not being real because he’s just everywhere. Jelly Roll has collaborated with half the music industry at this point. Might as well just do surprise appearances every night. Popular Monster was toward the end of the night and this was my FIRST gateway song. “Crashed my car just to feel again” is a pretty dark lyric but awesome.
42 (or so) year old Ronnie is full of energy, and has a hell of a strong voice. He can rap, he can sing in a clear normal tone, then he’s got the high pitch screams, low growls, and more. At then end of the night when you figure his voice might be getting tired, he really showed his range during Watch the World Burn. A fantastic song that starts out like a rap and ends with some death metal vibes. The song just evolves.
Overall I really liked the show. All bands were good, and I’ll definitely listen to 3 out of 4 of them outside of the show. Sorry Slaughter…but you were incredible live. The crowd was an interesting mix of metal and goth, young and old, maybe some punk, and others. A lot more little kids than I’d expect. Like 8 and younger. The show was crazy loud and besides the small kids, I saw very few people with ear protection. I’ll admit I used to not always wear ear protection. Ears would initially ring for a couple hours after a show, and overtime it turned into a week. I love live music and music in general. I’d like to continue enjoying it for as long as possible. Wear that damn ear protection!
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